Hi Tui, I have side shoots coming from near the bottom of my sweetcorn plants. The plants are around 40cms tall. Should I cut off the side shoots? Thank you.

Hi Richard, the side shoots are called 'tillers' or 'suckers' and often form when plants are growing in favourable conditions, but also when the plants have had some sort of damage to the stem early in the season. Lots of space between plants, high nitrogen and plenty of water will often promote side shoots forming. They will not cause any detrimental affect to the main crop and will likely form sweetcorn cobs as long as they have enough time to mature. The side shoots can be removed, it is up to you, but it isn't necessary to cut them off. The Tui Team.