As summer nears, one question is on the minds of many valley residents, When will the Fresno State sweet corn be here?
The popular corn, sold at the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market on the California State University, Fresno campus, is the focus of a new contest in which fans can guess the date the corn will be picked, delivered and sold.
Participants must send an email to Ganesan Srinivasan, director of the University Agricultural Laboratory, at gsrinivasan@csufresno.edu by Friday, May 27, with the subject line: Arrival of first corn: _____.
After the first corn is at the Gibson Farm Market, winners will receive a $2 coupon via email, good through Aug. 31 for six ears of corn. They must print out the coupon and original email to get their free corn.
In addition, all participants will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift basket from the Farm Market, which will be announced July 9 at the fifth Farm Festival.
To help narrow down the date selection, the following clues have been released:
- The first corn of the season is expected to be picked June 1-15 and was planted on Jan. 29.
- The first white corn was planted on the southwest corner of Willow and Barstow avenues, while the first yellow corn was planted north of Barstow east of the Ornamental Horticulture Nursery.
- Fresno State’s first corn was picked June 13, 2006; May 28, 2007; May 29, 2008; June 1, 2009; and June 12, 2010.
This season’s crop has been named Centennial Corn in honor of Fresno State’s 100th anniversary during 2011, which was the year the crop was both planted and harvested.
For more information, contact Srinivasan at 559.278.4235 or gsrinivasan@csufresno.edu.
(Copy by University Communications news intern Nicole Maul)
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