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Crop Maze
Research and Education
A Project of the NC Specialty Crops Program
Jeanine Davis1 and Lanny
Hass2
August 23, 2001
In an effort to find innovative new ways to keep
agriculture in North Carolina profitable, NC State
University has been involved in developing a variety
of agri-tourism efforts. One of the most successful
of these enterprises has been cornfield mazes. A
cornfield maze is a field of corn, usually 6-8 acres,
into which has been carved an intricate design. People
pay an admission charge for the opportunity to walk
through the maze. Some mazes are educational, some
are just fun, some are "haunted" for Halloween.
Cornfield mazes are popular with families, church
youth groups, school groups, and youth camp and daycare
programs. Several local North Carolina mazes are
highlighted at http://cornfieldmaze.com.
To build on the success of the cornfield mazes, we
are interested in trying to build mazes of other
agricultural crops. An apple grower in Alexander
County wanted to build a sunflower maze. Working
with the NC Specialty Crops Program and his county
extension agent, in 2001 this grower established
a sunflower maze on his farm. Since this was the
first of its type in the state, we had many questions
about how to do it. For example, what variety of
sunflower should we use? How far apart should we
plant the sunflowers? When should the sunflower seeds
be sown? To help answer some of these questions,
we conducted a study.
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Moulin Rouge Sunflower
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2001
Sunflower Study
Project Leaders: Jeanine Davis, Lanny Hass,
and Rob Hawk
Technicians: George Cox and Susan Bryson
Field Prep and Maintenance: Mountain Horticultural
Crops Research Station Staff
Objectives
- To determine if sunflowers
are suitable for use in agricultural crop
mazes.
- To determine the optimum planting density
and sunflower type for a maze.
- To determine
if sunhemp planted within the sunflowers
would improve foliage density necessary for
a maze.
How experiment
was conducted
Two sunflower types, an oil type, Pioneer
Hybrid P63A81 and a confectionary type, Pioneer
Hybrid 6946, were planted at three densities
(25,000, 30,000, and 35,000 seeds per acre).
The oil seed type, planted at the three densities,
was also intercropped with sunhemp from
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply at a single density
of 20 lbs/acre. Seeds were sown on June 16,
2001. There were four replications.
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| Oil type field |
Oil flower |
Confectionary type field |
Sunhemp |
Data collected
Data were collected on seedling emergence,
plant height, leaf size, uniformity, and foliage
density. For a maze, plant foliage needs to
be dense enough to obscure viewing from one
path to the next. In this study we measured
this by inserting a large card with red, white,
and blue bands into the foliage at 5', 10'
and 15' from the path. An observer in the path
indicated how much of the card could be seen
at each distance.
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Result
- There was no difference in the germination
percentages between the oil and confectionary
seed varieties. The average was 78% germination.
- Germination decreased with increasing plant
populations.
- The sunflower seeds were very sensitive
to compaction in the soil. We do not recommend
seeding in three directions to obtain high
plant populations because the seeds got pushed
down in to the soil by the tractor tires
and had difficulty pushing to the surface.
- The optimum plant population was 30,000
plants per acre.
- The sunhemp interplanted with the sunflowers
made it much harder to see between the leaves
of the sunflowers. This made for denser "walls" in
the maze but was "messy looking."
- Sunflower is susceptible to a number of
diseases which quickly make the plants unsightly.
Bacterial stem rot (Erwinia) was a problem
in some of our plots.
- Bees really like sunflowers! This might
be a problem with the public.
- Flower heads were huge and dropped over
very early in the season.
- Plants were tall enough for a maze but
foliage deteriorated early.
Conclusion
The sunflowers drew lots of attention.
People loved them and had to stop and look
at them. The oil and confectionary varieties
are bred to produce large heads full of seeds.
As a result, these heads drooped over very
soon after full bloom. This would not be particularly
attractive in a maze. But the sunflowers
attracted hundreds of birds which could be
used as a marketing advantage. The heads can
also be cut and sold as natural bird feeders.
Foliage does not stay attractive for long.
Life of maze would only be a few weeks.
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2002
Sunflower Study
Project Leaders: Jeanine Davis, Lanny Hass,
and Rob Hawk
Technicians: George Cox, Susan Bryson,
and Karen Hardy
Field Prep and Maintenance: Mountain Horticultural
Crops Research Station Staff
In 2002 we eliminated the sunflower sunhemp
treatment and added a cover crop variety of
sunflowers: Sun3703 from Johnny's
Selected Seeds. The oil, confectionary,
and cover crop varieties of sunflowers were
all planted at 25,000, 30,000, and 35,000 plants
per acre. There were 4 replicants. Seeds were
sown on July 23, 2002.
Data collected
Data were collected on seedling
emergence, plant height, leaf size, uniformity,
and foliage density. For a maze, plant foliage
needs to be dense enough to obscure viewing
from one path to the next. In this study we
measured this by inserting a large card with
red, white, and blue bands into the foliage
at 5', 10' and 15' from the path. An observer
in the path indicated how much of the card
could be seen at each distance.
Results
- All varieties germinated well.
- Flowers began opening in early September.
- Plants were all short, about 5-5 1/2 feet
tall.
- On September 27, a tropical storm with
torrential rains and high winds knocked down
all the sunflowers.
Conclusion
We planted the sunflowers in late July to
see if we could have an attractive maze in
the fall when maze activity is the greatest.
Because of the day-length sensitivity of
the varieties used, the plants quit growing
when they were about 5 feet tall - not tall
enough for a maze. Bloom was unaffected,
however. The cover crop variety had a much
smaller head than the other varieties and
remained upright until the storm took it
down. We noted that local cornfields were
not destroyed by the storm showing the sunflowers
are more sensitive to wind and rain.
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2002 Sorghum Study
Project Leader: Jeanine Davis
Technicians: George Cox and Karen Hardy
Field Prep and Maintenance: Mountain Horticultural
Crops Research Station Staff
 Sorghum was tried as a new maze plant. The
variety, 4Ever Green from Walter Moss Seed
Company, was planted at a rate of 35 lbs/acre.
Three seeding methods were used. Broadcast,
drilled one direction, and drilled in two directions.
There were four replications. Seeding took
place on June 18, 2002.
Results
- Sorghum grew very well. It was tall and
very dense.
- On September 27th a tropical storm with
torrential rains and high winds knocked all
the sorghum flat.
Conclusion
Until the storm arrived the sorghum showed
great promise as a maze crop. We will try this
again, reducing the plant density to see if
the plants will develop stronger root systems
and stems.
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- Dr. Jeanine M. Davis,
Associate Professor, Extension Specialist,
and Specialty Crops Program Coordinator,
Department of Horticultural Science, N.C.
State University. email: jeanine_davis@ncsu.edu.
Website: www.ncherb.org and www.ncspecialtycrops.org
- Dr. Lanny Hass, Development
Leader, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service,
N.C. State University. email: lanny_hass@ncsu.edu.
The
NC Specialty Crops Program is dedicated
to developing new crops and value-added products
for growers in North Carolina. It is an inter-agency
program with NC
State University College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences and the NC
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Marketing Division. The program combines
field research with marketing research, market
development, and grower education to "fast-track" new
crops for the industry.
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Dr. Jeanine Davis
Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center
455 Research Drive
Mills River, NC 28759
Phone: 828.684.3562 ~ Fax: 828.684.8715
Email: jeanine_davis@ncsu.edu
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Maintained by: Bryan A. Konsler
Updated November 9, 2007
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