Corn plant
Corn plant
A tall grain plant which produces ears of soft, edible seeds. While corn takes a long time to grow, it yields lots of food compared to other crops. Harvested corn takes a long time to spoil.
Base Stats
Stat Modifiers
All information here is up-to-date as of Alpha 17b.
The corn plant is a player-growable food crop with a very high yield, but also a long growing cycle. Corn can't be sown in hydroponics. A mature corn plant yields 27 pieces of corn.
Growing
Corn plants have a base growing time of 11.3 days, need a minimum soil fertility of 50%, and have a fertility sensitivity rating of 100%. The following table details how long it takes for corn plants to grow in each growable ground type, factoring in the plant resting time and being in ideal growing conditions:
| Ground Type | Gravel | Soil | Rich Soil | Hydroponics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fertility (%) | 70 | 100 | 140 | 230 |
| Grow Time (days) | 27.88 | 19.52 | 13.94 | - |
| Base Yield/day[1] | 0.97 | 1.38 | 1.94 | - |
- ↑ Per plant
Corn plants have the highest yield per day out of all growable food crops in the game when grown in rich soil; beating rice by around 2%. However, corn's minimal advantage over rice makes no real difference except in gravel, where potatoes still rule supreme - and rice in hydroponics also eclipses corn in rich soil.
Food Production
The following table shows how many corn plants it takes to sustain one colonist, but only factors in the nutritional value of the yield, and the yield per day:
| Ground Type | Gravel | Soil | Rich Soil | Hydroponics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 34 | 24 | 17 | - |
| Lavish[1] | 21 | 15 | 11 | - |
| Paste | 13 | 9 | 7 | - |
| Fine[2] | 11 | 8 | 6 | - |
Corn has an equivalent food production rate when compared to rice, and does not suffer the downtime between multiple harvests that rice fields deal with. In a moderate climate ordinary soil will yield only one yearly harvest of corn, with spare time for a potential potato or rice crop. Due to corn's long growing time it is at the highest risk of being burned, stalled by bad weather, raided by animals or killed in an event. These factors make corn too risky for regular soil and a nearly useless crop on gravel. Its true strength is revealed in rich soil. Corn's high fertility bonus will enhance growing time to be comparable to potatoes, guaranteeing a yearly harvest and during favorable conditions has potential for a second harvest.
Colonies are by no means obligated to grow corn to 100% and indeed there will be times when corn has to be quickly harvested with disappointing results. These factors make corn an unreliable crop to entrust to the colony's food supply. However when fertile soil and good weather are abundant, corn is a quick investment and its harvests are unrivaled. Indeed the greatest difficulty when managing corn is the hauling effort needed for the huge harvest! Corn's exceptional shelf life means that the colony does not need to invest in freezer space for corn, as even the slightest winter will keep corn fresh until next year's harvest. Thus a corn harvest only needs to be placed in a simple shed or under an outdoor roof.
Colonies looking for a more predictable and reliable food supply should invest in potatoes. Colonies that need food now should instead grow rice.
Economy
The corn plant's raw product is corn, which has a market value of 1.5 silver. The refined product with the largest profit margin is a fine meal, having a 37.14% profit margin. The following table details silver per day, per plant. It only factors in the 50% selling markdown, the market value of the products, and the yield per day:
| Ground Type | Gravel | Soil | Rich Soil | Hydroponics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 0.73 | 1.04 | 1.45 | - |
| Refined[1] | 2.32 | 3.32 | 4.65 | - |
- ↑ Assuming a vegetarian ingredient bottleneck. Your mileage may vary.
As is the trend with food crops; corn is fairly decent for economy with its refined product when in a vegetarian ingredient-bound situation.
- Domesticated plants
- Cocoa tree • Corn plant • Cotton plant • Devilstrand mushroom • Haygrass • Healroot • Hop plant • Potato plant • Psychoid plant • Rice plant • Smokeleaf plant • Strawberry plant • Tinctoria • Fibercorn
• Gauranlen pod • Nutrifungus • Toxipotato plant 
- Decorative plants
- Dandelions • Daylily • Rose • Bonsai tree
- Wild plants
- Agarilux • Agave • Alocasia • Ambrosia bush • Astragalus • Berry bush • Brambles • Bryolux • Bush • Chokevine • Clivia • Giant rafflesia • Glowstool • Grass • Low shrubs • Moss • Pincushion cactus • Tall grass • Wild healroot • Anima grass
• Gauranlen moss - Trees
- Bamboo tree • Birch tree • Cecropia tree • Cypress tree • Drago tree • Maple tree • Oak tree • Palm tree • Pine tree • Poplar tree • Saguaro cactus • Teak tree • Willow tree • Timbershroom • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree
- Special
- Anima tree • Gauranlen tree • Polux tree • Harbinger tree
- Tree stumps
- Burned stump • Chopped stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger ) • Smashed stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger )