ISSUE 84, SOUTHERN LANDRACE & HEIRLOOM CORN, Part 19: Truckers' Favorite
Truckers’ Favorite Dent Corn
An early season 8 inch long white dent corn with deep kernels, truck farmers embraced Trucker’s Favorite at the turn of the twentieth century as a succession corn—the second corn offered at the market in a growing season after Extra Early Adams or Extra Early Bland, the first corns to mature. The Extra Earlys were flint corns—good for hominy grits. Trucker’s Favorite was a meal corn.
Trucker’s Delight was a classic southern white Dent corn, probably derived from a horsetooth x white flint cross. It distinguished itself from other such crosses in that the quick growth genetics of the flint predominated enabling the corn to mature quickly. Introduced by seedsman T. W. Wood of Richmond in his 1899 catalog, Trucker’s Favorite quickly developed a following. The response is suggested below in the write up for the corn in the 1900 T. W. Wood Catalog.
The kernels are cream colored, with just a hint of yellow. Though categorized as a dent corn, ears of Trucker’s Favorite can bear kernels with round smooth caps instead of the expected indented sorts. Usually ears bear 16 rows of straight or slightly spiraled kernels. When yellow cornbelt dent began to establish the popuar image that dent corn = yellow corn, breeders developed a yellow version of Trucker’s Favorite.
Because the the consistency of ear shape, its quick ripening, its clean coloration, and its hardiness, Truckers’ Favorite remains a widely available heirloom variety both in its white and yellow incarnations. Hancock Seed and Victory are both bulk suppliers. Its number in the USDA Small Grains Collection is PI 311245.
https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1232353