Calico Dent

SSE co-founder Kent Whealy received this variety in 1982 from of amateur corn-breeder Ernest Strubbe (b. 1915, d. 1986) of Alberta, Minnesota, while interviewing him at his farm in western Misnnesota. Ernest's interest in breeding began in 1929, and over the decades, he developed many selections of vibrantly-colored dent corn - every color was on display in Ernest's home. Ernest indicated that ‘Calico Dent’ is an old variety that a lot of farmers in his area grew in the 1920s. Regarding ‘Calico Dent’ Ernest said: “I’ve used it to originate a lot of corn of my own. Cross the Calico with the Blue Dent and you get Blue Calico. Here’s a cross between the Pink Dent and the Calico with the red stripes on the pink kernels. Besides the red stripes on blue and red on pink, I’ve seen red on green and red on brown.”