What are the different types of sweet corn?
Home gardeners mainly choose among five genetic types of sweet corn: standard sugary (su), sugary enhanced (se), supersweet or shrunken-2 (sh2), synergistic (syn), and augmented supersweet (shA or aug). They differ in sugar content, kernel texture, how long ears stay sweet after harvest, and how warm the soil needs to be for good germination.
Standard sugary types have the classic flavor but lose quality within about a day or two as sugar turns to starch. Sugary enhanced types are sweeter and a bit longer-lasting; supersweets are highest in sugar and can keep about a week refrigerated; synergistic and augmented supersweet types combine those traits for sweet, tender kernels with strong storage life.