Gardening

It's a pretty good example of a few things.

Starting from left.

Ear 1 & 2 lack of fertility early on.

Ear 3 severe pollination issues - no fertility problems.

Ear 4 and 5 - ran out of fertility around tasseling.

Ear 6 moderate pollination issues - looks like the plant germinated late.

Ear 7 is immature

Ear 8 - tip back - either genetic or linked to planting density/light levels.

Ear 9 - on the edge with full light and adequate nutrition.

The sound you just heard is 45,000 men simultaneously and furiously searching for the long term effects of compost exposure.

Damn that's something. I never even got to that point with my corn. Something would chew the stalks and topple them all and not even eat the damn thing and just leave the fallen plants there.

I stopped trying to grow corn in my small backyard as it wasn’t worth the effort for the amount of space it would take up to get good pollination. Once it gets to the middle of summer here in the southern hemisphere, corn becomes really cheap to buy anyway.

This is likely N deficiency.

Here's a guide to corn nutrient requirements https://www.pacificseeds.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Corn-nutrition-guide.pdf