Yes, they can be pruned off.

Should these side shoots be trimmed off, will the plant not waste energy supporting these side shoots.
Has anybody trimmed these off before.

Thanks Alex

Gosh, I haven't grown corn, but I've always read that you should leave the suckers on for more vigorous growth. I mean, I've read that in several different sources.... is it an old wive's tale?

Technically, it's "ok" to remove these suckers which are called "tillers". They're a sign of a healthy plant and may result in corn if the main stem is damaged by say... a tornado or animal, etc.

There is no definitive evidence on whether they result in higher yield if removed. Just as there is no difference in tomato yield if you remove the suckers of the plant.

It likely simply serves to make the human feel better because they feel like they're trying to do something or trying to force nature to appear uniform. But nature knows what it's doing, have faith.

Leave them or remove them - your choice. I usually leave them unless they grow out into the narrow walkway between rows and trip me. ;) I have had some produce ears. They were a bit smaller but just as good to eat.

I have always removed these side shoots. However, I never noticed any difference until last year. I planted 2 crops of corn. Same kind of sweet corn. On the first 4 rows, I did not prune it. The other 4 rows I did. I had 3 or 4 ears per plant on the rows that I did prune. The others had 1 and 2 ears. So here in East Texas, I guess it does make a difference. Or at least in my garden it did. I hope this info helps.

Opp