Best guess - lack of sufficient pollination. Bees aren't relevant to corn but if the silks on the second ears don't get sufficient pollen from the tassels then you get small undeveloped ears.

Dave

Pretty much all 1st ears great all 2nd (and any more) nothing. I was pollinating myself and all 4 groups this is the same, seems highly unlikely it is pollination. Unless my hand pollinating was useless and they self pollinated - 1st ears are always the highest - lower ears were all 2nd and all no good. Obviously they are further away.

I think that is pretty normal at least for the corn I grew.

gumby has it right, Most of mine make one nice ear. A few make a viable second ear, but it usually is not as full.

Last year I had 2nd and 3rd ears on almost every stalk - and again the 2nd ears this yera had NO developed kernels, zero - but all 1st ears were great. Weird.

You haven't mentioned which variety this year or last?

The timing of water and soil fertilization play a large role in corn development.

fwiw - did you know that each strand of silk goes down to a kernel? So missing kernels would result from a pollination problem.

Corn usually puts out 2 or 3 potential ears with each having silks. Unless corn is widely spaced, has enormous fertility, or is some freak variety, only one ear usually develops fully.

Out in field corn it is the same. On an outside row where there is extra room beside the plant or where the stand is thin [but healthy] 2 ears may well develop. The plants senses and knows its limitations.

this is normal. never had a 2nd ear worth anything in 50 years experience.

Thanks it was sugar buns corn and yes I know each silk is a "Fallopian tube" again not a single kernel developed - zero. They stayed small too. I swore I got good 2nd and 3rd ears in the past. I know I did sometimes - maybe not full and every kernel good but acceptable.

I have noticed something that is a bit strange...and then maybe not so strange. I usually have a few corn plants that are not as healthy as the rest. These make a smaller ear, yet I find these to be smaller grained and more tender than all the rest when picked at just the right time!!!

My corn put out just one nice ear too--this year. I've had two or even three ears per stalk in previous years, IIRC.

I've had better years for corn. (I grow Vision, from Johnny's Seeds--super sweet, my husband says it's the best he's ever eaten.) The stalks were very small this year. Although I still got one nice ear per stalk, the stalks themselves seemed significantly smaller than the ones last year. Just one of those garden mysteries, perhaps?