Plants grown in high-density or crowded populations often do more energy into growth and maintenance than reproduction. For example,flowering may be delayed as plants allocate resources to growing taller and escape competition for light. This sensitivity to crowding stress has been observed in some varieties of sweet corn, but other varieties expose higher tolerance, and producing high yields even in crowded conditions. A recent University of Illinois and USDA Agricultural Research Service study attempted to uncover the genetic mechanisms of crowding tolerance in sweet corn.
Source: phys.org