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Pollenating Hybrid Corn

F

Fergienewbee

Well-known Member
Coming home, we saw several fields of corn with the tassel cut off. I know it has to do with making a hybrid but how do they pollinate the ears? Is it all hand work or is there a way to mechanically apply the pollen? Just curious.

Larry
 
I believe one out of 4 rows is the male plant, and will have the tassel on. Or a similar fraction of rows.

Tassels might not quite have been out on those if you didn't see them? Make plants are not harvested for seed, only the females.

Paul
 
All the stalks looked to be about the same length and all had similar "brush cuts." I thought in making hybrids they brought in tassels/pollen from other strains. Might be wrong on that.

Larry
 
They only leave the tassel on one out of every 4-5 rows. The rows left with the tassels on fertilize the detasseled plants resulting in hybrid seed.

I don't know what would be going on if all the plants were cut.
 
That would be very difficult and special to create a very few plants that way, not on a full field scale to hand pollinate.

Is it possible the male plants were on a different maturity and the tassels were not out yet, but the female corn had been detasseled?

Paul
 
Maybe if all the tassels are gone they are trying to get the baby ears you find in Chinese food? Those ears haven't started to grow because they haven't been pollinated.
 
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