Growing Corn - With Information on Selection, Sowing, Growing and Pest Control of Corn Crops

Selecting and Testing Seed Corn

THE time to select seed corn is in the fall after the grain is thoroughly ripe, and the selection should be made in the field. This method enables one to know exactly the kind of stalk which produced the ear and to avoid those stalks which, although they may have borne one good ear, indicate by their general appearance that they would not reproduce a perfect stand the next season.

Seed corn selection is one of the most important details of growing the crop. It must be undertaken in a systematic manner, because slipshod and uncertain methods will only result in disappointment and failure.

Really seed corn should be raised on specially prepared ground from pedigreed seed, and this work should be undertaken at planting time.

When the corn is thoroughly ripe in the field the selection should be made by taking a row at a time and picking only those ears which come up to a certain standard fixed beforehand.

In the selection of the standard the farmer must make up his mind in advance whether he wants a large, coarse stalk with the ear high from the ground, or a smaller, stout stalk with the ear lower down.

If he desires a large ear with coarse grains, or a medium-sized ear with the grains compactly set, he must make his selections accordingly.

Right here, however, the selector is warned against a very common mistake—that is picking ears of abnormal size or appearance. If he wants a large ear with coarse and loosely set grains he may find an occasional ear bearing these characteristics in a very marked degree, abnormally so in fact, but it would be a mistake to select such an ear, because the tendency will be to increase variation and when these variations run to excess they are pretty sure to produce undesirable qualities.

It would be just as great a mistake if the selector is looking for a medium-sized ear with closely set grains to select an undersized ear with the abnormally sized grains.

It is a good plan to select seed from stalks of stout, healthy growth which have made uniform progress during the season and that are well provided with leaves so as to provide plenty of fodder. It is important to observe the tassel of the stalk to see that it is strong, symmetrical, well developed and free from any evidence of disease.

The stalk from which the ears are taken should be well rooted in the ground, upright, strong and vigorous, and any evidence of disease or abnormal growth should at once condemn it.

Only ears that are well silked and that are thoroughly covered with the husk from tip to tip should be selected. Here again it is a mistake to select ears bearing abnormally developed husks or husks that are too little developed.

If the ear contains an unusual amount of husk it is a sure sign of coarseness and will show up badly in next year’s crop.

The shank bearing the ear should be short and not over an inch or an inch and a quarter in diameter, and the ears pointing downward are the most desirable. These shed the rain and thus preserve the grain while those ears which stand upright, or nearly so, naturally catch moisture which trickles down into the grain and causes it to rot.

As to the number of rows and grains on the ear, these will vary with the variety, but in most standard varieties they run from 16 to 20, although they may run as high as 24 and still conform to standard.

If the number runs below 14 the ear should be discarded. The rows should run straight from butt to tip and those ears containing wavy rows or rows that become mixed at any point and lose their identity are not to be taken.

Do not select ears that are much larger at the butt than at the tip. The cob of the perfect ear should be perfectly straight and uniform in circumference.

The grain should be rather wedge-shaped but symmetrical and well formed and not too long. The tip of the ear should be perfectly covered with corn, as well as the butt. Not many ears containing these characteristics will be found in a random selection the first season; but by careful breeding, ears may be produced which will be perfectly covered at both ends and symmetrical in appearance from butt to tip.

In selecting seed corn it is necessary, of course, to aim at the perfect standard and not be content with anything else. If one goes to the trouble of making any selection, why not carry it out to its conclusion and strive to produce perfect grains instead of one half or three quarters perfect? Only the perfect grain is worth striving for. The selection of seed corn in the field is not any easy job or one quickly accomplished. It cannot be done in the usual corn picking way, but must be done with basket on arm and in a spirit of calm contentment even though a whole day’s work brings no more than a dozen perfect ears to the seed bin.

If the work is hastily done the chances are largely in favor of a poor crop the following year. What is a day or two spent in the selection of seed as compared to the increase of a year’s crop resulting from careful and wise selection?

The ears selected for seed should each be carefully marked and labeled and it is a good plan to make the label explicit. For this purpose a card two or three inches long may be used, upon which should be noted the character of the stalk, the quality of the tassel, the condition of the root, and other items necessary to a complete understanding of the nature of the plant which bore the seed.

These details are not likely to remain in one’s mind between the time of selection and the planting, and it is well to keep all these facts constantly noted.

The seed ears should be stored in a rat-proof room, not too cold nor warm enough to start germination in case of damp weather at any time during the winter. After the ears have dried a few days they should be husked and placed in racks, that they may cure uniformly.

Of course in the spring, two or three weeks before planting time, the seed must be thoroughly tested for germination power. This is as important as selection and even more so, because it is useless to go to the trouble of preparing ground and planting seed unless you know it will grow. Make sure that the seed corn has not been damp or frozen.

One of the simplest devices for testing seed corn is what is known as the cloth roll method. This was devised by a corn grower in Iowa and is now in quite general use in that state. It is especially valuable where a large amount of corn is to be tested.

All the apparatus needed is a knife and a few strips of muslin about six inches wide and 4 or 5 feet long. The ears to be tested should be laid out in rows where they may be gotten at conveniently. Wet one of the strips of muslin with warm water and lay it down in front of the row of corn. Begin at one end of the row of corn and take out 6 kernels from each ear. Place them on the cloth, beginning at the upper left hand corner and working across from left to right. Two rows down the strip of cloth are enough.

Mark off the cloth into squares and place the kernels from the different ears well apart. When the cloth is full begin at the upper end and roll it up carefully. Keep it stretched tightly crosswise while rolling and there will be little danger of the kernels getting out of place. After the cloth is rolled up you have the kernels from 50 or 60 ears in a compact roll.

As many of these rolls can be prepared as desired, the ears being tied up as the kernels are taken from them. On the outside of the roll mark the number of the last ear from which kernels were taken. This can readily be done with a soft pencil. It is not necessary to tie up the rolls, as the wet cloth will stick enough to hold them. Wet the rolls from time to time with warm water and keep up an even temperature until the germination is completed.

After the kernels have germinated enough so that the sprouts begin to appear at the end of the ears, the test is