Corn Question...

[Dug]

What is detasseling corn? What was the purpose and do farmers still do it today?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hybrid corn uses male and female plants. The tassels are the male part, the silks on the ears the female parts. To control the pollenation to make a hybrid, different parent plants are planted (sometimes at different times) generally 4 or 5 female rows with 1 or 2 male rows. The tassels are removed from the female rows (detasseling) and the male rows supply all the pollen. Then once the silks are pollenated, the male rows are removed. That's how hybrid seed corn is produced. There are machines that do some of the detasseling, but crews still go through the field making sure the machine didn't miss any.

Gerald J.

 

[Anonymous-0]

dekalb seed corn once had lots of seed corn near warren il also had some near shannon - lanark area. lots of kids earned some of their school money detassling corn.
one crew leader told his guys i'm going to see were that crew is from down the road from us are from.
most of the guys went shirtless in corn feild.
he was soon back those guys down the road weren't guys they were girls going topless. one dad told my dad "my wife told me our daughters have places red that shouldn't be red."
the farmers got to pick the male rows and end rows that dekalb didn't want. i knew of 1 guy that grew corn for them and he said he always came out very happy growing seed for them.

 

[NEsota]

Last weekend I talked with a friend in N.E. Iowa who’s family has grown seed corn for Pioneer for 49 years Methods change but currently they plant eight 30" rows, six female rows and two male. About a week later the planter goes through the field again. This time, the six female rows are not touched and the male are planted again, purpose being to extend the fertility period of the males. Older male corn may have cause for age discrimination action.