Hybrid Corn Seed Production?

[digitS']

Is this how it works?

It's kind of a guess that breeding hybrid corn is a fairly simple matter since the pollen producing tassels are located at the top of the plants, ears with silk are some distance down the stalks. Someone with more knowledge should correct me if my thinking is not right. @seedcorn ?

Pollen producing plants could be left alone. The seed produced on those plants would only be useful for corn hybridization. They might occupy every other row in the field.

Seed production would take place on plants with the tassels removed. In a field of corn grown for seed, rows of those plants would have their tassels cut off. Ears of seed would develop on those plants in a normal way. That seed will be harvested and sold.

Steve

 

[seedcorn]

Yes. 8 rows of females to 2 of male. Challenge is getting the timing correct for the pollination as there might be 10 days difference.

 

[Ridgerunner]

8 to 2. That's interesting. I'd have expected a closer ratio. Are there any tricks to spreading the pollen?

 

[digitS']

Thank You @seedcorn .

Isolation must be important.

I used to see a few fields of potatoes around -- in this area where next to no commercial potato production occurs. Those potatoes were isolated by hundreds of miles from other fields of potatoes. They were isolated for purposes of disease control, I was told.

I noticed some corn plants in a field of recently cut wheat. If seed production often takes place on the same farms, those volunteers could be a problem.

Steve

 

[seedcorn]

Seed usually grown on non corn ground from year before. Inbreds are sensitive to stresses.
Isolation is important. Maybe couple of females in field but only one male with border of male or different crop.

No tricks except getting pollination window synced between 2 inbreds. IF helicopter has to be used, seed gets real expensive-although never to level gardeners pay. Most of times, Seed company will just abandon the seed-purity issues as well as a seed size issue. Losses are figured into seed cost. Plants similar to mammals-1-12 eggs released by female while male releases thousands.

 

[Robert Mccluney]

8 to 2 is interesting