What constitutes "good" corn germination?

Pulsegleaner

Garden Master
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
3,333
Reaction score
6,398
Points
306
Location
Lower Hudson Valley, New York
Hi all, quick question.

Over the last week or so, I have been running germination tests on some of my old (going on 20 yrs.) corn, to determine what percentage of it is actually going to grow (and hence, how much I have to sow to get a decent number of healthy plants)

Last night was the check time and the results are a little confusing. If I define "germinate" as simply beginning to sprout, the rate is a little over 50% (not great, but plenty good for leaving some seed over)

However most of those are literally just starting, and seem malformed (they look like their radicles were broken, but with one exception, I found no radicle fragments, so that can't be it). It seems to me that such seeds should probably not be counted as having germinated well and so the actual germination rate is something like 10-20% (in which case I need to sow ALL of it to get a decent shot at healthy plants.)

What do you think?
 

seedcorn

Garden Master
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
9,627
Reaction score
9,882
Points
397
Location
NE IN
In the seed industry, seed would be tossed. Since you are wanting to save seed, sow in hills, once up, kill any late stragglers in that hill (assuming more than one hill comes up.). Plant the hills about 1’ apart in a row. If 2 come up together, let them be. Kernel size you harvest will be smaller but size has nothing to do with germ rate or vigor.
 

Latest posts

Top