Only three or four are selected to be sold the next season. Between July 10 and 15, about five dozen teenagers are hired to pull tassels from the corn plants in predetermined rows. More would be hired if they applied for detasseling duty. The children must be at least 13. This sweaty job is a necessary step in providing hybrid seeds for the market.
Tassels sprout from the top of each corn plant and are the source of pollen for the crop.
By pulling the tassel off an entire row of corn, those plants lose their male feature and become females only. They will grow ears. Pollen from the remaining male rows is blown by wind onto the long, hairlike strands, known as silk, on the adjoining female rows. This so-called silk extends from small sleeves on the stem. Cobs eventually will develop inside those sheaths.