Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-08-01
Detasseling Corn.

Farmers hold different opinions
with reference to the cause of barren
stalks in the corn field. Some
claim that they are due to climatic
conditions, over which they have no
control. Many are, therefore, of the
opinion that it will not pay to give
attention to the matter of detasseling
barren stalks. This is true in a
limited sense. 1t will not pay a
farmer to detassel the barren stalks
in his main crop, because the yield
would probably not be altered, even
to the slightest extent, during the
first season. 1t will, however, pay
him to detassel the barren stalks in
his. breeding plot, and those who
have taken the. trouble of preparing
breeding plots should by all means
be ready to detassel not only the
barren but also the weak stalks,
just as soon as the tassels are we'll
out of the leaf sheaths and before
the pollen ripens.
There can be no question that
barren stalk has a tendency to re-
produce barren individual, conse-
quently if an ear on normal stalk
is fertilized with pollen from a bar
ren stalk many of the resulting
crosses will have tendency to pro
duce barren stalks in the future.
We are aware of the fact that this
view is not held by many good corn
farmers, but we are satisfied that it
is the correct view, judging from re-
suits obtained at the Minnesota and
other experiment stations during re-
cent years. A field of Minnesota
No. l3 corn, which variety has been
originated by the Minnesota station,
produced in 1903 only one per cent
OF barren stalks, whereas fields ad-
joining this one in which no attempt
had been made in years past to
breed out barren tendencies CON
tained as high as 20 per cent of bar
rem stalks, and we understand that
last year when the Minnesota station
desired to put a barren stalk of
Minnesota No. l3 corn on exhibition
at the state fair they were unable to
find a single barren stalk in large
field, which shows that barrenness
in this variety is practically bred
out.
We therefore advise every farmer
who is anxious to improve his corn
to detassel every barren stalk in his
breeding plot. If he will do this
every year for the next five or ten
years he will without question elimi-
nate barrenness from the variety he
is growing. A barren stalk is not
only worthless so far as yield Of
grain per acre is concerned, but it is
an actual damage, because a good
stalk might be grown in it's place on
practically the same amount Of plant
food and produce good ear. I'm
questionably, climatic conditions
have something to do with the num-
Der Of barren stalks in a field.
For instance, in a wet season corn
has tendency, to produce a large
number ofsMckers. 1t may produce
so many suckers that only part of
them can produce ears, consequent
~ 1t sometimes appears as though
barrenness were a direct result of
climatic- conditions. We believe,
however, that there are two kinds Of
barren stalks-one that has inherit
ed barren tendencies and one that is
barren because Of an insufficient
supply of plant food in the soil. 1t
is the stalk with the inherited bar
ren tendencies that we wish to elimi.
nate, and this can only be done by
continually detasseling the barren