![]() Certain conditions can lead to kernel abortion or abnormalities in kernel weight. Once successfully pollinated, the silks will detach from the kernel and begin to dry up (or turn brown).Ĭorn plants are very vulnerable to environmental stressors during silking and pollination. A whole field can take up to 14 days before it is successfully and entirely pollinated. Once pollen shed occurs, the fertilization process should take around 24 hours. Grains can travel with the wind and typically disperse throughout the same field.Īs for timing, silks are typically fully emerged when pollination occurs. In most cases, these pollen grains do not pollinate the same plant they originate from. Each tassel contains roughly 6,000 anthers, and these anthers (from one tassel) release anywhere between 2 to 5 million plus pollen grains. After temperatures rise from their overnight lows and relative humidity drops, this triggers the anthers to release their pollen, so pollen shed typically happens between 8 and 11 a.m. After they have released their pollen, they may remain hanging from the tassel for several days or weeks. Anthers are pollen-containing sacs that open up during pollination. Not every kernel is successfully pollinated, so most ears (in a good year) will produce only 400 to 600 kernels.Īs silks emerge, anthers (which are located on the tassels) should be visible. A single ear is estimated to have anywhere between 750 to 1,000 kernels. ![]() They will not stop growing (or elongating) until pollinated. Silks begin forming at the base of the ear and move up to the tip of the ear. This allows a greater window for pollination, especially during drought stress when silking can be delayed. ![]() However, through Stine’s breeding program, we discovered that some of the most stress-tolerant plants silk earlier than pollen shed. Traditionally, silking and pollen shed have been thought of as having to occur simultaneously for successful reproduction. Silk emergence (R1 growth stage) is the start of the reproductive period in corn. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin to see silks and pollen shed in your fields. Pollination and silking are two of the most important stages in corn progress and vital in determining grain fill and, ultimately, yield. ![]() Three Things to Know About Silking and Pollination in CornĪs of July 19, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that 59 percent of the nation’s corn crop is silking. ![]()
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