Corn produces separate male and female flowers on the same plant.· • The ear represents the female flower of the maize plant.· • Severe soil moisture deficits can delay silking and disrupt synchronization of pollen release and silking availability, resulting in poor kernel set.· Read More

For those interested in semantics, let's review two definitions related to sex in the cornfield. Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains to silk by wind or insects. Fertilization is the union of male gametes from pollen with female gametes from ovules. Technically, pollination is almost Read More

A corn silk, a common species of corn silk, is a shiny, threadlike weak fiber that grows as part of the ear of corn; a cluster or fringe of silky fibers protruding from the tip of the ear of corn. The ears are surrounded by modified leaves called shells. Each individual fiber is an elongated style a Read More