Helm, C. A. (Charles Alton), 1889-1955

University of Missouri: MOspace

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION COLUMBIA, MISSOURI CIRCULAR 126 AUGUST, 1924 CORN SELECTION FOR EXHIBIT PURPOSES C. A. II E I. ~ t Th is hu shel lo t represen ts th e idea ll ype fo r Boone or Jo hn so n Coun t y Wh ile, i,l ca r Ai 1.t , sh .. pc kern el type. Thi s sam ple is as rough as is permiaaiblc ror th e v:1r i l Y. Corn shows, properl y conducted , have an importa nt pla ce in th e imp rove-ment of corn. Corn ex hibits tend to create inte res t and encourage d iscussio n on better seed and greater yield s. ritici s m of these ex hibiti ons is warranted on ly wh en ear har acters, co nditio ns, and qualities not definitely proved to ho: correlated with yield, are over-emphasized in th e judging of sa mpl es. In judging as well as in selecting corn for ex hi bit purposes two prin cipl es are inv Iv ed: (.I) productio n charac ters, and (2) " fan y". points. It wo uld be hig hl y desirabl e to eliminate all o f th e latter from co nsid e ration in judg in g, if such were possi ble. But no system has yet been devised, no r is likely to be foun d 2 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CIRCU LAR 126 which will do this completely. For example, in determining the relative value of two samples of corn, suppose both samples are equally high with respect to their productive characters. Their comparison on fancy points then. be.com:s a necessity in deciding their relative merits. Much the same pnncIple IS involved in judging the dairy cow, the horse, the beef animal, or the hog. However when samples are widely different with respect to production, their relative ';alues can and should be determined without giving any consideration to the less important appearances. Most of the characters usually considered in judging corn are listed below: Productive Characters Variety Maturity Germ condition Purity I nden ta tion Freedom from disease FaricyPoints Uniformity as to Ear length Ear shape Ear Color Kernel size Kernel shape Kernel depth Indentation . Good tips and butts HOW TO SELECT A SAMPLE OF CORN FOR SEED OR EXHIBIT PURPOSES Start the preliminary selection at husking time. Provide boxes on the sides of the wagon bed. In husking save all ears which without detailed ex-amination appear to be good seed ears. Rack or pile each day's selection in a well-ventilated place free from rats and mice. From five to several hundred bushels of good seed corn can thus be obtained with very little trouble and expense. This lot provides the stock for seed supply and from which samples for exhibit purposes ' are best selected. The ears should be allowed to dryas long as possible before selecting the samples. Select the ears first by an elimination process. Work the entire lot into two piles: (1) those ears of good size, shape, and type; and (2) those ears undesirable for seed or show purposes. Provide a large table and layout the good ears side by side, arranging them according to. length. Study this lot of corn carefully and select one ear which, in your opinion, is the best ear in the SELECTION OF COHN FOH EXI-IIllIT PURPOSES 3 entire lot. In selecting this ear consider fancy points entirely, and consider kernel type and indentation. carefully. With this ear as a guide select the additional ears needed-ears as nearly like the first one as possible. In other words, select the most uniform sample possible, selecting the com bination which gives you, from general appearances, the best quality sample .. Remove two to four kernels from the middle portion of each ear and place these kerriels at the butts of their respective ears. Taking one ear at a time, examine it carefully with respect to (1) maturity, (2) germ condition, (3) purity, (4) indentation, (5) freedom from disease. Throw out any ears which are bad with respect to any of the five qualities named. It is better to lose some of the sample uniformity rather than for the sake of uniformity, to in-clude ears which are immature, very rough, have bad germs, or carry mixed kernels. The ultimate object is to obtain a sample which (1) carries the highest possible perfection with respect to the five productive characters, (2) is in harmony with the ideal ear and kernel characters for the variety, and (3) has the best uniformity that can be obtained. When show corn is selected in this .way, corn for exhibit purposes and corn for seed purposes becomes one and . the same thing. Do not include in the sample any ears which are immature, that is, which twist easily between the hands, or on which the kernels are not firm. All ears should be fairly solid and kernels should be firm on the cob. Examine the ears carefully with respect to poor germs. Eliminate those ears which have discolored germs (germs dark brown or black) or from which kernels when removed break off exposing the germ. Avoid using cars which are extremely starchy. Man)' ears (especially those harvested before the ear is matured) are starchy and yet are of only medium indentation. In general, however, ears that are starchy will often be of very rough indentation. Select ears whose kernels which have a compara-tively small amount of crown starch, and range in indentation from mediuIll to medium rough. Purity is easily indicated in yellow corn by the color of the cap on the kernels. On account of the variation in kernel cap color on yellow corn only those ears which show distinctly white kernel caps should be classed as mixed. In white ears mixture is indicated by a yellow cast on the sides of the kernels. Mixed ears of white corn may usually be detected by studying the butt and tip kernels for mixture. Mixture can also be easily discovered by holding the ears in a good light and examining the kernel sides between the rows . . Compare the kernels that you have removed from each ear. Attempt to select all ears to give as near uniform kernels as possible. Kernels when removed from the ears should be reasonably uniform in width, depth, shape, amount of starch, germ condition, and the germs should all be relatively large.-ILLUSTRATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS IN SELECTION FOR EAR AND KERNEL CHARACTERS, INDENTATION, EAR SIZE AND SHAPE, AND VARIETY TYPES Figure 2. Ears of Reid 's Yellow Dent Th e samp le show n he re is we ll sc k c ted wir h I'(:S l'cc t ro kn ll l'1 widt h, shape, ;Ind ind entati u n. I To weve r, car ;) is too lo ng a nd s lcnt! t'I' I i II' hcst lIni -forl11irl ·. Ea r s .j,~ , fl , a nd 10 are l11ai nl )' n:s Jlo ll sihl e fo r rhe lack of lI n ifor l11it" th a t ex ists. No. ~ is too short , fl is a lso roo short a nd is roo smoo th in indenr;;-1i o l1 for rh c rl's r o f r hc sa III p ie. 10 is too s ho rr and rh ick, h llt ha s an l'xcl' l le n t kn ll l' 1 s ll a pc ;11lt! i nd cn ta tion . .i (i 7 \1 10 Ea rs 1, 2, 4, 0,7, a nd 10 a rc a ll wit hi n t he r an ge of id ea l t ype for R eid's Yell ow D ent, in ear shape, size, in de ll ta t io n and ke rn el widt h . Ears 4 and 6 have bes t bu tts a nd tips o f t he lo t and ears 6 a nd 10 ha ve t he bes t t ype o f kcrn e l. Th e ra nge in inci cn ta ti on of ea rs 2 , ."i, (i :l nd 10 is idea l fo r t hi s va ri e t y. Figure 3.- Ears of Reid's Yellow Dent T he ea rs show n in F ig . 3 (o pposite page) rep rese nt t ypes to av id . Ear 1, 2 and 3, d ue to t he ir sm o t h ncss, appea r p la in, a ll ow poo rl y sh aped ke rn els to s t and ou t clear lr, and ge nc ra ll y car ry a la rge pe rcen tage of shoo t )' , poor l)' sh aped, ker nels o n t he butts a nd tip. In reg io ns north and wes t of M issouri th ese t hree ea rs pro bably rep rese n t t he t y pe bes t ad apted. In t hi s S tate t he re is no in d ica ti on th at th ey will y ie ld more, i f as mu ch , as t hose t y pes illus tra ted as id ea l for th e Sta te. SEL ECTIO N OF C() I(N F(lI( l ~x ll[ IWr T' 11IU'()SES T he ker ne ls o n ca rs -J, [) and Ii a re d ecid ed ly to nar row for t he va r i c t~· s ta ndard . Co mpare th e ll1 wit h t he ke rn e ls ill li ig llre 2. I'::lrs 1 to !j in c lu sive ha vC' poo r '" (o rm ed hutts and tips. 2 ·1 !j Ii 7 Figure 4.- Ears of Reid's Yellow Dent The ea rs be low in d icate a ge ne ral la ck o f unifo rmit y throug htout th e samp le , toge th e r wit h v e r y poo r kern el and enr type. No te th e cx trc nl c ly nar row ke rn e ls o f cars 2, ;~, a nd 4. F.ars o th e r than 1 and 7 are tno s lend er. Fars -I and 7 h a ve poo r hut ts , and J , 4,!\ and '(l ha ve poor tips . Th e cars arc al s() too va ri ab le in size, s ha pe a nd le ng th. 1 2 3 4 5 7 ( ) :\11 ~~ I >l' I < 1 , \1 ; 1<1(,('1. '1'[ ' 1<.\1. 1'::\ 1' 1':1<1 ~I I ':r\ 'I' :-; '1' ,\ '1' 111 :'\ l' I I«(TT ,, \ I< 12 1) F igure 5" Idea l Types for R eid 's Yellow Den t Th l' lWOl'ar, s how n o n t hi s I'a ~l' rt' \lI'c ,c nt rhl' id"" l ll' \' <'S (<II' I{ l,id' , Yl, ll"w De ll i in C: lr sil.L' :J ll d s ha pe, i lld L' IlI :I I;o n :I n d kl' l" ll t, l c h :l r :l C' tt' l's. !\' t)tt' I h L' kt' l'll c lll lliforlllil\' in wid l h, sh,'I '" alld inde n tation, ' 2 3 4 5 6 7 Figure 6,- Ear s of Boone or J ohnson Coun ty White E a rs I , 2, 3, 6 ;tnt! 7 ha ve good ke rnel t y pes fo r t hi s vari e t y, H owever, t hey re prese nt t he ext re me a mo unt of in lentat io n t hat s ho uld be a llowed, A sligh tl y s moo ther i nde n t a t io n is mo re des ira ble , T he kernels o f e ar 5 w hil e no t too t hi ck a re too narrow for t hi s variety, Ea r 2 is iueal in s ha pe, s ize and has good ke r nels, Ea r I is too t hi k a nd s hort, ,E ar 3 is n e a rl ~ id ea l in s hape, but is a li t tl e t oo s m a,ll in circ u mfere nce, Kern el of ear 3 are ideal In s hape, bu t represe n t the m In imu m wIdt h a llowed. SELECT IO N OF C ()R N FO il Ex 111 1l1'!' P UR I'(jS ES 7 Figure 7.· Ears of Boone or Johnson County White Th is s~ n l p l e il lust ratcs the cfrect "r wide ,":lri:l, i,,"s ill C:lr , il.(" :llId s h:lpe, :111.1 ' rn e l widt h and indentati o n. ":ar I ha s id ea l kcrne l shape alld width , hilt is roo 1 ug h in inde ntat io n for bes t re sults in the State. CUlll pare the ke rnel s o f ca r I with thle oflcar 2. T he2ke rnCiS of ~~I r s 3 and .f4are a cce p t :~blc, bu r rq~:.ese nt t he :x tre mc in widt h for t he variety . Ke rn e ls f cars 5 and r. a rc e ntire ly loo wid e. Th e kerne ls of ea r 7 are a lso too wide and a re irr'egu lar in thi ckness . Figure B.- Ears of Boone or Johnson County White Th is samp le illus t rates t he e ll'ee t of se lec ting for ex tre me roug hn ess uf ind e ntation to o b ta in un i fo r m ity. Ea rs 2 a nd 3, es pec ia ll y car 2, a re classed as chalT"y. T he kern els a re vcr)' ro ug h and s ta rchy, loose o n t he co b a nd the ea r is ve r y ligh t. orn wit h t hi s deg ree of ro ug hne s is ge ne ra ll y of late ma tu r ity, a nd usua ll y assoc iated wit h immatu rit y a nd low vita li ty . T his t ype sho uld wit hout q uest ion be avoided in t hi s S tate fo r e ither seed ing o r exhi bit pur poses. Ea r 4 is ro ugh a nd ve ry s tarc~. Ear 1 is good type o f inde nta tion. 

Corn selection for exhibit purposes

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Missouri: MOspace