Breeding corn

  • Breeding corn

    Posted by Hugh_Glass on September 14, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    I’m trying to make my own corn varietie. I have selected corn that has traits that I like. I plan to put seed in the ground next spring and get my F1 hybrid. Any tips?

    Hugh_Glass replied 2 years, 2 months ago 2 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • BiggKidd

    Member
    September 15, 2022 at 1:10 am

    So you have two strains you’re going to hybridize? Are you going to pollinate with the taller breed and cut the tassels on the shorter?

  • Hugh_Glass

    Member
    September 15, 2022 at 2:18 am

    I dunno I have never done this before and have read what I can find on the subject. I never thought to cut the tassels on the shorter. Is this to keep my hybrid from getting the genetics of the shorter corn?

  • BiggKidd

    Member
    September 15, 2022 at 2:45 am

    To make a hybrid you have to pollinate one plant with another. So yes the top has to be cut off one type before it can be pollinated by the other so the seed is truly hybrid. I looked in to trying this a couple years ago and decided I had better things to do with my time.

  • BiggKidd

    Member
    September 15, 2022 at 3:02 am

    Trying to remember everything I learned. If I remember correctly you can cut the top / pollen head (I misspoke when I said tassels) off either type of your two types corn plants leaving the other to pollinate itself and the plants you took the top off of. Then you have your hybrid seed to plant the next year from the plant that had the tops cut off of. Typically they hand pollinate small batches and then bag the silks. Larger patches usually have a couple rows of pollinators and a few rows of plants being pollinated on the windward side. One thing you have to keep in mind is corn pollen can travel great distances and foul up your cross.

    Check out some youtube videos on it I don’t remember being able to find a lot of info in print when I was doing research.

  • Hugh_Glass

    Member
    September 15, 2022 at 11:58 am

    Ok thanks. And yeah corn pollen can travel super far so I have to watch when the farmers around me are planting their corn.

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