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Post by cornhusker007 on Jun 4, 2014 8:49:00 GMT -5
I really like this forum however but my interests lie more in hybridization. Always have been fascinated by corns response to heterosis. Are there any other forums that deal with amateur corn breeding?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jun 4, 2014 10:18:45 GMT -5
I really like this forum however but my interests lie more in hybridization. Always have been fascinated by corns response to heterosis. Are there any other forums that deal with amateur corn breeding? This if the forum for you: Detasseling corn to make hybridsF1 Corn hybrids
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Post by cornhusker007 on Jun 6, 2014 20:33:24 GMT -5
Well I'm glad. Im looking too breed a multi ear yellow dent for ear-lage feed. Starting next year.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jun 7, 2014 8:33:54 GMT -5
I'm actually going to mess around with detasseling this year. I was wondering at what stage folks on the forum like to do it? Youtube videos of commercial detasseling shows them yanking the tassels when they are still wrapped in at least one leaf, but it also looks like they go through the field with some kind of very tall mower as the top leaves all look trimmed square as the detasselers are walking through the field.
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Post by cornhusker007 on Jun 7, 2014 8:45:41 GMT -5
When I was in high school I worked for a local seed company detasseling. The machine you speak of was either the old style lawn mower blade or one that has two rubber tires that run opposite directions and pull the tassel and a few leaves. My group was doing mostly popcorn and sweetcorn. Too short for those machines so we pulled all by hand. You always wanted to have at least one leaf around the tassel.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jun 7, 2014 9:30:12 GMT -5
The fastidious part of me hates to sacrifice a leaf that the plant could use, but I can see a lot of good reasons to take the top leaf along with the tassel. That way you are removing the entire node section below the tassel and there's no chance of breaking the tassel and leaving a potion of it to shed pollen.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jun 7, 2014 16:59:00 GMT -5
I detassel as soon as I can get hold of the tassels. Sometimes that might mean taking the topmost leaf, but I leave the leaf if possible. Sometimes the top leaf comes out anyway even if I don't specifically grasp it. In most cultivars the tassel is not attached very firmly so they come out easily. The stalk doesn't attempt to send up a second tassel, but there might be multiple stalks on a plant. It's only a couple times per year that I bust the top off mid-tassel.
In my garden huitlacoche often grows from the detasseling scar.
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Post by DarJones on Jun 7, 2014 19:22:03 GMT -5
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Post by 12540dumont on Jun 7, 2014 20:17:56 GMT -5
Joseph, that's why I hate detasseling corn. Every time I get a "corn" injury huitlacoche grows. I don't want it. It reduces my yield and I can't even begin to tell you what happens to my nose with those 10,000 spores release. Achoo. And no, I'm really not fond of the flavor. And no, I don't have a market for it. And yes, it's hard to get rid of. Basically, it's almost like where I get huitlacoche, I can't plant corn again.
I might just bag mine instead. I sewed about 100 bags for my CSA last year. I wet the bags, and pack easily wilting greens in them, and root crops like beets, carrots. I might just deploy them as tassel bags. Any thoughts?
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Post by DarJones on Jun 7, 2014 21:25:02 GMT -5
scissors. You can cut the tassel off before it opens and releases pollen. The open stem will be high enough to dry out and won't get infected.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jul 7, 2014 6:59:26 GMT -5
So I've begun detasselling in my flour corn, this is a new process for me and I've clearly made some mistakes. At least in the Coroico flour corn I've first started detasseling, it appears to be best to wait until the tassel is fairly well up out of the whorl before yanking it. If you try and do it as soon as the tassel becomes visible I've ended up tearing off far too many leaves along with the tassel.
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Post by 12540dumont on Jul 8, 2014 19:29:39 GMT -5
Well, I've decided to plant everything out this year, and worry about de-tasseling next year. foothillfarm.blogspot.com/Where you can see Dar's corn. It's growing so fast, I think it's snapping.
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