What Is Hybrid Maize?

Because maize is parthenomorphic and cross-pollinated, it does not need to be detasseled, and therefore does not require a whole ear. The hybridization methods and steps are mainly for adjusting the flowering period, selecting plants, isolating, pollinating, pollinating and harvesting.

Corn hybrid

Because of unisexual flowering, maize must adjust the flowering period of the female and male tassel in the flowering period. The flowering period of father and mother can be adjusted by seeding in stages.

Both the father and the mother should choose plants with strong growth, no pests and diseases and typical traits of the variety as the object of crossing.

Before the female ears of the female plant have been exposed without protruding the stigma, wrap the female ears in a kraft paper bag. When the female ears began to pull out the stigma, they should be wrapped in kraft paper bags on the male ears of the male plants on the same day, and the female and male ears' paper bags should be tied with string or paper clips to prevent them from falling off.

It can be known from the flowering habits of the above corn that the tassel blooms the most within 2 to 4 days after flowering and enters the flowering period. The time of flowering most of the day is from 8 to 10 am, and the vitality of pollen at this time is also The strongest; female ears are in the flowering period 2 to 4 days after flowering, and the stigma is almost drawn. Therefore, the harvest time should choose the full bloom period of the father and mother, and choose 8-10 am for pollination. When collecting pollen, bend the male tassel slightly and shake it gently. Use artificial auxiliary pollinators to collect pollen, and prevent pollen from other species from mixing.

The artificial auxiliary pollinator is made of smooth thick paper into a conical paper tube, covered with a thick paper as a paper cover, and a sieve made of fine barbed wire, which is placed flat in the low tube. The collected pollen can be uniformly transferred to the stigma through a sieve.

When pollinating, first remove the paper bag on the female ear, and immediately use the artificial mouth of the auxiliary pollinator to align with the stigma of the female ear, and gently shake the pollinator to make the pollen fall on the stigma.

After pollination, the female ears are still covered with the original paper bag, but a certain distance should be left between the top of the bag and the top of the ear to prevent the paper bag from being broken due to the elongation of the fruit ear. After the paper bag is put in place, a card (or plastic card) should be attached to the base of the female ear, stating the hybrid combination, the date of pollination and the name of the operator.

After the female fruit ears are mature, they should be harvested separately along with playing cards (or plastic cards) and kept separately for seeding in the coming year to check the success of the cross.