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:) I like this photo, Susan.
Shedding pollen? hmmm
Shedding pollen? hmmm
Life really is one big circle.
It is, Mary.
I never heard of de-tasseling, I will have to ask our neighbor the farmer about it.
Are you recovered from the grandchildren's visit? The picture of the girls is very cute, they look so tan! They must have had a great time together. Our grandkids went to a family party Thursday and each when home with someone else for a sleep over. Seeing their cousins is always special.
Are you recovered from the grandchildren's visit? The picture of the girls is very cute, they look so tan! They must have had a great time together. Our grandkids went to a family party Thursday and each when home with someone else for a sleep over. Seeing their cousins is always special.
Susan, have you done any field work during your married life?
Chris, detasseling corn is done to produce hybrid seed corn -- which is what our family business was. I don't think there is much hybrid seed corn produced in New York state -- but there are a lot of seed production fields around here.
If you look closely, you can see the corn field looks stripey. That's because there are two separate kinds of parent plants in the field. The "female" plant, the one which will produce the ears used for next year's seed, has to have the tassels removed so it won't shed pollen. The "male" plant sheds the pollen for the female silks. Its ears won't be harvested. Just the ears on the female plant will be harvested. Yes, it's labor intensive. I talked about this on my July 30 blog as well, if you're interested.
What Jim is doing these days, is working for an independent inspector, inspecting fields to make certain it was detasseled properly and the hybrid is what the marketer says it is. This particular field had corn hybrids for Monsanto. Jim's not working for Monsanto, he's working for Illinois Crop Improvement, certifying the field.
If you look closely, you can see the corn field looks stripey. That's because there are two separate kinds of parent plants in the field. The "female" plant, the one which will produce the ears used for next year's seed, has to have the tassels removed so it won't shed pollen. The "male" plant sheds the pollen for the female silks. Its ears won't be harvested. Just the ears on the female plant will be harvested. Yes, it's labor intensive. I talked about this on my July 30 blog as well, if you're interested.
What Jim is doing these days, is working for an independent inspector, inspecting fields to make certain it was detasseled properly and the hybrid is what the marketer says it is. This particular field had corn hybrids for Monsanto. Jim's not working for Monsanto, he's working for Illinois Crop Improvement, certifying the field.
Anne, I've managed to avoid the field work, though our kids detasseled in their day. Sounds like too much work for me!
Very interesting! I did read your prior blog but was confused about the subject (corn sex?). We have lots of corn here but I never thought about where the seed came from. Just got back from a walk by miles of corn fields.
Still interesting to read your comments, Susan! I'd be with you...not in the field!
Nothing changes, or so it seems. good for him getting back into things. Keeps him off the streets. I love the idea of a church workig together in the fields to raise money.
2008-08-08
steps: 24,556
this post's link
"Really?" We're talking about nearly 50 years ago, here.
"Yes. Those machines were nothing. Wouldn't go in the mud. Weren't tall enough. Weren't enough of them. Had to walk often as not. I remember the church doing detasseling. Must have been a fund-raiser of some sort."
So here's the field. Irrigation system on the right -- this is in the sandy area near the Illinois River. Farmstead on the hill on the left -- most farmsteads were built on the small hills or rises to get them out of the low-lying fields.
Hm. 50 years, and he's right back in fields shedding pollen.