Presented by Sarah Noller & Christy Marsden
2012 Seed Savers Exchange Webinar Series
Corn Hand-Pollination
Our mission is to save North America’s diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.
Corn is a monoecious plant, having separate male and female flowers on the same plant.
The male flower is the tassel which produces anthers that shed pollen. The female flower is the ear. The silks are the stigmas and are receptive to pollen along their entire length.
Corn is a monoecious plant, having separate male and female flowers on the same plant.
The male flower is the tassel which produces anthers that shed pollen. The female flower is the ear. The silks are the stigmas and are receptive to pollen along their entire length.
Each silk is attached to an ovary that will become a kernel if successfully fertilized. There are several essential steps in controlled pollinations of corn.
Ear shoot bags - Lawson
Tassel bags - Lawson
Colored Flagging Ribbon (red, orange, blue, and purple)
Stapler & Staples
Permanent markers
Hand-held metal strainers
Scissors and/or pruners
Hand sanitizer
Aprons (for carrying pollinating supplies)
All-weather journal for keeping track of pollinations in the field
Materials
Step 1Ear Shoot Bagging and Cutting Back Silks
Step 2Bagging Tassels
Step 3Collecting Pollen
Step 4Pollinating
Thank you! Questions?
2012 Seed Savers Exchange Webinar Series
For more information please visit these resources:
Seed Savers Exchange website: www.seedsavers.orgForum: forum.seedsavers.org
Online Yearbook: yearbook.seedsavers.org
To learn more about seed savingRead Suzanne Ashworth’s Seed-to-Seed
Visit www.seedalliance.org for the free publication, A Seed Saving Guide for Gardners & Farmers
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