Sampling of aspects of crop agriculture is difficult and care must to be used to draw conclusions from results of tests of samples.  Biology of the plant and varying environments affect the predictability of the sample’s test result.  Nearly everyone participating in agriculture realizes this problem within a short time of exposure, although it is not always expressed.
 
Seed producers are aware that each seed within the production field did not have exactly the same environment and that each seed can be potentially with a different parent and environmental interaction during and after the growing season. Seed producers attempt to use field and facility methods to limit potential problems that could eventually affect performance of the hybrid in grower’s fields.   After using these efforts, the next challenge is to predict the success of these efforts to have good purity and germination. 
 
Sampling of seed usually begins after ears are dried and shells.  Methods are used to take general bulk sample by some randomizing technique. This bulk is the sized that includes those that represent different portions of the ear, the rounds tending to be at both ends and the flats in the center. This essentially is allowing checking seed with differing pollination dates that could affect purity. Shapes of the kernels also potentially affect germination viability.
 
Seed sizes are submitted to purity and germination test often before final bagging procedures have begun.  Number of seed included in sub-sample to be tested varies by testing method. Effectiveness of the test in predicting the eventual seed effect on field performance is dependent upon the sampling accuracy, sample size and testing accuracy in evaluation.  
 
Even if the initial sampling of the seed lot is done with care, there remains a randomness factor with test sample size. The percentage of seed germinating in a lot, or percent of outcross plants actually in the lot determined by the test is affected by the test size.  As summarized in https://www.statisticshowto.datasciencecentral.com/probability-and-statistics/find-sample-size,
a germination or purity test of 100 seeds showing 100% has a 95% probability of actually being between 96-100% where as if the test size was 400 seeds showing 100% purity or germination, the actual has 95% probability of being 99-100%.  If test result showed 96%. on a 100 seed test, the actual has a 95% probability of actually being between 90-99% where as a 400 seed test is probably between 94 and 98%.

Sampling of seed lots and testing methods including number of seed tested affect the accuracy of predicting the actual germination and purity of a seed lot.
 

​Obtaining reliable predictions of percentage of occurrence of any biological feature within a population is extremely difficult.  Hybrid seed corn in which two parent inbreds, rarely perfectly homozygous for all genetics, needs to be evaluated for potential problems with purity problems due to contamination within the parent seed or outside pollen fertilizing the ovules. 
 
Seed producers use all reasonable approaches to limit these possibilities but environments within the seed field can affect the purity as well.  Extreme dry areas can delay silk emergence but rarely delay pollen production by the male inbred.  Consequently, female silks remain viable for potential fertilization by pollen from hybrid fields.  Such outside pollen can be genetically segregating, resulting in genetics varying from the correct hybrid, but with each of the resulting plants different from the correct hybrid and different from each other.  Corn pollen can remain viable while carried by wind for at least a mile.  Lack of timely distribution of correct male inbred pollen, increases the potential contamination by foreign corn pollen.
 
Stressed plants in a hybrid production seed field also may cause delayed tassel production leading to the possibility of missing a few plants from having tassels removed from the female inbred parent. This can lead to self-pollination of the female parent resulting in inbreds within the hybrid seed corn.
 
Hybrid seed corn producers are well aware of these potential problems and use multiple methods to avoid purity problems.  Despite their field management and care, there are circumstances that are difficult to overcome.  Consequently, checking the purity and germination of the resulting seed needs to be done after the seed is harvested.
 
Each kernel of seed corn can be distinct in origin.  Those at the base of the female parent ear were probably fertilized a few days earlier than those at the tip.  It is possible that the source of pollen could be different simply because of timing conditions at that location of the field.  Seed producers are aware of these possibilities and significant problems to hybrid corn performance are rarely released to sales.  Testing for purity of the hybrid seed sizes allows the eventual discard of any highly contaminated seed sizes from those being sold.  
 
Seed companies give considerable effort to produce and sell pure hybrid seed. These are tasks easily overlooked as one views uniform hybrid corn fields from the roadway.

​A few corn plants on the edges of fields are showing the deformed tassels as predicted with the very wet spring.  Corn Journal summarized the main factors of standing water relationship with this disease in the issue dated 6/18/19 and 5/30/17 blogs.  It is always somewhat surprising because the disease symptoms are most evident after tassels develop but the infection occurred a few months previous to symptom development.  Here is a copy of the 6/18/19 blog concerning this disease.

​Excessive rain in much of the USA Corn Belt in 2019 with ponds of water in areas of fields can encourage infection by a fungus that has swimming spores.  Corn Journal blog of 05/30/17 may be appropriate for this year as well.
 
One of the effects can be infection by an organism called Scleropthora macrospora.  This is a fungus-like organism belonging to a group of organisms called Oomycetes. Also, in this group are pathogens causing Downy Mildew and Pythium diseases of corn and other plants.  Common among these are the ability to form thick walled spores to withstand stress environments that can release swimming spores when in water-saturated soil.  S. macrospora infects more than 140 grass species in addition to corn.  
 
The source of infection of corn is often grasses near a low spot or edge of a field.  Oospores in the flooded living and dead leaves release swimming spores (zoospores) when close to the corn submerged leaf tissue these zoospores release a germ tube that infects the plant. The filaments (hyphae) grow towards the meristems throughout the life of the plant.  This can initially be seen as fine stripes in the leaves, but the most obvious symptom is proliferation of leafy aberrations of the tassel- the crazy top symptom.  Scleropthora macrospora also can grow to the ear bud meristem, causing similar multiple ears from a single node- but no grain.
 
Related oomycetes occurring in warmer, subtropical and tropical environments can cause similar symptoms.  These downy mildew diseases can also cause the proliferation of the tassels and ears. Susceptible genotypes can have severe grain loss from these diseases.  Scleropthora macrospora infection is usually limited to a very small area near grass in a low part of the field.
​
Infection occurs when the plants have less than 6 leaves.  Symptoms that show late in the season, but the problem began with excessive rain that occurred only a few weeks after planting.  That early moisture that may contribute to large yields can allow this pathogen to form these unusual corn structures in a few spots of the field.  In addition, it is just part of the interesting biology of corn.

​Individual plants in corn fields are starting to show red leaves as the season approaches the final days of grain fill.  Close observation of these plants reveals that they have very few kernels, generally because of poor fertilization.  These plants probably were silking only after most pollen in the field was gone, perhaps because of late emerging seedlings or other causes of late silk emergence such as moisture stress.
 
Red pigments are caused by production of a flavonoid known as anthocyanin.  Many plant species produce anthocyanins, especially in reaction to stresses such as low temperatures, diseases or insect damage. Anthocyanin compounds accumulate in cells as water soluble compounds in cell vacuoles. It is derived from glucose in a synthesis and is linked to accumulation of glucose within the cells. It has the effect of absorbing light with effect of reducing photosynthesis.  
 
It is not completely clear the advantage to the corn plant to reduce glucose production by absorbing less light for photosynthesis.  Perhaps it reduces the callose development in phloem tissue that could reduce the flow of glucose to the few developing kernels.  It is clear that it is related to accumulation of glucose in the leaf tissue because of reduction of transport to grain.

​Corn has benefited from human’s selection process annually for the past 10000 years.  This has occurred over multiple environments with preference towards stability of desired characteristics of the grain. This usually led towards increase in grain storage of starch.  With the realization of value of hybrids between parents from unique heritage, the combination of those genetics added to the greater grain yield.  Combinations of 30000 genes from both parents creates a stability in multiple environments.
 
Genetics affecting root size and direction, essential to water and mineral uptake for the plant is also influenced by genetics affecting efficiency of transport of carbohydrates from the leaves to supply energy for the growth.  Volume of carbohydrates produced in leaves is influenced by multiple genes affecting leaf size and intracellular dynamics.  Even resistance to most leaf diseases involves 3-4 genes directly limiting the pathogen.
 
Genetics affect the timing of the production of pollen and emergence of female stigmata (silk).  Genes contribute to movement of water to the ovules for extension of the silk from the leaves surrounding the ear shoot.  Number of ovules, potential size of endosperms, quantity and strength of hormones causing the flow of carbohydrates to the pollinated ovules is affected by genes.  
 
All of these genes are selected for stability under multiple environments, some with annual extremes of mineral, water and sunlight supplies.  Multiple genes contribute to stable performance of successful corn hybrids.  

​Annual plants such as corn undergo physiological changes after flowering, especially in corn that is genetically selected to maximize capture of products of photosynthates in the grain. Flow of carbohydrates within the plant are directed by hormones produced in meristems.  Before flowering that flow went to growing leaves and roots near meristems.  Excess carbs were stored in parenchyma cells in stalk tissues.  After flowering, hormones direct the flow towards the developing kernels.
 
Genetics and environments influence the intensity of the flow. Hybrids that tend to have more total starch in the ear either because of more kernels or larger kernels are favored by humans but risk early death of roots and leaf tissue that still require the energy provided by carbohydrates for cellular metabolism.  Environments that reduce optimum photosynthesis during the grain fill period accelerate the depletion of carbohydrate reserves stored in the stalk tissue.  In some hybrids, perhaps all, the depletion becomes most evident in the stalk tissue near the flag leaf, eventually resulting in an abscission layer to form at the base of the flag leaf, cutting off water to that leaf and eventual wilting of the leaf.  Fungi such as Colletotrichum graminicolaare able to invade the outer rind of that small stalk tissue with typical anthracnose symptoms.  This loss of productive photosynthetic tissue in the small leaf is insignificant and could be indicating good grain fill. Loss of significant root tissue is more important.
 
The challenge of the corn breeder is to select hybrids that have the balance of maximum grain production capturing all carbohydrates available without causing too much damage to needed life functions in the plant.  The challenge of the grower is to provide environments that maximize this possibility.

​It not easy to correlate all environmental and genetic factors to predict time between pollination and formation of the abscission layer (black layer) at base of kernels when the season is as abnormal as 2019 in the USA corn belt.  It is established that heat determines the differentiation of growing point into flowering structures instead of leaves in temperate corn hybrids.  We mostly classify relative corn maturities among hybrids either by days to black layer or by total heat units, somewhat assuming that the difference between total heat units to black layer and heat units to flowering is the heat units needed to fill the grain.
 
But are heat units as important for that fill period as it was for determining differentiation of apical meristem?  Photosynthesis rate is mostly constant and optimum when temperatures are between 72°F-82°F, slower at 55° and above 85° F, according to one study (Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 28, Issue 3, June 1977, Pages 519-524).
 
General metabolism in the corn plant is affected by temperature but it generalized that the optimum is between 55° and 85° as calculated by the GDU’s.   However, does that apply to the metabolism directly involved in translocation of carbohydrates from leaves and stem to the grain?  Or is it simply about 55 days from pollination to end of grain fill even if cooler than usual for corn even when pollination was later in season in 2019>
 
Temperatures affecting grain fill during this late flowering seasons probably will give us new information concerning factors affecting black layer formation in corn.
 
 

​Prior to pollination corn plants are dependent upon roots to absorb minerals and water to be transferred to the developing above-ground growth.  Size and efficiency of roots of each plant are major in supporting the growth.  Genetics and environments are major factors in successful leaf and stalk development.  Photosynthates produced in the leaves are transported to the roots through living phloem cells to supply energy for growth of the roots and active uptake of minerals.  Living cells of root cells, including the root hairs that are active, uptake of mineral ions requires the energy to move them from a lower concentration in the soil to a higher concentration in the root cells. 
 
Water uptake from the soil is moved to the xylem cells, that are essentially non-living tubes, in which the water tension character allows water to be pulled into the root and up to the stem and leaves.  As a molecule of water either transpires through leaf stomata or used in new upper cell development, a molecule of water is pulled into the root.  Water absorption and transport to above plant parts is a physical process mostly carried out in dead cell tissue but is dependent upon continuation of the tubes.
 
Mineral transport into roots, and transport of energy for this process, is directed by plant hormones produced in meristems.  After pollination, the hormones produced in the seed embryos, direct sugar transport to the developing kernels.  As this redirection increases with growth of kernels, transport of energy to the root cells decreases.  Water transport system continues but mineral absorption from the soil is reduced. Root expansion stops.  One of the functions of the living cells is to ward off potential fungal invaders by actively producing anti-fungal chemicals.  As the energy for these cells is reduced, the resistance to microbes also is reduced, increasing vulnerability of xylem being plugged by fungal mycelium.
 
Now it becomes a race to the finish.  Did the plant produce and transport sufficient carbohydrate to root cells before pollination to sustain enough living functions in roots to avoid destruction by fungi?

​Every year, fields of corn are different from other years.  This year, in the USA, it is more different than usual. Most of it is related to extreme delays in planting time and some by soil moisture extremes.  After the first 10 days after pollination, kernels begin to absorb carbohydrates at about 2% of their final total per day.  This rate continues for the next 40 days, drawing on the new photosynthetic production plus reserves stored in the pith cells of the stalk.  Genetics and environments before and after pollination contribute to the amount transferred each day to the kernels.  The number of kernels on the plant affect the total being transferred. 
 
Uneven environments associated with late planting and extreme wet soils results in wide differences among individual plants, resulting in uneven numbers of pollinated ovules, and plant to plant differences in numbers of kernels per plant within a field.  Individual plants that emerged later than adjacent plants may have same number of kernels as adjacent plants but will not have same photosynthesis rate because of shading from adjacent plants.  Competition for uptake of minerals will probably also be inferior.  Hybrids that have high number of pollinated ovules, despite this early stress, may have a larger draw of carbohydrates to the ear but the delayed emergence plants of these hybrids may deplete supply stored in stalks, developing early death of roots, leading to stalk rot.
 
2019 corn production in the USA will be different.  Biology is the same, the environment is different.

​Energy for corn growth comes from carbohydrates soon after seedling emergence. Multiple physiological, structural and environmental factors affect the production of those carbohydrates during the development of each mature plant.  Size and directions of the leaves affects penetration of light into the canopy. Minerals affect the conversion of light energy into chemical energy. After pollination these factors influence ability of the plant to produce sufficient carbohydrates to each developing kernel with minimal transfer of carbohydrates stored in the stem tissue.  This Corn Journal blog of August 16, 2016 addresses the relationship between light intensity and photosynthesis in corn.
 
Our eyes don’t allow us to be aware of differences in light intensity, but the photosynthesis rate in corn leaves is very sensitive to this factor.  Having a C4 photosynthesis system, the rate of photosynthesis in an exposed chloroplast increases directly with light intensity up to full sunlight.  C3 plants, such as soybeans, can only use 3/10ths of full sunlight hitting the leaves.  Several years ago, I carried a light meter to measure foot candles in many corn environments to help me understand light intensity differences.  Measuring in foot candles is not quite as good as PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) measurements as done with more recent instruments but it did demonstrate to me the differences in light intensity within corn environments.
 
Full, unobstructed sunlight has intensity of 10000 fc (foot- candles) when measured in Ohio, Illinois and in Colorado.  However, the measurement in the shadow of a single corn leaf is only 1000 fc.  That portion of the leaf in the shade of the single leaf is only producing 1/10th the carbohydrate as the same area of the leaf fully exposed to direct sunlight.  The lowest leaf in a canopy receives only about 50fc, hardly enough to sustain its own tissue and is one of the reasons that these leaves disintegrate.  As shown in the graph above, cloudy days also reduce the photosynthetic rate in corn plants.

It is a precarious balance between sugar demands established in the ear after pollination and factors affecting photosynthesis in fields.  Growers are in control of some factors such as hybrid selection, fertilizers and plant density but others such as rain affecting kernel numbers, or leaf diseases potentially removing effective leaf area and cloudy weather can drastically affect whether the corn plant stays alive until the completion of grainfill.
 

The biology of the corn plant after the initial ten days of movement of glucose to the developing kernels is consistent with nearly all hybrids.  This Corn Journal blog of August 2016 applies even in the USA Midwest wild summer of 2019.

​As the corn embryo develops, and the cytokinins accumulate in the pollinated ovule after the first 10 days, there is a constant translocation of sugars to each kernel for each day.  The total daily movement continues for about the next 40 days, almost regardless of daily variable rates of photosynthesis due to cloudy weather or leaf damage from disease.  Sugars are drawn from all leaves and even those stored in the stalk pith tissue.  The total draw to the ear is determined by genetics of the variety, environmental factors including minerals and the number of kernels.  The number of kernels is also determined by genetics and environment factors such as minerals and especially water available during ovule formation and pollination. 
 
The daily transfer of sugars during days 50 to 60 of grain fill is greatly reduced until the abscisic acid affect causes thick cell walls to form at the base of the kernel, cutting off the sugars transfer into the kernel and the movement of water from the kernel.  This is known as the black layer.
 
Sugars translocated to the ear are sugars not available to other living tissue in the plant.  Roots are especially dependent on the same sugars to support metabolism functions, including warding off the potential microbe invaders.  Starving roots, as they rot, eventually reduce water uptake and, if insufficient water to meet the transpiration rates from leaves, a permanent wilt will occur.  With the wilt, movement of sugars to the kernels is stopped, abscisic acid takes over, causing the black layer to form a base of kernel.  The consequence is light grain weight on the affected ear.

​Two major hormones in corn are cytokinins and auxins.  Cytokinins affect cell division and auxins affect cell elongation.  Cytokinins are produced primarily in root tip meristems and transported via xylem to other meristems such as those developing in each pollinated ovule.  As these embryo meristem cells divide, the attraction of cytokinins increases.  Concentration of cytokinins in these meristems also affects translocation of glucose molecules to each developing embryo, as this carbohydrate moves through the phloem from leaves and stem pith tissue to the new cells.  Excessive stress affecting water for xylem transport, or, reducing sugar production can reduce the constant flow of cytokinins to developing kernels.  If this occurs during the first 10 days after pollination, another hormone, abscisic acid (ABA) accumulates at the base of the ovule.  This hormone causes development of thick-walled cells, blocking transport of cytokinins and sugar into the kernel.  As a result, the kernel does not develop further. 
 
Genetics and environment have a great effect on the balance of hormones during corn grain development.

​Corn shoot apical meristem is genetically controlled to switch from producing new leaf and cells to the terminal male flowers of the tassel.  The main environmental factor influencing this switch in temperate zone corn is heat energy. Earlier maturing corn requires less heat to trigger this change in apical meristem products, allowing corn to mature in short seasons far from the tropical environments of corn’s origin. 
 
Plant height is determined by the number of cells produced by cell division at the apical meristem before switching to producing the cells that becomes the tassel and the elongation of the cells.  Elongation of the stem cells is enhanced by water pressure applied to the young cells before maturing with less flexible cell walls. Thus, water availability to the roots, root volume and transport of water to the expanding cells in upper plant also affects the eventual plant height.
 
Corn planted later than normal in temperate zones, accumulating heat units quicker than usual, produce fewer stalk cells because apical meristem is induced to produce tassel cells quicker. If water availability for cell expansion is less than optimum, the result of these two factors will be shorter plants than usual for a hybrid.

​Time from germination to production of pollen in temperate zone corn is determined by amount of heat per day after germination.  The shoot apical meristem produces leaf and stem cells until it gains the hormonal signals to switch to producing the tassel cells.  This occurs while the growing point is surrounded by the growing leaves usually at about the V6 stage.  The 2019 rain during April and May delayed planting much beyond normal.  Pollination in most fields in Northern Illinois is at least two weeks later than normal.
 
It will be interesting to see if warmer temperatures after planting this season will cause earlier initiation of the shoot apical meristem to tassel cells and consequently fewer leaves.  We attempt to characterize hybrid maturities by daily heat units, with heat units to flowering and/or heat units to abscission layer formation in kernels but actually it is mostly determined by heat for apical meristem differentiation.  Time from pollination to completion of grain fill as the abscission layer cuts off translocation of carbohydrates to the grain is mostly a time factor of about 55 days.  Consequently, the heat from planting to shoot apical meristem differentiation is the most critical factor on determining when these late planted corn fields will have completed grain fill.
 
The 2019 corn season in much of the northern USA corn belt will be remembered as distinct from previous season.  

​We are often surprised when a new (to us) race of an established corn pathogen is found or when a pathogen is found in a new area.  It becomes reported as new, but it is highly probable that it had occurred in past seasons but was not found and identified by someone to realize that it is distinct.  
 
Having inoculated disease nurseries with common pathogens near other nursery plants for multiple years, it was always notable to me that the fungal blight was usually not seen elsewhere in the same field.  The northern leaf blight fungus, Exserohilum turcicum, produces spores in 2-3 weeks after first infecting the leaf.   Those spores from those lesions blown to damp leaf tissue to allow new infection will not produce more spores for another 2-3 weeks. Most corn environments do not provide the needed moisture for continual new infections when the beginning one started at the V8 stage of corn growth.  The discovery of the new race in a seed field in Indiana probably was aided by frequent movement in the field by machinery and people plus a susceptible inbred. The fact that after first identified it was found by several specialists scattered across many areas of USA the same year suggest that it had existed for a several seasons slowly building in intensity.
 
I recall seeing a field in Southern Minnesota that was heavily infected with the fungus Kabatiella zeae causing eyespot that was mostly limited to the area of the field that was in corn the previous year.  Apparently, the minimal tillage for the previous season had resulted in large loads of inoculum to infect the new crop but spores had not spread sufficiently to adjacent fields to be noticeable.  
 
A major factor in spread of new fungal pathogens is initial infection, probably not noticed by humans for a few years but eventual increase with minimal tillage and continuous corn growing in the same field.  Continuous crop growing is associated with root worm vectored Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus, one of the components of the corn lethal necrosis in Nebraska and Kansas.
 
Some pathogens are spread over long distances by wind. Rust fungi, Puccinia sorghiand Puccinia polysoraspread north into the central corn belt by winds.  Vectors of viruses are spread by wind as well.
 
Genetic diversity available within Zea mayshas always provided adequate resistance available to corn breeders within a few years after a new pathogen is identified. Early detection is important to preventing significant damage to the crop and altering the cropping system can be a significant immediate control.

​Identification of new occurrences of corn diseases in the USA rightfully gets attention of people growing corn.  Since my introduction to corn pathology in 1971, I have witnessed to increased intensity of pathogen races for southern corn leaf blight, northern leaf blight, northern leaf spot, and common rust.  We have seen increased widespread destruction of pathogens causing gray leaf spot, sudden occurrence of Goss Wilt that seemed temporarily controlled and the more recent reemergence in new areas.  Head smut, once common in high plains of Texas suddenly showed up in areas of Minnesota and Canada. Eyespot, once known only in Japan, suddenly became common in Southeaster Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Corn Lethal Necrosis caused by combination of Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus and maize dwarf mosaic virus or wheat streak virus suddenly was found in Nebraska and Kansas, and more recently in central Africa.  More recent attention has been drawn to outbreaks of bacterial leaf streak and tar spot.
 
Severe crop losses have been avoided after these diseases were acknowledged, resistance was identified, and cultural practices modified.  Relatively quick identification of the disease, study of its dynamics, genetic diversity in maize, corn breeding efforts has allowed reasonable control of the new disease occurrences.
 
Genetic diversity works both ways, however, as breeders inadvertently select for other favorable traits, usually unaware that a new race of a pathogen, or environmental variable, exposes the newest corn hybrid to a disease.  We usually only know of such a disease after it had increased in intensity sufficient to grab the attention of a grower or agronomists who has the diagnosis by a pathology specialist.  How many years has that new race or pathogen been infecting a few plants in center of corn fields before it got attention?  Bacterial leaf streak was identified in 2016 in 9 states.  How long had it been present?  After the problem of the race of fungus causing northern leaf blight that could overcome the Ht1 gene, it was reported in multiple locations across the Midwest USA.
 
Current corn growing practices should increase the probability that new pathogens are developing each season and noting strange lesions or other potential disease symptoms should be reported to specialists to set off further searches.

​Elongation of the seedling radicle becomes the primary root, sustained by nutrition from the seed endosperm.  Extension of hypocotyl towards light includes stem nodes as leaves are produced and eventually extended above the soil surface.  Leaves thus produce the carbohydrates to fuel growth of roots from below ground nodes.  These secondary roots initially extend laterally but geotropism takes over as the roots grow downwards.  Environments and genetics affect the direction, volume and effectiveness of these roots in providing uptake of nutrients and water.  These factors also affect the anchoring of the plants and ability to withstand strong winds.  More lateral growth provides more strength against midseason lodging factors whereas deeper roots may provide better water uptake during drought periods.
 
Growth of roots is dependent upon a supply of carbohydrates moving from leaves to the root tips for production of new cells, for root cell growth, uptake of minerals into roots and the transport of minerals to the corn plant parts above the soil surface.  Movement of glucose to the roots through the phloem is also an energy consuming process.  Root growth competes with above-ground growth for carbohydrates.  Distribution of this energy source is affected by genetics, especially those affecting hormone production by root tips.
 
Root volume tends to continue increasing until about two weeks after pollination.  Carbohydrate translocation direction is affected by the hormones produced by kernel embryos, creating competition with the roots.  Part of root cell function is a defense against the multiple soil organisms surrounding the roots.  Reduction of carbohydrate supply begins to allow more saprophytic fungi to invade the root system.  Increases in competition with developing kernels increases the deterioration of the root tissue.  The next 40-50 days after pollination become critical to maintaining life in corn roots.

Much of the US Midwest was planted to corn much later than normal because of weather problems.  Instead of corn planted in relatively cool soils and cooler air temperatures of April and May, corn was planted in June.  Temperate zone adapted corn apical meristem is stimulated to switch from producing leaf and stalk cells to flowering structures by accumulation of heat energy estimated by growing degree heat units. June and July temperatures being warmer than the usual April and May temperatures should lead to a quicker change to the apical meristem switch to flowering structures.
 
Plant height is determined by the number of stalk cells produced by the apical meristem plus the elongation of the cells mostly affected by water infusion before the cell walls solidify.  It will be interesting to see if the rapid growing degree accumulation of the extreme late planted corn reduce the number of stalk cells than normal, resulting is shorter hybrids than expected.  Will all hybrids show the same reaction?  Will we see a difference in timing between pollen production and silking?  We should learn something new about corn maturity and heat during the next few months.
 
The blog post below from Corn Journal 10/5/2017 speaks to the issue of heat units and flowering.

RELATIVE CORN MATURITY

​Heat is a major energy factor influencing the development of corn plants and the ultimate grain yield.  Cellular respiration rates increase as temperatures go up.  Photosynthesis rates also respond to increased heat as well.  It seems reasonable to assume that practically every physiological function in the corn plant is affected by heat energy.
 
This includes the transformation of the apical meristem from producing leaf buds to production of the tassel.  This happens in corn plants at about the V6 stage.  Many, many years ago, I dissected young corn plants of hybrids of nearly all maturities sold by a major seed company looking for this change in the apical meristem. The change visible under a microscope, was nearly perfectly correlated with our final classification of the relative maturities of the hybrids.  This is consistent with the view that the first influence of temperature on corn maturity occurs early in the season.  It is probable that temperatures further affect further development of the differentiated apical cells into mature tassels.  We attempt to express the daily temperatures that could affect the timing of pollination with averaging high and low daily temperatures but accurately depicting the duration of a high or a low temperature is difficult.  We know that it does affect, but like much of growing crops, we know of the principles but not all the specifics.
 
Grain fill period seems mostly fixed to about 55 days but there are studies that show low night temperatures can extend the period to formation of the abscission layer, thus increasing grain yield (Elmore, R. 2010. Reduced 2010 Corn Yield Forecasts Reflect Warm Temperatures between Silking and Dent. Integrated Crop Management. Iowa State University, 9 Oct. 2010).  It is likely that each hybrid differs in its reaction to temperature during this period.

Given the difficulty of accurately measuring the specifics of temperature interactions of corn plant morphological development, cellular function such as photosynthesis, respiration rates and translocation rate of sugars It is best that we simply compare hybrids for their usual time to harvest moisture. It is all relative.

​Most people working with corn concentrate on the name of the disease while leaving the nomenclature of the pathogen up to specialists.  It is confusing when one sees pathogen names change but the disease name remains the same. Name changes usually occur as taxonomists attempt to clarify the relationships among species of fungi. Further investigations often discern variants within a species especially affecting their pathogenicity.
 
Many corn leaf pathogenic fungi are part of a group of fungi called Ascomycetes.  The sexual reproduction state of these fungi occurs after the fusion of individuals mating types, forming diploid nuclei which undergo miosis and produce haploid spores within a sac called an ascus. These spores germinate to produced hyphae that asexually reproduce by spores called conidia.  The ascus stage is rarely found in nature because the prominent pathogenic stage is linked to the asexually produced spores. The formal ‘rule’ for fungal taxonomists is to name the fungus by the sexual name.  Consequently, the formal name of the Northern leaf blight is Setosphaeria turcicabecause the sexual stage belongs to the genus Setosphaeria. However, the fungus was mostly known as Helminthosporium turcicumuntil more recent research distinguished it from others previously named Helminthosporium such as those causing southern corn leaf blight. Now the most widely used name is Exserohilum turcicumbecause of the shape of the asexual conidia.  Compendium of Corn Diseases fourth edition lists the causal organism of northern leaf blight as “Setosphaeria turcica(syns. Bipolaris turcica, Drechslera turcica, Exserohilum turcicum, Helminthosporium turcicum and Trichometashaeria turcica). Only one fungus species but with different names.
 
Southern leaf blight fungus currently commonly named as Bipolaris maydis, has a similar nomenclature record. Compendium of Corn Diseases, fourth edition, lists the pathogen as Cochliobolus heterostrophus(syns: Bipolaris maydis, Drechslera maydis, Helminthosporium maydisand Ophiobolus heterostrophus).  Again, one fungus but different names as sexual stage as recognized and relationships with other fungi is acknowledged.
 
Another aspect of pathogen names is distinction of variants that result in different pathogenesis. Some of these are probably simple genetic differences within a species and are often related to specific genes for resistance within corn varieties.  Race 1 of E. turcicumovercomes the Ht1 gene for resistance in some corn varieties.  Race T of B. maydisovercomes corn varieties with the T cytoplasm for male sterility.  In some cases, the pathogen variant is described as a subspecies such as the bacteria causing Goss Wilt (Clavibacter michiganensissubsp. nebraskense). Bacterial leaf streak cause is Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum.
 
Taxonomists attempt to name pathogens according to the latest research.  Pathologist attempt to use the most meaningful terminology to communicate information about the disease. Growers need to concentrate on the dynamics of the disease and try not to be confused with the pathogen names.

​Humans are compelled to assign names to things, partly for the practicality to communication and partly to bring order to the life we witness.  A system called binomial nomenclature was formalized by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in which living organisms were named by genus and species.  These Latin-based names were intended to assign individuals that were morphologically similar to the same genus but separate species if they were sufficiently distinct and did not sexually cross in nature.  For most flowering plants, this naming system is clear. Sunflower species in genus Helianthusare morphologically distinct from corn in genus Zea.  Most specialists (taxonomists) recognize 6 species of the genus Zea of which Zea mays (corn) and Zea diploperennis (teosinte) are most prominent.
 
This nomenclature often is dependent on assumption that distinct species do not intermate in nature and thus not produce intermediate types.  Consequently, the emphasis in higher plants includes morphological features of the flowers.  This principle was also applied to micro-organisms although the difficulty of recognizing morphological features often required microscopes.
 
Difficulty in identifying multiple distinct characters of fungi is further complicated by rarity of sexual reproduction.  Many corn fungal pathogens reproduce asexually producing huge numbers of spores to spread to new host surfaces.  Consequently, initial nomenclature for a fungal pathogen is based upon the features of these spores. The fungus causing southern corn leaf blight of corn was name Helminthosporium maydisbecause the asexual spores, called conidia, were long, darkly pigmented and slightly curved. This species was distinguished from Helminthosporium carbonum, cause of northern leaf spot, because the latter had similar, but slightly darker spores without curves.  H. carbonumtended to infect corn in cooler areas than H. maydis but the presence of race T of H. maydisallowed massive mingling and sexual reproduction between two species resulting multiple intermediate conidia features and corn lesions.  
 
Northern leaf blight of corn is also caused by a fungus with long dark conidia and thus was assigned to the genus Helminthosporium, called H. turcicum.  It was later realized that a major difference in spore shape between other Helminthosporium species what a protrusion on the spore called the hilum and thus the genus name was changed to Exserohilum.  H. maydisand H. carbonumshare a conidial feature of germinating at both ends and thus put in the genus Bipolaris. Current accepted names for these pathogens are Bipolaris maydis, Bipolaris zeicolaand Exserohilum turcicum. 
 
We humans try to communicate a complex reality of living organisms with a simple nomenclature that is vulnerable to change as we learn more about these organisms.