Corn apical meristem switches to producing male and female flowering parts, but quickly changes to male development only. Each glume in the tassel is an individual floret containing three anthers. Within these immature anthers are hundreds of microspore mother cells in which meiosis occurs. As a result, each of these cells with 2 sets of the 10 chromosomes (diploid) before meiosis now contain 4 microspores, each with only 1 set of the 10 chromosomes (monoploid). Whereas the diploid stage in hybrid corn, included 1 set from the parent male parent and 1 from the female, after meiosis, each microspore includes a random mix of two parents. There are a minimum of 1024 different combinations of the two parental genetics among the microspores. The 4 microspores separate over a 4-day period and begin to become separate pollen grain with thicker walls. Nutrients are absorbed from the liquid contents of the anther during the microspore and pollen grain stages over about 10 days, at least in one study. During this period, the anther dehydrates as it is filled with pollen grain. By the end of this period, the pollen grain has many starch granules, two haploid nuclei, a thick outer wall and a thin inner one. Total time from beginning of microspore production to mature pollen is 14-17 days. Each pollen grain remains viable for only about two days after maturity and less when under high temperatures.
A pore at the end of the anther opens to release the pollen. This process involves dehydration and is affected by drops in surrounding relative humidity. There is no release during rain and pollen release is common in mornings as relative humidity drops with rising daytime temperatures. Each floret of the tassel has slightly different time of development as the apical meristem expanded. Consequently, each finishes the process of pollen development at different times, frequently over 10 days. A typical hybrid tassel has about 6000 anthers, although hybrids and environments vary. It is common for a single tassel to produce millions of pollen grains. Comments are closed.
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About Corn JournalThe purpose of this blog is to share perspectives of the biology of corn, its seed and diseases in a mix of technical and not so technical terms with all who are interested in this major crop. With more technical references to any of the topics easily available on the web with a search of key words, the blog will rarely cite references but will attempt to be accurate. Comments are welcome but will be screened before publishing. Comments and questions directed to the author by emails are encouraged.
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