FLORAL BIOLOGY AND SEED

PRODUCTION IN MAIZE
INTRODUCTION
 Scientific name : Zea mays
 Family : Poaceae
 Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most important cereal crop
in the world grown over an area of 132 Mha with a
production of 570m.t. It is the crop with the highest
productivity.
 In India, maize is next in important only to Rice, Wheat and
has an acreage around 6 m.ha with a production of
10.5 m.t.
 Maize (Zea mays) is the only species in the genus Zea. Its
diploid with chromosome number 2n=20. It has two close
relatives, gama grass (Tripsacum;2n=36;72) and Teosinte
(Euchlaena 2n=20 in annual forms). Teosinte is the closest
relative of maize and crosses readily with it.
ORIGIN
 Place of origin of maize is Peru, Bolivia and Equator.

 The maize was introduced into Spain after the return

of Columbus from America and from Spain it went to
France, Italy and Turkey.

 In India, Portuguese introduced maize during the

seventeenth century. From India it went to China and
later it was introduced in Philippines and the East
Indies.

 In India major area of crop is confined to Gujarat,

Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Haryana , Jammu & Kashmir and
Bihar, Karnataka.
AGR-CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS

Maize is a warm weather plant.

It grows from sea level to 3000 mts above
sea level.
The most suitable temperature for seed
germination is 210c and for plant growth
320.
WATER REQUIREMENTS

Corn needs greater quantities of water, in

comparison to sorghum or pearl millet.
Usually >700 to 800 mm are needed per
crop in equatorial zones.
The average temperatures are 25-300.
Supplementary irrigation at critical period
like flowering stage, milking stage and
doughy stage.
TIME ISOLATION
Different blooming dates are permitted for
modifying isolation distances, provided 5%
or more of the seed parent plants do not
have receptive silks when more than
0.20% of plants in the adjacent fields
within the prescribed isolation distance are
shedding pollen.
Time isolation can be achieved by 30 days
difference in flowering time.
Land requirements

Selected fields should be free from

volunteer plants, pollen shedder, pest and
disease attacked plants.
The land should be well drained and
should be fertile.
The soil should be well aerated.
Field Preparation:
 Maize requires fine field preparation for the raising
good crop. For the Kharif crop field should be deep
ploughed during the peak summer to ensure the
killing of pests and pathogens.

 The field should be free from previous crop stubble

in order to avoid carrying of previous crop
pathogens and pests.

 Before starting of season field should be kept ready

so that upon arrival of rains crop can be planted
immediately. This is particularly important for the
rainfed crop.

 For the crop to be irrigated through micro irrigation

paired rows should be raised and micro irrigation
systems be fixed up after the planting of seed in
rows.
Sowing of crop:
Ensure that the pH of soil is between 7.5 and
8.5 Plant currently recommended varieties
have resistance to several common diseases.
Also choose varieties that resist lodging.
Treated seeds greatly reduce seed rots and
seedling blights. Most hybrid seed companies
treat their seed before selling.

Sowing done a week before the usual date of

the break of monsoon, with initial one or two
irrigations, provide a better chance for the
establishment of plants, and yield increases of
15-20 per cent have also been recorded.
Spacing for maize:

Seeds are sown in ridges and furrows

Varieties - 45 x 10 cm
Hybrids - 60x 25 cm
Seed rate

Varieties : 10 kg /ha
Hybrids: Female 12 kg/ha and Male 4
kg/ha
Seed treatment

1. Treat the seeds with carbendazim or

thiram @ 2g/kg seeds.
2. After 24 hours treat the seeds with
Azospirillum 600 gm.
Fertilizers

Varieties: 150:75:75
 Basal :40:75:40 NPK kg/ha
 1st top 20 DAS 50:0:0 kg/ha
 2nd top 40 DAS 60:0:35 kg/ha.
Hybrids:200:100:100 kg NPK /ha.
Micronutrients

If Zn deficiency is found apply 20 kg of

zinc sulphate/ ha.
If Fe deficiency is found apply 12.5
kg/ha micronutrient mixture
 Morphology

 Plant :Maize is tall determinate

annual plant producing large,
narrow, opposing leaves borne
alternately along the length of a
solid stem.
 Stem: Generally attains a
thickness of three to four
centimeters. The inter nodes are
short and fairly thick at the base
of the plant, become longer and
thicker higher up the stem, and
then taper again.
 The ear bearing inter node is
longitudinally grooved, to allow
proper positioning of the ear head
 The upper leaves in corn are more
responsible for light interception
and are major contributors
photosynthate to grain.
 ROOT
 Normally Maize plant will have three types of roots,
Seminal roots - which develop from radical and persist for
long period, adventitious roots, Fibrous roots developing
from the lower nodes of stem below ground level are the
effective and active roots of plant and Brace or prop roots,
produced by lower two nodes.

 The roots of the maize plant grow very rapidly and almost
equally outwards and downwards. Favorable soils may
allow corn root growth up to 60 cm laterally and in depth.
The maize plant and their parts (C.Geigi)
Floral biology of Maize
 The inflorescence is unisexual and monoecious.
 Staminate inflorescence is terminal and known as tassel and
pistillate is axillary and called as cob.
 The cob is covered by the leaf like structures called husk
(bracts). The husks are enlarged leaf sheaths from each node,
forming a protective covering around the inflorescence.
 The ovary in the cob has a thread like style called silk and it is
receptive throughout the length.
Flower

 The distinguishing feature of maize is the separation

of the sexes among its flowering structures. i.e a
monoecious plant.
 Maize produces male inflorescences (tassels) which
crown the plant at the stem apex, and female
inflorescences (cobs or ears), which are borne at the
apex of condensed, lateral branches protruding from
leaf axils.
 The male (staminate) inflorescence, a loose panicle,
produces pairs of free spikelets each enclosing a
fertile and a sterile floret.
 The female (pistillate) inflorescence, a spike,
produces pairs of spikelets on the surface of a
highly condensed rachis (central axis, or "cob").
 Each of the female spikelets encloses two fertile
florets, one of whose ovaries will mature into a maize
kernel once sexually fertilized by wind-blown pollen.
INFLORESENCE
 Maize is a monoecious plant i.e., male and
female inflorescence are located at separate
places on the same plant which makes cross
pollination a general rule. However, five present
self-pollination is also recorded. The male
flower are borne in a cluster(called tassel) on the
top of the stem as a terminal panicle.
 The branches of the tassel are spirally arranged
around the axis. The female flowers are borne
inside the young cobs, wrapped under bracts,
which arises from one of the nodes on the stem
usually located about midway on the stalk
Tassel and maize plant
TASSEL
 Male reproduction part consists of spikelet in
pair on both main axis and side branches.
 Spikelets consists of two florets sessile and
pedicellate, pollen shadding, 2-3 days often
complete emergence of tassel.
 Anthers starts from top to bottom in main axis
and lateral branches.
 Pedicellate flowers shed pollen first followed by
sessile flowers (double wave of falling pollen in
maize).
 It takes about 8-10 days for complete anthesis of
tassel with 3rd and 4th day with peak anthesis.
COB
 Female flower consists of florets in pairs in
longitudinal rows.
 One is sterile and other is fertile.
 Each female flower is represented by thread like
structure called style (800-1000) depending on
cob size with bifid stigma.
 All the styles together constitute silk of the cob.
 Emergence of silk will be around 8-10 days later
than complete emergence of tassel. Stigma
remain receptive for 1-2 days.
 MALE FLOWER

 The spikelets are usually arranged in pairs.

 One sessile and the other pedicellate (stalked).
 Each spikelets is enclosed by two glumes.
 There are two functional florets per spikelet.
 Each floret is enclosed between the lemma and
palea and contains three stamens with linear
and pendulous anthers, two fleshy cup-shaped
and a rudimentary pistil.
Cotnd………

Purple Tassel on the left has anthers emerged,

green tassel does not
FEMALE FLOWER

 The female spikelets are sessile and densely

packed in several vertical series on the thick and
cylindrical. Each spikelet is enclosed between 2
membranous, broad and empty glumes.
Lodicules absent or very feebly developed.
 The spikelet has a lower barren and upper fertile
floret. Each floret enclosed between lemma and
palea. The style is very long silky filament and in
the cluster is known as silk.
MAIZE FEMALE PART
OVARY

The ovary is obliquely ovoid and

planoconvex.
STYLE
 Style is one.
 It is very long.
 It is bi-fid at the tip.
 Style and stigmas papilose and hang out in a tuft
from the top of the spadix.
 One hundred and fifty to five hundreds styles
emerge from each ear.
 Styles at the bottom side of the ear emerge first
and those at the ear tip last.
 Lately emerged styles from the ear tip are often
suppressed by the earlier emerged styles.
SILK

Generally, silk grow upto 10-15 cm in

length and can retain viability upto 7-
10days in want to effective pollination.

Best seed set occurred with pollination 3

to 5 days after silk emergence, but
pollination after 8 days still gave 66% seed
set compared to optimum.
Corn silks
 The monoecious corn
plant has female
flowers that develop on
the side of the plant and
emerge from the leaf
node.
 They are called silks
because of their length
and delicate nature.
 When pollen from the
tassel flower lands on
the stigma at the end of
the silk, the pollen tube
can grow through the
silk to the ovary.
Contnd……….

 These flowers only

have pistils.
 The styles of corn are
long and grow up from
the ovary and out of
the sepals (husks).
 Grain

 The individual maize grain is

botanically a caryopsis, a
dry fruit containing a single
seed fused to the inner
tissues of the fruit case.
 The seed contains two sister
structures, a germ from
which a new plant will
develop, and an endosperm
which will provide nutrients
for that germinating seedling
until the seedling
establishes sufficient leaf
area to become autotrophy.
 The germ consists of a
miniature plant axis,
including approximately five
embryonic leaves, a radical,
from which the root system
will develop, and an attached
seed leaf (scutellum).
 GRAIN
Corn grain is a caryopsis.
The outer most layer is a pericarp of maternal origin.
The endosperm stores nutrition for seedling growth.
Aleurone is a single celled layer, covering the
endosperm
Based on the endosperm characters, corn is classified
as flints, dents, sweet corn, popcorn, floury corn.
Main stages of grain maturity are --- the milky stage,
the doughy stage the hard dough stage and the vitreous
stage.
At full maturity corn grain has about 35% moisture.
The maize kernel and their parts
Reproductive Stages:

R1 Silking

R2 Blister

R3 Milk

R4 Dough
R5 Dent
R6 Physiological maturity
 R1 Stage - Silking

 R1 begins when any silks

are visible outside the husks
.Pollination occurs when
these new moist silks catch
the falling pollen grains.
 A captured pollen grain
takes about 24 hours to
grow down the silk to the
ovule where fertilization
occurs and the ovule
becomes a kernel.
 Generally 2-3 days are
required for all silks on a
single ear to be exposed and
pollinated.
 Silks grow 2.5-3.8 cm (1-1.5
inches) each day and
continue to elongate until
fertilized.
R2 Stage - Blister (10-14 days after silking)

 Kernels are white on the

outside and resemble a
blister in shape.
 The endosperm and its
abundant inner fluid is clear
in color and the tiny embryo
can now be seen upon
careful dissection.
 Within the developing
embryo is a developing
miniature corn plant.
 The silks having completed
their flowering function are
now darkening in color and
beginning to dry.
R3 Stage - Milk (18-22 days after silking)

 The R3 kernel displays

yellow color on the
outside, and the inner
fluid is now milky white
due to accumulating
starch.
 The embryo is growing
rapidly now and is
easily seen upon
dissection. cob material
and the silks at this
time are brown and dry
or becoming dry.
 R4 Stage - Dough (24-28 days after silking)

 Continued starch
accumulation in the
endosperm has now caused
the milky inner fluid to
thicken to a pasty
consistency.
 The R4 embryo has greatly
increased in size from the R3
stage. The shelled cob is
light red to pink color and
the reduced fluid and
increased solids within the
kernel at this time produce a
doughy consistency.
 Just prior to R5 kernels
along the length of the ear
begin to dent or dry on top.
R5 Stage - Dent (35-42 days after silking) & R6 Stage - Physiological Maturity (55-65
days after silking)
 At R5 all or nearly all
kernels are dented or
denting and the shelled cob
is dark Yellow in color. The
kernels are drying down now
beginning at the top where a
small hard white layer of
starch is forming.
 This starch layer appears
shortly after denting.
 All kernels on the ear have
attained their maximum dry
weight or maximum dry
matter accumulation.
 The hard starch layer has
advanced completely to the
cob and a black or brown
abscission layer has
formed.
 Table : Types and characteristics of the maize kernels.

Texture of
Type of Type of Crown Uses and % as of
endosperm Distribution
endosperm pericarp appearance the total
(mature)

USA,
Pointed/Rou
Pop Very thick Hard Confection (<1%) Eventually all
nded
regions
Argentina,
Thick
Flint Rounded Mostly hard General (14%) Southern
medium
Europe
Livestock feed,
industrial process,
Dent Medium Dented Hard & Soft World wide
milground meal
(73%)
Direct human uses
Latin America
Stretched as flour, direct at
Floury Slight dented Soft and South
thin milk stage, parched,
West
beverages (12%)
Direct at milk stage,
70% moisture, North
Thick
Sweet Wrinkled Glassy frozen, canned, America (USA
medium
parched and & Canada)
beverage (~1%)
Detasselling

 Detasselling is the removal of tassel from female parent.

Detasselling is done when the tassel emerged out of the boot
leaf, but before the anthesis have shed pollen. Anthers take 2-4
days to dehisce after complete emergence. Only in few cases,
the anthers start dehisce before its complete emergence. In such
case detasseling should be done earlier.
 Detasseling is done every day from the emergence of tassel
upto 14 days.
 Procedure
 Hold the stem with left hand and remove the tassel with right
hand by a steady upward pull.
 Precautions to be adopted during detasselling
 Grasp entire tassel so that all the pollen parts are fully removed.
 Do not break or remove leaves as removal will reduce yields and
will result in lower quality of seed.
 Factors Affecting Maize Seed Production

1. Planting ratio

2. Non-synchronization of flowering
Planting ratio

 At present uniform planting ratio of 2:4 for

foundation seed production and 2:6 for
certified seed production plots has been
recommended.
 Maize inbreds vary considerably in respect of
plant height, Panicle size, the amount of
pollen produced and duration of pollen
availability.
 Some time this factor may pose some
problem to the producers.
Non-synchronization of flowering

 Good seed set in seed parent can be

achieved by chronological adjustment of
pollen shedding and silking respectively.
 Prolongation of effective flowering period,
planting design, efficient alteration of rows
planting ratio, staggered planting are some
of measures which are effectively used to
ensure maximum synchronization and good
seed set.
Methods of seed production

 Open pollinated varieties:

 Synthetics:
 Composite varieties:
 Inbreds:
 Hybrids
1. Single cross hybrid
2. Double cross
3. Three way cross
4. Double top cross
Open pollinated varieties

Raise the varieties under isolation of

400 m in foundation seed stage and 200
m in certified seed stage and allow the
plants to openly pollinate among
themselves and set seed.
Synthetics

In cross pollinated species, a variety

obtained by mating in all possible
combinations, a number of lines (>5)
that combine well with each other.
Ex: COBC 1 (Baby corn).
Composite varieties

These are produced by open pollination

among a number of outstanding strains
usually not selected for combining
ability with each other e.g. K1, Jawahar,
Vikram, Sona, Amber, CO 1 and Kisan.
Foundation seed:

 Foundation seed generally consists of

production of single crosses by sowing male
and female parents.
 These parents will be sown in 2:4 row ratio.
 Detasselling will be done in female rows.
 All off types, diseased and rogues if any
found will be removed.
 Certified seed:
 Certification standards will be maintained under
the guidance of monitoring team consisting of
National seed corporation agencies,
Certification, Agencies, Breeders and I.C.A.R.
Nominee.
 Male and female single crosses are generally
sown on 2:6 ratio.
 Female plants are detasseled.
 All off types, diseased and rogues if any found
will be removed.
 Certification standards will be maintained under
the guidance of monitoring team. The seed
obtained on female rows is called certified seed.
 This seed is labeled as hybrid seed and sold to
the farmers for commercial cultivation
Table : Specifications for maize-general characteristics

Admixture of impurities Tolerance limit (percent)

Foreign matter 1.0

Other food grain 1.0

Admixture of different varieties 10.0

Shriveled and immature grains 3.0

damaged and discolored grains 2.0

Slightly damaged grains 2.0

Weeviled grains 1.0
Moisture 14.0
 Field standard

Factor Foundation Certified

seed seed

Off-type plants that have 1.0 1.0

shed or shedding pollen at
any one inspection during
flowering when 5% or more
of the plants in the seed filed
have receptive silks.
 Seed Standards
Factor Foundation Certified seed
seed
Pure seed (minimum) 98% 98%
Inert matter (maximum) 2% 2%
ODV based on kernel colour and 10/kg 10/kg
texture (maximum)
Weed seeds (maximum) None None
Germination (minimum) 90% 90%
Moisture (maximum) 12% 12%
For vapour proof container 8% 8%
(maximum)
 Seed standard inbreds

Parameters Inbreds Hybrids

Foundation Certified seed
seed
1. Physical purity (%) (min) 98 98 98

2. Inert matter (%) (max) 2 2 2

3. Other crop seed (max) 5 /kg 5kg-1 10 kg-1
4. ODV seeds (max) 5 /kg 5kg-1 10 kg-1

5.Germination % (min) 80 80 90
6. Moisture content (%) (max)

a. Moisture pervious 12 12 12
b. Moisture vapour proof 8 8 8
Seed standard in varieties

Parameters Foundation seed Certified seed

1. Physical purity (%) (min) 98 98

2. Inert matter (%) (max) 2 2

3. Other crop seed (max) 5/kg 10/kg

4. ODV seeds (max) 10/kg 20/kg

5.Germination % (min) 90 90
6. Moisture content (%) (max)

a. Moisture pervious 12 12

b. Moisture vapour proof 8 8

A-line – it is a genetic- cytoplasmic male sterile
line used as seed parent in a cross being made
to produce a hybrid seed.
B-line – It is cytoplasmic male fertile line, used
as male parent in a cross to produce A-line
seed (maintainer line). It is non-pollen restoring.
R-line – an inbred line, when crossed on a ms-
line restores fertility to latter and causes the
resulting hybrid to be male fertile & produce
pollen.
Inbred line

A nearly homozygous line developed by

continuous inbreeding using selfing
accompanied by selections.
Single cross hybrid
It is a cross between 2 inbreds.
Ex. COH 1- UMI 29 x UMI 51
COH 2- UMI 810 x UMI 90
Double cross
It is a cross between two single
crosses. e.g.
Deccan (CM 104 x CM 105) x (CM 202 x
CM 201)
COH 3 (UMI 101 x UMI 130) x (UMI 90 x
UMI 285)
 Three way cross
 It is a cross between a single Breeder CM 131CM 211CM 120
cross and an inbred seed

Ex. Ganga -5 Founda- CM 131 X CM 211

tion seed
(CM 202 x CM 111) x CM 500. Certified (CM 131 X CM 211) X
seed CM 120
Top cross

A cross between an inbred and an open

pollinated variety (Inbred variety cross).
 Double top cross
 It is a cross between a single Breeder CM 119 CM 120
seed CM 211 CM 131
cross and an open pollinated
variety.
Founda- CM 119 X CM 120
Ex. Ganga safed, Histarch, tion CM 211 X CM 131
Ganga 4. seed

Certifi- (CM 119 X CM120) X

ed seed (CM 211 X CM 13)
Shedding tassel

Refers to tassels in seed parent which

have 8cm or more of central spike on side
branch on both are shedding pollen, have
shed pollen when 5% or more of the silks
are receptive in seed parents.
Planting ratio

Single cross 4:2

Double cross 6:2
3 way cross 6:2
 HARVESTING
 Corn is harvested when it attain physiological
maturity stage.
 Corn is harvested when grain moisture % is
around 24%.
 In some African counties, such as Benin and
Nigeria, corn is harvested after 110 days, when
the grain moisture content is around 15%.

 Methods of harvesting:
 Male lines are harvested first followed by
female lines.
HARVESTING AND SHELLING
 Harvest male rows any time after the flowering
period and prior to the harvest of the seed
parent.
 Remove produce from the male parent rows
from the seed plot.
 This is to avoid mixture at harvest time.
 Harvest seed parent rows when husk from the
cobs and dry them under sunlight.
 Shelling of the seed ears is done only after
obtaining approval from the certification agency.
 Seed should be dried to 12-13% moisture.
 Threshing:
 a. Dehusking - The husks are removed manually.
 b. Cob sorting- Remove ill filled, diseased cobs and cobs
having kernel colour variation.

 Xenia: The direct, visible effects of the pollen on

endosperm and related tissues in the formation of a seed
colour.
 Metaxenia: Is the effect a pollen on the maternal tissues of
fruit.

 Shelling: The cobs are shelled either mechanically or

 Grading: Grade the seeds using 18/64" (7.28 mm) sieve.

 Seed treatment: Slurry treat the seeds with 8% moisture

content either with captan or thiram 75% W.P. @ 70 g/100
kg with 0.5 liter of water. Treated seeds can be stored for 1
year in cloth bag.