Field of Corn

Field of Corn. Hybridization. Hybridization revolutionized the production of corn in North America and worldwide in the 20th century. Cross-pollinating two distinct varieties of corn or other plants can result in hybrids that are stronger and more resistant to drought and disease, and that produce higher yields than either “parent” variety. Native Americans and early settlers had experimented with many ways to improve corn, but the first commericial hybrid corn was not produced until 1918. The breakthrough came when American agricultural researchers crossed the offspring of two hybrid strains to create a double- cross hybrid. They learned to control pollination by placing paper bags on corn ears and tassels, removing them only to pollinate the plants by hand. Like most corn grown in the 1900s, the variety depicted here is a double-cross hybrid called Corn Belt dent corn, which has between 14 and 22 rows of yellow kernels and a small dimple or dent, on the end of the kernels. The basic “parents” of dent corn are Northern flint corn and Southern gourdseed corn. Sam Frantz, who farmed this site from 1935 to 1963, was well known for his development of hybrid corn seeds. He worked with The Ohio State University on corn hybridization projects and served on the United States Department of Agriculture Seed Authority Committee.