Effects of Seed Age, Producer, and Storage on Corn (Zea mays L.) Production
1966
Fleming, A. A.
In Experiment 1, seed of the same double-cross hybrid and age from one grower was greatly inferior in field germination and yield to seed produced by another grower. Two-year seed from Grower L yielded 1393 pounds more corn per acre than 2-year seed from Grower K. This significant difference in returns at $1.86 cwt amounted to $25.91 per acre. No significant differences occurred in performance of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old-seed of the same hybrid produced by Grower L. Two-year-old seed of Georgia 103 from Grower L had the same percentage of germination as 1-year-old seed from Grower M but yielded a significant difference of 1106 pounds ($20.57) more per acre. Differences yielding ability between lots of seed within a hybrid may not be detected necessarily on the basis of germination percentage, even under field conditions. In Experiment 2, seed of Georgia 101 lost its ability to germinate between the fifth and eighth years of bottle storage. There were no significant differences within hybrids between the treatments other than 8-year seed for any of the characters studied except germination. To avoid unnecessary losses, the source of seed within a hybrid should receive special attention. It may be of greater importance than age of seed.
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