Does rain affect corn pollination? (Does continuous rainfall during the pollination period affect yield?)

The flowering and pollination period of corn generally lasts 5-8 days, but in the field, due to the different location environments of the corn plants in the entire field, the entire field can last for 2 weeks from the beginning of male ears shedding pollen to the end.

There are three stages in the pollination period of corn:

1. The male spikes emerge and produce pollen.

  Each male spike can provide 2-5 million pollen grains, while each ear of corn has only about 800-1000 grains. Under normal circumstances, pollen can be guaranteed to be sufficient.

2. Pollen develops and matures, begins to shed, and the filaments of the female spike absorb pollen grains.

3. Pollen combines with filaments to complete the fertilization process, and the ovary begins to develop and form grains.

During the entire pollination period of corn, if there is bad weather, such as excessive drought, high temperature or continuous rain, it will affect the development of pollen and the extension of filaments, affecting the pollination rate .

If corn pollination happens to coincide with continuous rain, the pollen will absorb water and swell and burst under the conditions of rainfall. If the burst pollen meets the pistil, it will cause incomplete pollination and affect the quality of pollination .

Or when the corn tassel is in the flowering stage, if there is a long period of rainfall, the pollen will be washed away by the rain.
This will reduce the amount of pollen, resulting in the inability of the filaments to be fully pollinated. Incomplete pollination will result in fewer or shrunken grains on the corn cobs, thus affecting the yield .

However, it is very unlikely that the extreme situation of continuous rainfall will occur during the corn pollination period.

Summer rainfall is usually accompanied by thunderstorms. During the pollination period, even if there is a sunny morning or afternoon, the entire pollination process can be basically completed.

Methods to improve corn pollination rate

The flowering and pollination period of corn is the most critical period for corn grain formation. The pollination rate directly determines the corn seed setting rate.

Corn is a monoecious plant, and once it encounters continuous rainy weather, it will affect the scattering of pollen. If corn encounters rainfall during the pollination period, how can we improve the pollination rate of corn?

(1) Artificial assisted pollination

During the flowering and pollination period, directly shake the corn plants to let the pollen fall, or find a rope and work with two people to gently shake the corn field to let the pollen fall in the field. The pollen that falls on the silk has completed artificial pollination.

Practice has proved that the use of artificial assisted pollination can greatly reduce the occurrence of bald tips and flower grains in the fruit clusters, and can increase the yield by 50 to 100 catties per mu, and up to 300 catties per mu.

(2) Spraying foliar fertilizer

After corn enters the tasting stage, you can use 200 grams of 99% potassium dihydrogen phosphate + 10 milliliters of brassinolide aqueous solution + 100 grams of urea per mu , add 30 kilograms of water and spray evenly, which can significantly improve leaf photosynthesis.

This can enhance the plant's stress resistance, promote pollen tube elongation, and significantly improve corn pollination rate and increase seed number.