Breeding Corn

Everybody knows that sex is corny, but how many know that corn is sexy?

On the Poverty Bay flats this year, almost 90 acres of corn have been specially planted to produce New Zealand's supply of corn and maize seed.

The seed is obtained by alternately sowing six rows of seed parent (female) plants and two rows of pollen parent (male) plants. When the corn is grown and pollination is ready to take place, the tassels from the top of the female plants are removed, and the corn is fertilised by the male pollen.

The resulting seed is in this way kept to a high standard and of the type required by the grower.

The task of de-tasselling the female plants is a long and tedious one, and when "Photo News" called at Mr Jack Booth's field at Ngatapa, a gang of six girls was busy on the job.