UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 708 ^^^ 



-s^i^'^u 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



September 18, 1918 



SHUCK PROTECTION FOR EAR CORN. 



By C. H. Kyle, Assistant PMjsiologist, Office of Corn Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Relation of shuck characters to insect infes- 

 tation 2 



Field investigations 2 



Storage investigations 5 



Laboratory investigations 7 



R'Ssults of investigations in 1916 S 



Shuck extension as a preventive of worm 



damage 9 



Relation of shuck covering to mold and dis- 

 coloration 11 



Page, 



General value of a good shuck covering 12 



Advantages in the field 12; 



Advantages in storage 13- 



Advantages in market quality 1^ 



Relation of increased shuck protection to the' 



cost of shucking \i 



The production of better shuck protection. . . 15 



Summary 16 



INTRODUCTION. 



Most corn growers fail to realize that by improving the shuck cov- 

 ering on their corn by selection they may reduce the amount of 

 damage done to the grain. Growers generally consider nothing but 

 the ears and kernels when selecting seed. In weevil-infested sec- 

 tions in particular, variation in the damage of- ears is frequently 

 observed, but if the matter is considered the cause is usually attributed 

 to variation in the hardness of the grain. Weevils attack corn of all 

 degrees of hardness, and their progress in consuming the hard com 

 is only slower than that in the soft corn. Some observers have con- 

 cluded that since weevils are able to eat the hardest corn, they would 

 also cut their way through the most resistant shucks in order to feed 

 upon the grain, if sufficiently urged by hunger. Others have observed 

 that earworms may cut holes through a large percentage of the pro- 

 tecting shucks and that weevils will enter through these holes, and 

 they have concluded from this that shuck covering can not be 

 made a practicable means of protection. Then, too, there is a senti- 

 mient on the part of some against a large amount of shuck. 



With such a formidable array of misconceptions and real diffi- 

 culties as these and others, it is not surprising that little or no action. 



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