34 



MAIZE 



CHAP. 

 II. 



26. Hail. — No country in the world has such a perfect 

 climate that the farmer is entirely free from worry, what- 

 ever his crop may be. On the whole the climate of South 

 Africa is probably as nearly perfect as any ; but it is not 

 without drawbacks. Perhaps the chief of these is hail. The 

 worst hailstorms usually fall in the months of November 

 and December; on 16 November, 1909, hailstones weighing 

 4^ oz. were reported from Germiston, and considerable 

 damage was done to crops in the districts of Bethal, Er- 



melo, Standerton, Heidelberg, 

 Marico, . Rustenburg, Wakker- 

 stroom, and the Witwatersrand. 

 At this time of year the maize 

 plant is still comparatively 

 small ; so long as it is not 

 in tassel, a new crop of leaves 

 may be produced and, though 

 somewhat retarded in develop- 

 ment, the crop usually recovers. 

 Hailstorms coming in Janu- 

 ary are most likely to damage 

 the maize crop. A storm of 

 hail in the Glencoe District of 

 Natal, on 21 January, 1908, cut 

 the maize crop to the ground 

 and injured it beyond recovery ; 

 but it is said to have been the 

 heaviest hailstorm known in that 

 district for forty years. Most 

 damage is done when the main 

 stem of the plant is broken by 

 the hail, causing the development of sucker shoots, which do 

 not bear good grain. 



More frequently the injury is restricted to stripping the 

 foliage into ribbons, sometimes leaving only the midrib (see 

 Figs. 5 and 6) and sheath of the leaf to function in photo- 

 synthesis (H 69). If the storm occurs before the tassel appears, 

 the plant may be able to throw out additional leaves, by which 

 photosynthesis can be carried on ; but if it has reached the 

 stage shown in the above figure, no fresh leaves can form on 



Fig. 5.. 



-Effect of hail on the leaves 

 of the maize plant. 



