BREEDING AND CURING 



According to the Arizona station, eastern 

 varieties of sweet corn do not succeed in 

 the arid Southwest, even though irrigated 

 abundantly. This failure is caused by a 

 lack of pollination due to the desiccation 

 of tassels and silks during the hot, dry 

 season. Under these conditions, moreover, 

 all varieties of corn have a tendency to 

 tassel and lose their pollen before the 

 appearance of the silks. The small varieties 

 of Mexican and Indian corn native to this 

 country are much less subject to these losses. 

 Being thoroughly acclimatized, they have 

 pollen and silks which are more resistant 

 to heat and dry air, and are thus better 

 able to set a crop during the warm summer 

 months. 



Practically all green corn sold for table 

 use on the local markets consists of these 

 small field varieties of Mexican and Indian 

 origin. The quality is poor, lacks the 

 sweetness of a true sweet corn, the ears 

 are small and the grains shallow and tough. 

 In the summer of 1910, during a sojourn 

 among the Papago Indians in the desert 



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