SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DENT CORN TO EOOT ROTTING. 
Table 1. — Infection by rot-producing organisms in starchy and in horny ears 
of several varieties of dent corn obtained from different parts of Indiana 
during 1918 and 1919. 
Source of sample 
(Indiana). 
Variety. 
Average 
Number of ears studied. 
Infected ears 
• (per cent)'. 
Total. 
Starchy. 
Horny. 
Starchy. 
Horny. 
Champion 
F 
F 
D 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
E 
D 
D 
D 
C 
E 
D 
D 
100 
100 
100 
100 
150 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
150 
200 
100 
400 
100 
42 
24 
40 
44 
42 
22 
15 
24 
37 
59 
34 
52 
168 
53 
304 
54 
58 
76 
60 
56 
108 
78 
85 
76 
63 
41 
66 
98 
32 
47 
96 
46 
6.17 
58.33 
57.89 
50.00 
50.00 
20.00 
42.86 
50.00 
43.75 
46.20 
76.92 
68.40 
70.33 
66.67 
55.27 
51.56 
4.45 
Ninet3 T -Day 
43.24 
Fort Wayne 
Early Yellow Dent 
Silvermine 
17.59 
33. 33 
La Fontaine 
Reid Yellow Dent 
do 
28.57 
Noblesville 
16.50 
Forest 
do 
35.00 
Battle Ground 
do 
23.08 
Sullivan 
do 
37.04 
Pennville 
do 
38. 90 
Delphi 
do 
41.67 
Fort Branch... 
. ...do 
47.20 
do 
35.29 
Shelbvville 
Johnson County White. . 
58.33 
Do 
41.67 
Hope 
do 
34.78 
Total . . 
2,100 
1,014 
63 
1,086 
68 
50.90 
33.54 
In every case the ears of the starchy class were characterized by a 
larger percentage of infections. This was especially noticeable in 
those strains which averaged a half (C) or a quarter (D) starchy. 
A very horny sample from Woodburn, Ind., carried a very low 
amount of ear infection. In this sample the differences between the 
horny and starchy groups were practically negligible. The most ex- 
treme difference occurred in a lot of starchy ears of Reid Yellow 
Dent from New Richmond, Ind. In this lot 70.33 per cent of the 
starchy ears were infected, compared with only 35.04 per cent of the 
horny ears. In general, such extreme variations have not been en- 
countered. When all the samples subjected to this germination test, 
totaling 2,100 ears, are considered together, practically equal num- 
bers of horny and of starchy ears are represented. The average 
proportion of infection in the horny group was 33.5 per cent and that 
in the starchy group 50.9 per cent, representing 17.4 per cent fewer 
infected ears in the horny group. 
These data indicate that progress may be made in securing better 
seed ears by selecting those ears within the strain which have the 
more horny composition. 
Though these data concerning ear infections of different varieties 
are meager, it is evident from the variations encountered among the 
nine separate strains of Reid Yellow Dent under comparison that as 
great variations in the character of the endosperm may occur among 
strains as among distinct varieties. The field performance of these 
strains indicates further that just as large variations in starchiness 
may occur among strains within a variety which require the same 
length of growing season. 
