128 Nebraska Agricultural Exp. Station , Research Bui. 20 
Table 52. — Yield of grain from different portions of the ear. 
Nebraska White Pr ize corn. Six years , 1911^-1917 and 1920- 
1921. 
Portion of ear used 
for seed 
Yield of grain ] 
per acre 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1920 
1921 
Av. 
Bu. 
Bu. 
1 BU. : 
Bu. 
Bu. 
Bu. 
Bu. 
'(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4) 
(5) 
(6) 
(7) 
(8) 
1 Butt 
48.8 
77.0 
65.0 
49.6 
52.3 
62.8 
59.3 
2 Tip 
49.6 
75.3 
69.3 
52.7 
52.8 
62.8 
60.4 
3 Middle 
48.0 
76.8 
68.8 | 
49.4 ; 
54.8 
63.7 
60.2 
Number of replications. . . 
3 
7 
7 ! 
7 
3 
3 
Summary of plant characteristics during period 
Seed 
from 
Stalk 
height 
Ear 
height 
Date 
ripe 
Lodg- 
ing 
Ears 
per 100 
plants 
Suckers 
per 100 
plants 
Shrink- 
age of 
ear corn 
Shell- 
ing per 
: cent 
(1) 
Inches 
(9) 
Inches 
(10) 
(ID 
\Per cent 
(12) 
(13) 
(14) 
Per cent 
(15) 
Per cent 
(16) 
1 
104 
49 
9/22 
29 
93 
9 
7.5 
82.5 
2 
103 
49 
9/22 
31 
95 
10 
8.3 
83.2 
3 
104 
49 
9/22 
31 
96 
10 
7.2 
83.3 
RELATION OF SEED MATURITY TO YIELD OF GRAIN 
In years of late maturity, the question of special field selec- 
tion of slightly immature seed corn to escape frost injury com- 
monly arises. A two-year test reported in Table 53 indicates 
that carefully cured corn selected midway between silking and 
maturity may possess both high germinative and yielding abil- 
ity. Corn selected at five weekly intervals before ripe yielded 
in no case more than two per cent less than fully matured seed. 
Even tho viability and yield may not be impaired by immature, 
selection, thoro field curing of seed should be practiced as far as 
possible, since difficulty of curing and preservation are thereby 
greatly reduced. The above test does not include the effect of 
unfavorable growth conditions in some seasons. It is possible 
that small, immaturely harvested seeds would be handicapped 
under unfavorable climatic or seed bed conditions. 
