84 Nebraska Agricultural Exp. Station Research Bul. 1G 
RELATIVE CORN YIELDS FOR THE STATE OF NEBRASKA IN 
YEARS FOLLOWING SEVERE SEED CORN INJURY 
The average yield of corn for the State of Nebraska during 
the last 28 years, 1890 to 1917, as estimated by the Bureau of 
Crop Statistics and the State Board of Agriculture, has been 
24.9 bushels per acre. During this period, there have been three 
years of serious seed corn injury, namely 1890, 1911. and 1915. 
The acre corn yields for the State in the years following this 
seed corn injury (years in which the affected seed was planted) 
were respectively 30.0, 27.1, and 32.0 bushels. Since the yield 
has been above normal each year in which it was necessary to 
plant seed selected from corn undergoing severe winter injury, 
it is evident that the farmers meet the situation in a fairly 
satisfactory manner. The average superiority of these three 
years above the 28 year average has been 5.0 bushels per acre. 
Therefore predictions of low yields following years of severe seed 
corn injury do not seem justified. The actual increase in yields 
is probably due to accidentally more favorable climatic and 
moisture conditions. 
EFFECT OF TIME OF SELECTION AND PRESERVATION OF SEED 
CORN UPON YIELD 
An experiment was begun in the fall of 1914 to determine 
the effect of the time of harvesting seed corn upon its yielding 
power provided care is taken in selection to obtain equally 
high germination. A comparative yield test was made in 1915 
of September. November, and March selections from a field of 
Nebraska White Prize corn. This is a standard variety grown 
at the Experiment Station and adapted to southeastern Nebraska. 
A similar test was made in 1910 and 1917 of seed selected in 
September. October, November, December, February, and March. 
The seed was carefully preserved in a dry. well-ventilated place 
after being harvested. After danger from freezing injury, only 
seed ears which showed a bright clear germ were taken. Ears 
with discolored germs were discarded because they promised 
low germination. A large number of ears were composited for 
each selection. 
Four systematically replicated 3-row plats were planted 
from all selections each year. The rows were 72 hills long with 
hills 44 inches apart. Six kernels were space planted bv hand 
in each hill. The stand was reduced by thinning to 3 plants 
p(»r hill after growing about 2 weeks. This insured practically 
a full and uniform stand. The first fifty hills having 3 plants, 
and surrounded by a full stand were harvested from the center 
