Dependable Seed Corn 
Dependable seed corn must meet three important qualifications: 
Germination, Maturity and High Yielding Inheritance. 
Germination 
A high percentage of sprouts in an artificial test is not enough. 
Conditions in an artificial test are all favorable, but soil conditions at 
planting time are often extremely unfavorable. 
A high degree of germinating vigor is necessary to overcome un¬ 
favorable planting conditions. This vigor is inherent in all seed at ripening 
or before. To preserve vigor, moisture must be removed before frost can 
damage the germ or respiration can weaken it. 
A germ is a living organism which, in a sense, breathes. It takes in 
oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide. When moisture is high, this respira¬ 
tion is rapid and reduces the germ strength. When moisture is removed 
early in the Fall, vigor is preserved by reducing the germ to a dormant 
state. 
That is why good seed corn, under unfavorable planting conditions, 
will produce a full stand of vigorous plants, when other seed of equal arti¬ 
ficial test fails to make a stand. 
Maturity 
Dependable seed corn should mature in the average season in the area 
in which it is to be planted. A thorough understanding of requirements 
of each area based on long experience is necessary. 
Variety names are not safe guides of earliness of maturity. For 
instance, the Minnesota Experiment Station planted 5 strains of Minn. 
No. 13 in a comparison plot. The earliest matured 3 weeks earlier than 
the latest, yet all five strains were originally from the same source. 
Location where the seed corn was grown also is not a safe earliness 
guide. Many farms have fields where corn will mature a week or more 
earlier than other fields on the same farm. In favorable seasons Iowa 
corn has been matured in North Dakota and Illinois corn in Central 
Minnesota. 
Yield 
Most corn belt Experiment Stations have shown that some strains of 
the same variety consistently outyield other strains. 
Only by continual comparisons of yielding ability of various strains 
of the same variety can one be sure of high yielding ability. 
Proper methods of seed selection are essential to maintain high yield¬ 
ing ability of any strain. 
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