rat? 
****** 
Much of the success or failure of a corn crop depends on that 
part of the plant which we seldom see ... the roots. Corn has 
a fibrous rooting system which springs from closely grouped 
nodes in whorls around the stalk, one above the other. The 
roots serve not only to anchor the plant in the soil, but also to 
draw upon the "good earth" for the plant's all-important needs 
of water, minerals and precious nitrogen. 
One of the reasons why many 
DeKalb hybrids are able to 
come through long drouth peri¬ 
ods with good yields, while 
most open-pollinated corn fires 
and fails to yield, is the differ¬ 
ence in rooting ability. Most 
DeKalb hybrids are bred to 
grow extra heavy roots that go 
deep in the soil for water and 
plant foods. The picture on the 
left shows a DeKalb hybrid 
broken by a machine, yet put¬ 
ting out roots at the nodes 
along the stem and continuing 
to nourish itself after the main 
root was completely broken 
away. 
Ordinary Hybrid root 
Ordinary open-pollinated root 
ROOTS THAT RE-GROW 
Corn has a humble but greedy enemy 
in the corn root worm which satisfies 
its hearty appetite on the tasty roots. 
On most kinds of ordinary corn the 
roots are soon destroyed and the 
plants often die when the worms 
are present in large numbers. R. R. 
St. John, (pictured above) DeKalb's 
prominent corn specialist, has per¬ 
fected a new kind of root that in most 
cases, resists such root worm attacks. 
This root has been bred to grow so 
persistently that it actually "re-grows" 
new roots faster than the worms can 
eat . . . and that's fast. Furthermore— 
this extra root growth vigor helps 
corn make a comeback sooner when 
roots are damaged during cultivation. 
DeKalb brace roots are bred to branch 
and rebranch so that they serve not 
only to hold the plant erect but actu¬ 
ally feed the plant as well. 
