
WEATHER AND OTHER FARM CONDITIONS ARE 
BIG FACTORS IN DETERMINING STALK QUALITY 
OU can depend on a modern 
Funk hybrid for top-notch 
performance—if it gets good care and isn’t too 
severely punished by weather, insects and disease. 
The Funk Hybrid Corn Research Staff has spent 
tedious years, patiently breeding Funk’s G- 
Hybrids able to produce big yields of heavy 
ears on stiff, strong, long-standing stalks. 
But—favorable farming conditions are as 
important as fine breeding in achieving record 
yields and perfect standability. 
Weather is most important to good stalk 
quality. Drouth, especially after the corn plant 
reaches the ear-development stage, cuts down 
the plant’s capacity to make glucose which is so 
important to the building of ears and stalks. 
Modern Funk’s G-Hybrids resist drouth much 
better than open pollinated strains. The ear, of 
course, as explained previously, has first call on 
glucose—and when the supply fails, the stalks 
may not properly mature and so, lacking strength- 



Here is an example of a corn borer resistant 
Funk’s G-Hybrid plant that has matured a large 
ear of sound corn and a strong stalk. Above is 
shown a stalk that gives no sign of having been 
attacked by borers. At the right is the same stalk 
with sections cut away, revealing that numbers 
of borers entered. Funk Corn Breeders have 
developed in this hybrid the ability to ‘‘cork off’’ 
the areas tunneled away by the borers and to 
place protective materials around the interior 
injured portions of the stalk, preventing the 
spread of stalk rot infections that generally de- 
velop as soon as the hard exterior of the stalk 
has been punctured by the attacking borers. 
ening and protecting substances, a stalk becomes 
an easy victim of rot. 
Abnormally high or low temperatures restrict 
the manufacture and movement of glucose. This 
is true even though the temperature may not 
fall near the frost level. When adverse tempera- 
tures occur in the ear-filling stage, the plant is 
likely to allocate all available glucose to the 
ear, in order to ripen the kernels—and the stalk 
may suffer as in severe drouth. 
Modern Funk’s G-Hybrids are improved to 
combat temperature hazards. They are bred to 
continue the manufacture of and the movement 
of glucose over a wider range of temperatures 
than older strains. Too, even though adverse 
temperatures may render inactive even modern 
Funk’s G-Hybrids, they have a marked capacity 
to remain inactive for longer periods, so long as 
killing temperatures do not occur—and then to 
resume regular glucose-making and growth 
activities when normal temperatures return. 


This picture shows the value of chinch 
bug resistant strains of corn. Chinch 
bugs attacked the susceptible strain 
on the right, sucking out the glucose 
that was moving downward to feed 
the roots. Starved roots were unable 
to supply water sufficient to main- 
tain enough production of glucose fo 
develop both the ear and the stalk 
and as a result the stalks have broken 
so badly that not one remains fully 
erect. The resistant strain of corn at 
the left of this picture was hardly 
affected by the chinch bug attack. 














