Freezing Injury of Seed Corn

Authors

• Theodore A. Kiesselbach, University of Nebraska
• J. A. Ratcliff, University of Nebraska

Date of this Version

6-1920

Document Type

Article

Comments

Research Bulletin No. 16; The University of Nebraska Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska. Published June 1920: Lincoln, Nebraska

Abstract

Research Bulletin No. 16
The University of Nebraska Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska

Summary • Introduction • Character of corn embryo and process of germination • Freezing injury not due to arrested development of the embryo • Moisture content of corn • Old corn • New corn • Physical effects of freezing • Ice formation in kernels • Effect of freezing on color of embryo • Effect of freezing on embryonic tissues • Chemical effects of freezing • Probable cause of death from freezing • Historical review • Crushing of plant tissues or rupturing of cell structures • Too rapid thawing • Desiccation of the protoplasm • Physical and chemical disorganization of the protoplasm ancl other cell contents • Personal interpretation • Effects of freezing upon the viability of seed corn • Vitality of corn frozen under control conditions • Apparatus • Selection of material • Method of handling • Moisture tests • Snbjection to freezing temperatures • Germination • Observation of ice in seed • Color of embryo • Relation between moisture content and injury at various degrees of freezing • General survey • Field selection 1913-1915 • Effect of early freezing on varieties, 1915 • Effect of more severe freezing, 1915 • Variation within a single ear • Effect of first killing frost on varieties, 1917 • Degree of maturity selected at different dates in the fall and winter of 1917 • Condition of corn in cribs on January 26, 1918 • The danger line of freezing injury • Occurrence of autumn frosts in Nebraska • • Freezing injury inevitable in occasional years • Selection for earliness • Alternatives in seed selection • Combination of methods for selecting seeds • Ascertaining viability • Relative corn yields in Nebraska following severe seed corn injury • Effects of time of selection and preservation • Relative yields of different ear types • Effect of uniform stand • Effect of imperfect hills • Probable distribution of plants when seed of low germination is planted • Literature cited