Early Season Defoliation Affects Tassel Development in Corn.

Although severe early-season defoliation, such as hail injury, may cause abnormal growth and development of corn tassels, there is limited information in the literature documenting this effect. In a recent study evaluating multiple defoliation events on grain yield, defoliation at V8 resulted in tassel deformation. Deformed tassels had a skeletal appearance and were smaller than tassels of plants that were not defoliated. Spikelets were usually absent from the deformed tassels. To determine if differences in timing and hybrid genetics influence tassel deformation, tassel appearance at VT/R1 was visually rated and tassel branch number and length measured. In 2016 and 2017, a non-defoliated control and a 100% leaf removal treatment were compared at three stages of development – V5, V8, and V10 for three hybrids with different relative maturity ratings (107, 111, and 114 days).