Should Corn Tillers Be Broken Off? Full Analysis of the Reasons and the Effects of Not Breaking Them Off

During the growth period of corn, corn will show the phenomenon of tillering, which is the so-called tiller shoots. Although it does not affect the appearance, it can affect corn yield. So what is going on with corn tiller shoots? Should they be broken off?

It is very normal for corn to grow tiller shoots. Corn belongs to the grass family, and corn tiller shoots are actually the tillers of corn, which is the same principle as rice tillering. It is just that when people bred corn seeds, they tried as much as possible to remove the tillering trait of corn, but this unique genetic characteristic of the plant cannot be eradicated, which is why it has evolved to the present situation where some corn plants grow tiller shoots and some do not. There are many reasons why corn grows tiller shoots, mainly the following:

1. Variety reasons. Some varieties are inherently strongly tillering, while some varieties have a low tillering rate, so they perform differently in cultivation, with some growing tiller shoots and some not.

2. Temperature reasons. After corn is sown, if the temperature is too low, it will cause the main stem to grow slowly and easily trigger the occurrence of tillering.

3. Higher fertility makes tillering more likely. After nutrients are supplied for the growth of the main stem, there is still a surplus, which creates the material conditions for tillering.

4. Too sparse planting density makes tillering more likely. Because the plants are distributed more sparsely, the nutritional area of a single plant is large and the growth space is broad, which is favorable for the formation of tillers.

Should corn tiller shoots really be broken off?

At present there are two views:

1. They should not be broken off. The reason is that the photosynthetic products of the tiller shoots can flow back to the main stem and supply nutrition to the ear of the main stem. Regarding this view, the editor thinks it is not very realistic, because after the plant reaches the big flare stage, field shading is severe, and the so-called tiller shoots basically cannot see sunlight. Photosynthesis should be very weak, and it would already be good if the photosynthetic products produced were enough for their own consumption. Saying that they provide nutrition to the main stem feels difficult.

2. They should be broken off. It is believed that tillers will compete with the main stem for nutrients, affect the growth and development of the main stem, and cause yield reduction. The editor thinks this view has some truth. From the seedling stage to the small flare stage, the tillers that occur should be suspected of competing with the main stem for nutrients. If the height difference between the main stem and the tiller plant is very large, there will basically be no effect, and it can even be ignored.

The benefits of not breaking off corn tiller shoots are the following five points:

1. It increases the overall leaf area of corn.

Research shows that for experimental corn varieties where tillers were not removed, the leaf area per hectare was 35610-46510 sq m, while for those where tillers were removed, the leaf area per hectare was only 24690 sq m. The former had a much larger leaf area than the latter, laying a good foundation for corn to produce more dry matter.

2. It increases the number of roots. The measurement results for the root system showed that when tillers were retained, the average number of roots per plant was 56, while for plants with tillers removed it was 29, an average increase of 27.6 roots, or an increase of 95%.

3. It reduces the evaporation of soil moisture. Measurements showed that when tillers were retained, the soil moisture content at 10 cm below the surface was 14.49% higher than when tillers were removed. After tillers were retained, a larger leaf canopy formed, which reduced soil moisture evaporation and played a role in preserving soil moisture. It can be seen that under such circumstances, compared with surface evaporation, leaf transpiration has a greater effect, so retaining tillers can preserve soil moisture and resist drought.

4. It removes apical dominance. All corn main stems with many tiller shoots are short, thick, and stout in morphology. The more tiller shoots there are, the smaller the possibility of excessive vigorous growth of the main stem. A short, thick, and stout plant is the sign of high yield!

5. The return flow of reproductive elements. After corn tasseling, the tiller shoots will gradually wither and die, and the water, photosynthetic products, and reproductive elements in them will flow back to the main stem, ultimately providing nutrients for corn maturation.