What to Do About Corn Bare Tips? A Full Analysis of the Latest Prevention and Control Methods

After corn kernels set, not every one grows well, and sometimes a strange phenomenon appears, such as corn bare tips, which means the top of the corn ear has no kernels and is incompletely developed. What causes this, and what should be done? How can this situation be avoided? Let us understand the specific details together.

1. Causes

The most basic cause is the variety. Some varieties have weak adaptability to adverse environments, and when the adverse environment exceeds a certain limit, this situation occurs. Or the soil salt content is high, there is waterlogging, sandy soil, soil that does not retain water, poor land, and slightly poor fertility. Generally, a single fertilizer is applied excessively, or organic fertilizer is lacking. Nutrient deficiency symptoms and poor pollination and fertilization. During the flowering period, high temperature or rainy weather affects pollination. Planting too densely causes poor light and inadequate nutrition. Infection by diseases also has an impact.

2. Cultivation Management

Choose flint corn varieties, which have fewer bare tips, while dent corn has severe bare tips. Cultivate in fertile, well-drained, deep, flat soil. You can test whether the soil salt content is normal. Determine a suitable density when planting. You can choose wide and narrow row cultivation to improve light. Apply more organic fertilizer and less chemical fertilizer, and you can use formula fertilization, mainly topdressing before and after flowering. After jointing, earth up the soil to enhance root growth.

3. Water Management

After jointing, water should be supplied continuously and there should be no drought, but do not let water accumulate. During flowering and grain filling, sufficient water is needed. Use nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in a balanced way, and spray 0.5% monopotassium phosphate as a foliar topdressing. In case of drought, watering must be done at night, so the water penetrates almost completely overnight, and the next day the roots will not be scalded. If watering in the morning, the sun comes out too early, and before the water has penetrated, the soil temperature begins to rise.

4. Pollination and Fertilization

Use a container to collect pollen from male flowers, dip a brush in the pollen, and shake it onto the silks of female flowers. You can also put the pollen into a gauze bag and dab it on the silks. Pollination can be repeated once. Detasseling should also be done. When the female ears emerge, detassel in the morning and evening to facilitate pollination and reduce consumption. Cut the husk leaves and silks. After cutting, those that have been fertilized will no longer grow, while those that have not been fertilized will grow, helping fertilization.

Corn bare tips are a common occurrence under natural pollination, but through these methods and measures, we can know how to prevent bare tips.