What causes albino corn seedlings

Symptoms and harm

Albino corn seedlings refer to the phenomenon where the entire corn plant appears white after emergence. Albinism is a genetic segregation phenomenon in plants. Plants showing albinism cannot form chlorophyll for photosynthesis and will die.

Causes

1. Genetic albino seedlings, which cannot live independently due to lack of chlorophyll and soon die.

2. Another type of albino seedling generally begins at the 4-leaf stage of corn, when the leaf color at the base of the heart leaf becomes lighter; at the 5-6 leaf stage, leaves show stripes alternating light yellow and light green, but the veins remain green, and purple stripes appear at the base. After 10-15 days, the purple gradually turns yellow-white, the leaf mesophyll becomes thin, and the plants appear as white seedlings. In severe cases, the whole field turns white, mainly caused by soil zinc deficiency. Zinc-deficient corn plants are short, with short internodes and clustered leaves; in severe cases, the leaves dry up and there may even be no harvest at all.

Control measures

The occurrence of the first type of albino corn seedling is controlled by genetic genes and has little impact on the economic value of corn, but selection must be emphasized when breeding new corn varieties.

To prevent albino corn seedlings caused by soil zinc deficiency, mix 1 kg of zinc sulfate evenly with 10-15 kg of fine soil and scatter it beside the seeds when sowing, or use 0.75-1 kg of zinc sulfate per mu mixed evenly with diammonium phosphate or compound fertilizer as seed fertilizer. Zinc fertilizer can also be used for seed dressing: use 0.04-0.06 kg of zinc fertilizer, add 1 kg of water, dress 10 kg of seeds, pile and cover for 2-3 hours, then sow after drying in the shade. For corn that has already shown albino seedlings, use 0.2-0.3 kg of zinc sulfate per mu mixed with 100 kg of water for spraying, once every 7 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.