How to Pollinate Corn (Zea mays)
- Sarah L. Fitzsimmons1,
- Miriam Nancy Salazar-Vidal2,
- Zachary B. Traylor1,
- Melissa A. Draves2 and
- Sherry Flint-Garcia3,4
- 1Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
- 2Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
- 3Plant Genetics Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
- ↵4Correspondence: sherry.flint-garcia{at}usda.gov
Abstract
Corn, or maize, is an economically important crop and frequently used model organism for genetic studies. Controlled pollinations are essential to the execution of these studies. This protocol outlines the basic steps in planning, setting up, and making manual pollinations. In addition, a method of extending pollen for multiple pollinations, as well as types of pollinations and their respective labeling schemes, are detailed. A troubleshooting guide is provided with solutions for common problems one might encounter when making manual pollinations. Although growing conditions and germplasm may cause slight deviations from this protocol, the basic principles can be applied to any corn research program.
Footnotes
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From the Maize collection, edited by Candice N. Hirsch and Marna D. Yandeau-Nelson. The entire Maize collection is available online at Cold Spring Harbor Protocols and can be accessed at https://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/.
