Should I Detassel My Corn

Do you really need to detassel corn in your garden? Detasseling helps to pollinate corn plants and encourages or prevents cross-pollination. Removing the Tassel isn’t necessary if you only grow a single variety of corn, but it can increase crop resilience and yield.

Why should you Detassel corn?

Why detassel corn? Detasseling is a form of pollination control. The purpose of detasseling is to cross-breed or hybridize two different varieties of field corn. Farmers get their seed from companies that cross pollinate corn to create hybrids with beneficial traits like drought tolerant and disease resistant.

When should you Detassel sweet corn?

Detassel the female plants as soon as the tassels emerge completely and before the tiny pollen-bearing anthers cover them, according to Varsity Detasseling. You have to complete the detasseling before silks appear. Once anthers and silks arrive, you’re too late – pollination has begun.