Tight Tassel Wrap: The Latest Challenge in Corn

Update: 2025-08-19

Description

This season has brought one of the most puzzling problems in corn production, the tight tassel wrap.

Tight tassel wrap is an uncommon phenomenon that occurs when the uppermost leaves refuse to unfurl, keeping the tassel trapped and preventing pollination. The result? Pollination problems that can quietly reduce your yields, even in fields that look picture-perfect from afar.

Tune in as Mike Howell sits down with Dr. Dan Quinn, Purdue University's extension corn specialist, to explore this new challenge and the importance of getting timing and synchrony right throughout corn production.

They break down how corn pollinates, how pollen travels from tassel shed to silks to fertilize ovules and why the short pollination window is so vulnerable to stress. You'll hear about how environmental changes and hybrid traits can create this problem and what to look for when scouting your fields.

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