ROW POSITION EFFECTS WITHIN SEED CORN PRODUCTION FIELDS ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF INBRED CORN

Yields per gross acre within seed corn (Zea mays L.) production fields are in part limited by female:male row ratios and row spacing. Field studies were conducted from 1983 to 1986 to determine impact of female row position relative to male pollinator rows on yield of inbred dent corn grown under hybrid seed production conditions. During the first 2 yr, three inbred genotypes differing in pollen production were used as pollen sources with a common female inbred. During the last 2 yr, three female genotypes were used with a common male. When compared with rows adjacent (30 in.) to pollinator rows, each additional 30 in. row distance from the pollinator caused an average reduction of about 550 000 seeds/acre. Rows closest to the pollinator also tended to produce more flat and fewer round kernels. Amount of pollen produced by the male inbred did not have significant effects on variables tested. Significant female genotype interaction with distance between pollen source and receptive ear occurred for kernel size percentages. Row patterns within seed fields that will provide the least distance between parent rows are proposed to be the most productive spatial distributions based upon kernel yield per female acre. These row patterns should also provide more desirable seed size distributions.