Corn Breeding: Lessons From the Past Glossary

The movement into or deposition of a quantity of material.

An agricultural region of the central United States primarily in Iowa and Illinois, but also parts of Indiana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Ohio.

The deliberate mating of two parental types of organisms in genetic analysis.

The transfer of pollen from an anther of the flower of one plant to a stigma of the flower of another plant.

the type of pollination that occurs when pollen from one plant falls on the silks of a different plant.

The deliberate mating of two parental types of organisms in genetic analysis.

The undeveloped plant in a seed.

The combinations of all the conditions external to the genome that potentially affect gene expression and the phenotype of a plant.

The act or process of initiating biological reproduction by pollination.

An individual produced by crossing two parents of different genotypes.

the phenomenon of a hybrid plant having greater vigor than its parents.

Individuals produced by crossing two parents of different genotypes.

a pure-breeding strain of corn.

a system of mating in which mates are more likely to be related than would occur if mating was random. Self-pollination is an extreme type of inbreeding.

A joint on a stem where shoots, leaves and flowers arise.

a variety of corn that is named for the manner in which seed of the variety is propagated across generations

Dust-like material produced by the anther (male reproductive structure) that is composed of pollen grains (microgametophytes) which carry the male gametes of seed plants; important in fertilization.

To transfer pollen from an anther to the stigma of a flower.

The offspring of an organism.

 in which all plants of that class share certain characteristics, such as ear shape and number of kernel rows.

Ripened fertilized ovule of a flowering plant that contains an embryo and normally capable of germination.

A natural or artificial process that favors or induces survival and perpetuation of one kind of organism over others that die or fail to produce offspring.

the type of pollination that occurs when pollen from a single plant falls on the silks of that same plant.

Transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma of the same flower.

the type of hybrid that is produced when two different inbreds are cross-pollinated.

The top layer of the Earth’s surface, consisting of four major components: air, water, organic matter and mineral matter. There are three categories of soil particles--sand, silt and clay--which are called "soil separates."

Crop plants within a species that have the same genetic composition. Because plants in a self-pollinated crop are usually homozygous, the variety and their offspring will remain genetically pure (i.e., barley varieties).  Because plants in a cross-pollinated crop are usually heterozygous, the variety and their offspring will not remain genetically pure (i.e., hybrid corn varieties).

The highest yield a plant (hybrid, variety, etc.) is capable of producing when grown in ideal conditions.

the scientific name of corn.