Sunday, July 23, 2017

corn sweat III

despite torrential rains the last few days, the corn in a bucket is suffering in the heat ( upper eighties fahrenheit ) and the humidity...all that airborne moisture doesn't seem to be helping the plants ( first through sixth photos ) as they exhibit considerable leaf curl ( perhaps the "bucket" part provides some explanation..limited area = limited water )...so i dumped some water on them and went around the corner of the house to have a look at the ancestors...i could not detect any leaf curl in the northern tepehuan teosinte ( seventh through ninth ) or the zea mays parvaglumis ( tenth through twelfth )...they seemed content to bask in the sun and grow...could stem from the fact that they are in ground and not conatainerized..or it could be a micro-climate issue...i think not however...i am inclined to a genetic explanation...despite corns well known preference for warm, wet weather ( takes two acre feet of water to raise a corn crop )the ancestors are even better suited for the heat...the kids lost something along the way.

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