throwing shade

there is some variation in plant height in the cornfield by the supermarket...the differences in height in the first two photos, and the uniformity in the third can probably be seen as a result of germination time...different times in the first two and almost simultaneous in the third...there are other factors at work though such as the maple tree in the berm of the field ( fourth )...it is on the east side of the field and casts a shadow over the rows nearest to that side for a good part of the day and the plants in the shadow are smaller ( fifth ) relative to the rows farther out in the field ( sixth and seventh )...corn does not like shade...hot weather is its element...it can stand dry for a while ( germination, flowering, tasseling, and kernel production need rainfall...about two acre feet of water...when you export corn you export water ) and fall over with no real impact but shade is not a healthy environment...the field's environment seems friendly to other biomass including queen anne's lace ( eighth )...a volunteer bean ( ninth ) and some lichen ( tenth )...as a final note the "cornfield singularity" of a few posts ago turns out to not be so singular after all...while investigating the impact of the maple tree's shade i discovered another thirteen rye plants growing along the edge...we will see when they mature later this month whether that is the correct call...they look very much like the rye in my back yard...what do they taste like...there's the test,