The Anatomy Of Corn

The Anatomy Of Corn If you are reading this, corn has touched your life in some way. We eat corn, animals eat corn, cars eat corn (well, it can be used as a biofuel), and we even can eat corn out of a container made from corn (think: bioplastics). It is projected that the U.S. corn yield will reach over 14 billion bushels. However, what do you know about the corn plant itself? Did you, for example, know that corn is a grass and not a vegetable? The Seed: The Beginnings Of The Corn Plant Look at a corn cob - you will see the seeds! The kernels that you eat can also be used as the seed source to start new plants. Dont worry; the corn kernels that you eat wont grow in your stomach. Specific corn plants are set aside to provide seed. Corn Growth Stages The corn plants growth stages are broken down into vegetative and reproductive stages. The vegetative growth stages are VE (emergence of the plant), V1 (first fully expanded leaf), V2 (second fully expanded leaf), etc. up to however many leaves appear. The last stage is called VT, referring to when the tassel fully emerges.The reproductive stages are noted as R1 through R6. R1 refers to when the corn silks are first visible outside the husks and pollination occurs. (This process will be explained more fully later in the article.) During the other stages, the kernels are developing. At the final (R6) stage, the kernels have reached their maximum dry weight. Seedlings are dependent on kernel reserves up until about the V3 leaf stage when they become dependent on the roots to take up nutrients. Corn Roots Corn plants are unusual in that they have two distinct sets of roots: regular roots, called seminal roots; and nodal roots, which are above the seminal roots and develop from the plant nodes. The seminal root system includes the plants radicle (the first root emerging from the seed). These roots are responsible for taking up water and nutrients, and for anchoring the plant.The second root system, the nodal roots, is formed about an inch or so below the soil surface, but above the seminal roots. The nodal roots are formed at the base of the coleoptile, which is the primary stem that emerges from the ground. The nodal roots are visible by the V2 stage of development. The seminal roots are important to the survival of the seedling, and damage can delay emergence and stunt development. This is because the corn plant depends on the nutrients present in the seed until the nodal roots are developed. As soon as the coleoptile emerges from the soil, the seminal roots cease to grow. Nodal roots that form above the ground are called brace roots, but they function similarly to the nodal roots below the ground. Sometimes brace roots actually penetrate the soil and take up water and nutrients. These roots may be needed for water uptake in some cases, as the crown of a young corn plant is only about 3/4 below the soil surface! Therefore, corn can be vulnerable to dry soil conditions as they dont have a deep root system. Corn Stalk And Leaves Corn grows on a single stem called a stalk. Stalks can grow up to ten feet tall. The plants leaves emerge from the stalk. A single corn stalk can hold between 16 and 22 leaves. The leaves wrap around the stalk, rather than having a stem. The part of the leaf that wraps around the stem is called the node. Corn Reproductive Structures: The Tassel, Flowers, and Ears The tassel and the corn ears are responsible for reproduction and formation of the corn kernels. The tassel is the male part of the plant, which emerges from the top of the plant after all of the leaves have developed. Many male flowers are on the tassel. The male flowers release pollen grains which contain the male reproductive cells. The female flowers develop into the corns ears, which contain the kernels. The ears contain the female eggs, which sit on the corn cob. Silks - long strands of silky material - grow from each egg and emerge from the top of the ear. Pollination occurs when pollen is carried from the tassels to the exposed silks on the ear of corn, which is the female flower on the plant. The male reproductive cell goes down to the female egg contained within the ear and fertilizes it. Each strand of fertilized silk develops into a kernel. The kernels are arranged on the cob in 16 rows. Each ear of corn averages about 800 kernels. And, as you learned in the first section of this article, each kernel can potentially become a new plant!

Overwhelmed Heres a Great Way to Take Control of Your Job Search

Overwhelmed Heres a Great Way to Take Control of Your Job Search I have a confession to make: I am not naturally an organized person. If left to my own devices, I generally do whatever comes into my head to do at the moment. I am easily sidetracked and have a tendency to think I can do everything without regard to priorities. Sound familiar? If so, and if you are a job seeker, you might be experiencing some overwhelm as you conduct your search. Thankfully, there are tools available that can help. To tackle my lack of focus, for example, I have chosen to participate in a business coaching group where I am forced to create priorities and follow them- at least to some extent! You might benefit from some prioritization tools as well. Let’s say you decide to research companies you might want to work for. First, you’ll read my blog from last week, Top 5 Web Sites for Your Job Search Over the Holidays, and start listing companies that interest you. What’s next? The answer is not Apply to all the jobs and accept the first one that will take me. The answer isn’t even, Do extensive research on the 50 companies on my list. Instead, take some time to prioritize. First, make a list of your top 20-30 companies based on your research. Then get clear about what’s important to you so you can gather further information on the companies that best meet your requirements. Factors to consider: Job Function/Title Industry Commute Salary Benefits Opportunity for Growth Travel Company Reputation Size of Company Products I Resonate With Pick 5-6 of these items that are most important to you and score each of the companies in your list from 1-5 (1 = bad/low, 5 = good/high) on how they match up on each factor. You can make a simple chart to do this: Â   Factor #1 Factor #2 Factor #3 Factor #4 Factor #5 Factor #6 Total Company #1 Company #2 Company #3 Company #4 Look at the total scores and rank the companies from highest to lowest. Then start your information gathering, such as finding contact people at the organizations, with the highest-scoring companies. Concentrate on finding the hiring managers at those top companies and start to discover what challenges the companies are facing and how you can add value. Once you know your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc. you will be in a much stronger position as you approach the companies. You will know what you want so you can focus on that, rather than let the job market dictate your search. And you will reduce overwhelm by taking things one step at a time in a clear, organized way. Do you have methods you use to stay focused in your job search? Please share in the comments! Category:Job SearchBy Brenda BernsteinJanuary 27, 2014