Controlling starchy contaminations in sweet corn by the use of Ga. - The gene Ga converged on Purdue 51 gives inbreds whose hybrids ("sixty-three sixty-fourths" Golden Cross Bantam) are resistant to pollen contaminations by field corn. In testing it was not found practicable to duplicate field conditions since the inclusion of "unadulterated" Golden Cross Bantam as a check, diluted the proportion of available Ga pollen.

Where this dilution was greatest, with four check rows to one row with Ga, Ga reduced contaminations by 71.6�20.4% (S.E.). Where the proportion of Ga pollen was higher, the reduction was 76.6�11.8%. When the proportion was still higher (approaching field conditions) the reduction was 82.0�12.3%. Since the differences between those values are not significant, one can only guess that if Ga were introduced into both parents of the hybrid thus doubling the proportion of Ga pollen, Ga might under field conditions reduce contaminations by as much as 90%.

H. S. Perry