6. A method has been worked out to obtain pollen from vestigial glume tassels. The glumeless ear characteristic, that is associated with the glumeless tassel, is a quality characteristic for use in sweet corn hybrids. The vestigial glume (Vg) gene is the one reported by G. F. Sprague, (1939). The Vg plants are mechanically male sterile since the naked anthers blast under ordinary field conditions. The pollination technique involves the use of an open polyethylene cylinder over the developing tassel so that a glumed condition is simulated. In this moist atmosphere the anthers mature but fail to dehisce. The mature anthers are shaken off the tassel into a paper bag. Next they are ground up to loosen the pollen and finally, after drying, good pollen is separated from ground anthers and immature pollen by use of a small sieve. Now the good pollen is ready to be used for field pollinations either in small glassine bags or in duster blow guns commonly used in corn pollinating. It is necessary to make line crosses so that there is a segregation for Vg plants since normal plants are necessary to pollinate the glumeless cars.

Since the glumeless lines are mechanically male sterile, they may be used in such a way as to eliminate the detasseling step in the making of hybrid corn seed.

W. C. Galinat