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Published online 1 January 1973
Published in Agron J 65:60-63 (1973)
© 1973 American Society of Agronomy
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Soil Temperature Reduction During Pollination and Grain Formation of Corn and Grain Sorghum1

John E. Adams and D. O. Thompson2

Factors other than total seasonal rainfall may be affecting corn (Zea mays L.) and possibly grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] yield in central Texas. It has been suggested that high temperatures in central Texas during pollination and grain filling decrease the carbohydrate reserves of corn. Soil temperature was lowered in corn and grain sorghum plots during pollination and grain formation to observe the effect of soil temperature during this critical period on grain yield. Chilled water (12 to 14 C) was circulated through copper tubing 11 cm below the soil surface in plots 6.1 m long and 4.0 m wide located on Houston Black clay soil. Soil temperature in the upper part of the root zone (7.5- to 46-cm depth) during soil cooling averaged 23 C in mulched, cooled grain sorghum plots; 22 C in mulched, cooled corn plots; and 26 C in bare, noncooled corn and grain sorghum check plots.

Decreasing average soil temperature (7.5- to 46-cm depth) during pollination and grain formation from 26 to 23 C reduced grain sorghum yield, but reducing average soil temperature to 22 C had no effect on corn yield. Soil cooling caused a significant (5% level) decrease stem temperature to a height of 61 cm in corn and some stem cooling at 61 cm in grain sorghum. Stem cooling of both corn and grain sorghum decreased with distance above the soil surface. Yield data obtained indicate that soil temperature during pollination and grain filling is not a factor limiting grain yield of corn and grain sorghum in central Texas.

Key Words: Plant stem temperature • Soil cooling

1 Contribution from the Southern Region, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, in cooperation with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University.

2 Soil Scientist and Agricultural Research Technician, USDA, Box 748, Temple, Texas 76501.

Received for publication May 8, 1972.




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The SCI Journals Crop Science Vadose Zone Journal
Journal of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Education		 Soil Science Society of America Journal
Journal of Plant Registrations Journal of
Environmental Quality		 The Plant Genome
Copyright © 1973 by the American Society of Agronomy.