Planting, Pollinating, Harvesting, and Monitoring Growth in Maize (Zea mays) for Research

Zea mays, also known as maize or corn, is a staple crop as well as a classical model organism for plant genetic studies and research. To conduct maize research, plants must be properly cultivated in field or greenhouse conditions to ensure reproductive success and safeguard genetic identity through controlled pollinations. Genetic studies require knowing which alleles or genetic combinations (genotype) are present in an individual so the geneticist can create new combinations or select the desired genotypes. In order to determine and maintain the genetic identity of a corn plant and make precise selections of male and female plants, reproductive structures must be covered and isolated prior to silking and anthesis, or pollen shed. Doing so allows experimenters to make controlled pollinations to produce the desired genotype. Successful pollination of corn requires proper field design and preparation, careful planting to maintain distinct genetic families, and careful monitoring of growth and husbandry followed by proper harvest and seed storage. These activities have been optimized over the past 100 years. In this review, we summarize each step needed to produce a generation of corn from planting to harvest.