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Why does corn have hair?
Glaucia Simonetti Pinto,
Sao Paulo-SP
Because he needs these little threads to reproduce. In fact, the “hair” or the “beard” of the corn serves to transport the pollen grains that will fertilize the ovules of the ear, giving rise to the fruits of this vegetable, the corn grains. “All this happens because of a very peculiar characteristic: to ensure its reproduction, corn has both sexes on the same plant”, says agronomist Manoel Xavier dos Santos, Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, from Sete Lagoas (MG). The masculine side is represented by the tassel, the upper part of the plant that contains the pollen-bearing flowers. On the other hand, the female side, represented by the spike, has the hair as one of the most apparent signs. When they appear, about two months after planting, the corn is ready to reproduce. At that time, the flowers release a large amount of pollen – the total can reach 20 million grains per plant! With the action of the wind, the pollen ends up being carried and falls on the hairs of the corn. Then, each of the pollen grains walks along a thread and fertilizes an egg, generating spikes with up to 800 grains. At the end of the process, the plant goes through a kind of vegetable “baldness”. “After reproduction, the threads dry out and easily fall off the cob”, says Manoel.