A peculiar distortion of silk growth related to an unusual weather pattern was associated with severe and widespread blanking—failure of seed set—in early sweet corn in Coachella Valley in 1958. As a result, much corn harvested in various areas of the Valley during the first two weeks of May was discarded as cull. Later harvests were of much better quality.

The above article is the second progress report on the blanking of corn based on Research Project No. 1380 by the same authors. The first was published in the December 1957 issue of California Agriculture under the title, “Blanking and Shrivel Disorders of Fresh Market Sweet Corn.”

Weather records were obtained from the United States Department of Commerce Airway Observations Group, Thermal, California.