This past week, Evan stumbled upon a phenomenon that our family may not see again in our lifetimes, which was “bouquet ears” of Indian corn! This term means that there were multiple ears of corn growing from a single ear shank, all within the same husk. This has also been referred to as M.E.S.S. (Multiple Ears on Single Shank) Syndrome. In some cases, as many as 5 or 6, even up to 8 side ears may develop, resulting in a “bouquet”. In our case, we found 4 ears. Side ears may be well-developed but may contain many failed kernels, due to late silk emergence & lack of pollen.
Multiple ears on a single plant are not unusual, but the multiple ears usually develop separately from individual STALK nodes (not shank nodes). The ear shank is also made up of nodes & internodes, just like the main stalk. Scientists think, that in M.E.S.S. cases, the primary ear has been absorbed, or never developed & the “bouquet ears” are secondary ears. When the primary ear was aborted, they think hormonal apical dominance was lost, which triggered the development of the secondary node, or third & so on. Dr. Bob Nielsen, at Purdue University has proposed that this genetic trait may be triggered by particular stress events, that occur during primary ear formation. How cool?! And I’m so curious, has anyone else ever seen this?!
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