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Onto the corn:
That pic was taken on the fourth of July. You'll notice that it has tasseled, and is already producing silk. While I want a genetically diverse population, the timing of the tasseling and silking is something that could knock this plant out of the population, because it is less likely that the cobs will get pollinated, and if they do, it is more likely that it will be self pollination, which eventually leads to retardo-inbred plants, and it will not be able to compete with everything else.
OTOH, if it does get pollinated by another later blooming stalk, it could start to move its flowering time closer to the average. We'll see.
FYI, for those who are unaware, corn is wind pollinated. The tassels produce the pollen, and the silks are the part that accept the pollen.
Another issue with this particular stalk is that the cobs are forming down low. I have raccoons as pests, and raccoons just love low hanging cobs. This is becoming more and more the exception.
