date:Jul 31, 2013
The silking process in the 2013 corn crop advanced rapidly last week and is now only four percentage points behind the 75 percent five-year average, the US Department of Agriculture said in its latest Crop Progress report.
In the 18 main corn-growing states, silking as of July 28 stood at 71 percent, up sharply from 43 percent the previous week. Silking indicates the key pollination process that determines the number of kernels per ear is under way and is sensitive to extreme heat and dryness.