Over-Extended Mesocotyls and Floppy Corn Syndrome (Purdue Univ.)

he curious phenomenon referred to as "floppy corn syndrome" reared (or lowered, as it were) its ugly head in some fields in Indiana and Ohio back in early June. The term "floppy corn" simply describes a young (V5 to V8) plant that has fallen over because of the absence of an established nodal root system at the crown of the plant. Affected plants may survive if the mesocotyl remains intact long enough for subsequent nodes of roots to establish themselves in moist soil. If the mesocotyl breaks before subsequent establishment of additional nodal roots, the plant dies. The causes of the poor nodal root development have been debated for years and, indeed, likely vary from situation to situation.