Abstract
Lodging caused by typhoon or windstorm is one of the biggest problems in silage corn production in Japan. During a field experiment in which we compared 13 commercial silage corn cultivars, serious lodging occurred as a result of a strong windstorm that occurred during the mid-growth period (49 days after seeding). We examined the relationship between the lodging tendency and morphological characteristics of those cultivars. Lodging occurred in 66% of the experimental field area, while there was a varietal difference in the area where lodging occurred. As the growth stage was advanced, the area affected by lodging increased in size. However, lodging resistance evaluated by the method of Koinuma et al. (1998) was not significantly different among the 13 cultivars, when it was measured at the milk-ripe stage of each cultivar examined. Recovery from lodging was easy when the plant height or gravity center of the shoot was low. We concluded that recovery from lodging would be possible before harvest when it occurred within 20 days prior to the silking stage.
