Maize silk - female inflorescence of Zea mays
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Maize silk - female inflorescence of Zea mays

by Lena Scheiffele

Female inflorescence of maize (Zea mays). The elongated stigmas are called silk.
Observed to determine the flowering stage of maize crop. At this phenological stage the plants contain the highest amount of water during the growing season. The time and the water amount in plants is an important information to correct soil moisture measurements by cosmic-ray neutron sensing.