Hybridization revolutionized corn production in North America and worldwide in the 20th century. Cross-pollinating two distinct varieties of corn or other plants can produce hybrids that are stronger, more resistant to drought and disease, and higher yielding than either parent variety. Native Americans and early settlers experimented with many ways to improve corn, but the first commercial hybrid corn was not produced until 1918. A major breakthrough came when American agricultural researchers crossed the offspring of two hybrid strains to create a double-cross hybrid. They controlled pollination by placing paper bags on corn ears and tassels and removing them only to pollinate the plants by hand. Like most corn grown in the 1900s, the variety depicted here was a double-cross hybrid called Corn Belt dent corn, with between 14 and 22 rows of yellow kernels and a small dent on the end of the kernels. The basic parents of dent corn are Northern flint corn and Southern gourdseed corn. Sam Frantz, who farmed this site from 1935 to 1963, became well known for developing hybrid corn seeds, worked with The Ohio State University on corn hybridization projects, and served on the United States Department of Agriculture Seed Authority Committee.
