Good Question: Why Does Corn Have Hair?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Without the silky hair, there would be no corn, according to the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

For the kernels to form, they ear has to be pollinated from the pollen powder on the tassel.

Given the husk forms a protective barrier around the ear, the pollen needs a way to travel from the tassel to spot where the kernel later forms.

Enter the hair, which allows the pollen to makes it way from the outside to the inside of the ear.

Each kernel is connected to a piece of hair. There are, on average, between 400 and 600 kernels on an ear of corn.

In:
• Heather Brown