SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – Before you start treating your corn fields with deodorant: They won’t stink any more than usual.
All plants sweat. This is not a new process, but recently it has been called “corn sweat.” The scientific term for this is evapotranspiration.
“Corn plants get just as hot as we do in the field. They have to take in water from their roots through their leaves and release that water to cool down,” said Matt Wommack, an assistant professor at Missouri State and operations coordinator for the farm.
This is eventually released into the air as water vapor, increasing humidity and thus the feeling of temperature. Wommack says this can pose a safety risk.
“This is a common safety hazard for farmers, especially this time of year. When you’re out in real corn fields, you have to be more careful about how much water you’re consuming during these activities because the humidity in the corn field is much higher than outside,” Wommack explained.
So how much corn sweat are we talking about?
It is estimated that a single acre of corn can produce 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water in a single day.
Just for reference, that would be like filling and emptying a hot tub 20 times in a single day.
Like the rest of us, corn and other plants sweat the most this time of year.
“The corn is just starting to panicle, the corn is using most of the water, that’s its highest point in terms of water needs right after panicle formation, and as the corn starts to dry out, the water use will go back down,” Wommack said.
This is important for corn because it takes up a lot of space vertically and horizontally, which in turn plays a more significant role in temperature perception.
Although farmers are used to it, keep the following in mind when visiting a corn maze during the hotter months of the year.
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