The Masque of the Red Death — of Corn
The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. ~from "The Masque of the Red Death," by Edgar Allan Poe We've got more than just squirrel problems with our corn this year (as if that weren't enough). We also have weird, red veined stalks (and these often these have red tassels as well). It starts with the center vein turning red: Lots of our corn looked like this, and it did not grow very tall. They also had very small ears (well, the ones we beat the squirrels to did, anyway). Not all of it turned out this way. Here's a nice, normal one with a good sized ear: (To be honest, we have to assume that ear was good based on the size of the husk the squirrels left behind). These have nice, white center veins in the leaves: So what is going on? According to a very thorough diagnostic chart from the University of Georgia , the Red Death might be a virus called Maize ...