Corn crossing considerations: pollen parent vs seed parent?

[Greenie DeS]

When crossing corns specifically, what are some considerations around choosing which will be the pollen parent vs the seed parent? Does anyone have any links, knowledge, or or observations they're willing to share?

[William Schlegel]

Well I just plant oh say a blue corn next to a yellow corn. Then I pick out the blue kernels on the yellow corn and make sure to plant those the next year. No detasseling or any of that.

I suppose whichever of the two is shorter season is a more reliable mother.

[reed]

When I crossed an old Mexican corn with short fat ears to other corns with long slender ears, I found that the size and shape of the crossed ears seemed to follow the mother's type. I wanted these varieties to be thoroughly mixed, so I did detassel plants and did it in both directions.

Result was mother with short fat ear x father with long slender ear = offspring with short fat ear and the opposite in the first crossed generation.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

If I'm crossing sugary enhanced with old-fashioned sweet corn, it helps to have the old-fashioned sweet corn as the mother, because then the pericarp is thicker, and the seed germinates more reliably.

[Dale Wilson]

I would echo Joseph's advice, but extend it to starchy corn too. The classic example is Stiff-Stalk x Lancaster hybrids.  Seed quality is much better when SS is the seed parent. This is probably related to thickness of the pericarp.