Purple Corn Syndrome becomes apparent in some corn fields each year due to a variety of factors. The purple color is expressed from anthocyanin pigment formation due to the accumulation of simple sugars. Simple sugars back up inside the plant tissue.Limited root development is often the cause of purple corn syndrome. Soil conditions that limit root development including cool soil temperatures, dry soils, wet poorly drained soils,
soil compaction, side wall compaction or smearing and shallow planting all can result in purple corn syndrome. Likewise, insect damage, seedling diseases, herbicide or fertilizer injury may also exhibit symptoms. The expression of anthocyanin in the plant typically occurs before V6 depending on weather conditions. Corn will outgrow this condition once temperatures warm up and the seedlings begin to grow rapidly in favorable growing conditions.
Specific hybrids may express higher levels of purpling than others, however, there is no adverse affect on overall yield potential compared to hybrids that do not express purpling.