Vegetative phase change, or the transition from juvenile vegetative to adult vegetative tissues, is essential to the lifecycle of higher plants. In maize (Zea mays L.), juvenile and adult vegetative tissues have distinctly different traits that may confer differing amounts of resistance to disease and insect infestations. Vegetative phase change has been linked to resistance to insects and common rust (Puccinia sorghi Schwein.). Seven cycles of divergent recurrent selection for early and late phase change were evaluated to determine effects of selection on phase change, insect resistance, and agronomic traits. Last leaf with juvenile wax, a trait indicative of the timing of phase change, was the selected trait. Divergent recurrent selection was effective in creating populations that underwent vegetative phase change at distinctly different developmental stages. Last leaf with juvenile wax moved from leaf 8.70 in the original population to leaf 14.48 in the late direction and 6.04 in the early direction. First leaf with adult wax moved from leaf 6.36 in the original population to leaf 8.15 in the late direction and 5.28 in the early direction. Several agronomic traits were also significantly altered by selection including plant and ear height, leaf number, kernel row count, and days to silking. C7Late plants averaged four more leaves and were taller and later flowering than C7Early plants. European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hubner) feeding damage on the second leaf above the ear was significantly greater in the late phase change direction, and significantly correlated with last leaf with juvenile wax. Most ear traits and European corn borer stalk damage resistance were not altered in a consistent way by selection.

In maize (Zea mays L.), some experiments have indicated that early vegetative phase transition is associated with increased resistance to disease, insects, and stalk lodging. The sweet corn population Minn11 was selected over three cycles of divergent recurrent selection for early‐phase transition and late‐phase transition. Objectives were to determine the effectiveness of divergent recurrent selection and if the divergent selection program was associated with resistance to common rust (Puccinia sorghi). Selection resulted in a significant linear response for last leaf with juvenile wax in both the early and late directions of selection. The third cycle in the late direction (C3L) had two more leaves with juvenile wax than cycle zero (C0). The third cycle in the early direction (C3E) had 1.5 fewer leaves with juvenile wax than C0. To determine the effects of divergent selection for vegetative phase change on response to common rust the populations were inoculated with rust at three developmental times, vegetative stage (v) 5, v10, and v15, and rust damage was rated on leaves 7 through 13 individually, resulting in 21 potential responses for each direction of selection. Among the 21 leaf by developmental stage combinations, there were 9 significant linear trends in the late direction of selection. Most of the linear trends were detected in leaves 7 through 9. Selection for early transition did not affect response to common rust. The amount of leaf area damaged by rust in C3E never differed from the amount in C0.

Since 1930, maize (Zea mays L.) yields in the United States have increased more than fourfold. Previous studies examining maize cultivars grown during that period have documented changes in yield, leaf angle, tassel size, drought tolerance, and insect resistance, but none have examined changes in vegetative phase change or resistance to common rust (Puccinia sorghi Schwein.). Vegetative phase change has been shown to affect both disease and insect resistance, and common rust can reduce yields in maize especially east of the Mississippi River. Thirty‐six widely used northern Corn Belt cultivars spanning the years of pre‐1930 to 2006 were evaluated for phase change traits and rust resistance. Cultivars were divided into early and late maturity groups from different eras and planted at two locations with two planting dates per location for 2 yr. Timing of vegetative phase change has not changed linearly over the eras examined. There was, however, a significant linear increase in rust resistance over that time. In the early maturity group, percentage of leaf area infected by rust was found to decrease at a rate of 0.1% yr−1 Whole‐plant rust resistance in the late maturity group was found to increase at a rate of 0.05% yr−1.

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