The Diffusion of Hybrid Seed Corn In Two Iowa Communities

Abstract

Hybrid seed corn has diffused through the midwest with phenomenal rapidity. In the space of four years, 1936 through 1939, two-thirds of the operators in the two communities studied, changed to the new seed. Relatively few, however, took over hybrid seed for their entire acreage the first year they tried it. This was true even for operators first using the seed at a relatively late date. There appears to be some difference between the diffusion agencies which informed farmers of the new seed and the sources of influence toward adoption. Commercial channels, especially salesmen, were most important as original sources of knowledge, while neighbors were most important as influences leading to acceptance. Although the time pattern of acceptance follows a bell shaped curve, this instance of diffusion cannot be accurately described as following a normal frequency distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Rural Sociology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)