Cultivar · Maize heritage variety
Reid's Yellow Dent
Reid's Yellow Dent is a historic open-pollinated maize variety developed by the Reid family in Illinois in the mid-19th century. It became the dominant dent corn of the U.S. Corn Belt and a foundational source of germplasm for later hybrid maize.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Maize
- Botanical taxon
- Zea mays
- Type
- Open-pollinated heritage variety
- Breeding method
- Farmer selection from an accidental variety cross
- Origin
- Illinois (Tazewell County), United States
- Breeder / institution
- Farmer-breeders Robert Reid and his son James L. Reid
- Registry status
- Historical
- Registries
- USDA GRIN · United States · as of 2026-07-12Reid's Yellow Dent is represented in U.S. maize germplasm collections as a historical open-pollinated variety; specific record identifiers are not reproduced here.
- Adaptation
- Adapted to the temperate U.S. Corn Belt, where it became the dominant open-pollinated dent maize before the adoption of hybrids.
- Intended use
- Historical open-pollinated grain and feed corn, Foundation germplasm for Corn Belt dent maize breeding, Heritage and seed-saver cultivation
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
Reid's Yellow Dent is a heritage open-pollinated maize (dent corn) that originated in Tazewell County, Illinois, in the mid-19th century. It arose from an accidental cross: Robert Reid’s southern gourdseed-type dent, carried west from the Ohio Valley, interpollinated with a local northern flint (commonly described as a "Little Yellow" type) after a poor stand led to replanting, and the productive yellow-dented ears that resulted were then selected and improved.
Robert Reid and his son James L. Reid selected the variety over many seasons. It gained wide recognition after winning awards including at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and by the early 20th century it had become the predominant open-pollinated dent maize of the Corn Belt.
Origin and history
The variety originated when a southern gourdseed-type dent brought to Illinois by Robert Reid interpollinated with a locally grown northern flint. Reid favoured the resulting yellow-dented ears, which combined good yield with adaptation to the region, and his son James continued selecting and refining the population over subsequent decades.
Reid's Yellow Dent won recognition at agricultural exhibitions, including the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and spread rapidly through the Corn Belt as farmers adopted and re-selected their own strains.
Significance for breeding
As the dominant open-pollinated dent maize of the early 20th century, Reid's Yellow Dent became a major reservoir of germplasm for the inbred lines developed once hybrid maize breeding began. The Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic, from which the influential inbred B73 was later derived, was assembled largely from lines of Reid's Yellow Dent heritage.
Because so many temperate maize lines trace back to it, the variety is frequently cited in discussions of the genetic base of North American maize.
Status today
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Originated in Illinois, United States; historically dominant across the temperate U.S. Corn Belt.
Climate context: Temperate open-pollinated dent maize; historically adapted to Corn Belt growing conditions.
- Accounts of the founding cross and dates differ in detail between historical sources; the summary here reflects the commonly documented narrative rather than a single definitive record.
- As an open-pollinated heritage variety, modern seed lots differ by source and selection history and are not a standardized, registered cultivar.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- [1]USDA ARS — Agricultural Research Service (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: History of Reid's Yellow Dent and its role in the maize genetic base
- Type:
- Government agency
- Jurisdiction:
- United States
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Representation of the variety in U.S. maize germplasm collections
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12