Ripening is complete in about 35 days after topping or about 155 days after sowing.
Great care is given to the cultivation, and damp atmospheric conditions are desirable during the ripening stages.
The disease is due to poisoning by micro-organisms produced by deteriorated maize, and can be combated by care in ripening, drying and storing the maize.
Their functions in annual, biennial and herbaceous perennial plants cease after the ripening of the seed, whilst in plants of longer duration layer after layer of strong woody tissue is formed, which enables them to bear the strains which the weight of foliage and the exposure to wind entail.
The thorough ripening of the preceding season's wood in fruit trees and flowering plants, and of the crown in perennial herbs like strawberries, and the cessation of all active growth before the time they are to start into a new growth, are of paramount importance.