When a Maize plant is given normal condition for growth development, stand & establishment, it grows without tillering. But, when it get infected by any infestans for eg, Stem borer or FAW that infestes on Plant whorl making it unable to grow any further tall.
As far as I know it is common on many modern corn/maize varieties. However, pathogen infection or insect damage or physical damage on plants make plants to think they are under attack. The production of extra tillers or even suckers is the response from plant to save themselves. In addition, plants produce many hormones in response to wound and such hormones try to compensate the damage by rapid cell division. Rapid cell division and expansion cause either sealing off the wound or production of the tillers (suckers).
The other reason for production of tillers could be space between plants. When plants get space greater than required, the axillary bud can break their dormancy (in presence of desirable spectrum of light) and produce tillers.
The main thing is whether it is bad or not. Many says it is common in modern hybrid maize due to gene manipulations. Some also says tillers draw resources (photosynthesis products/sugars, water, light, nutrient) and reduce the production of ear/s (size and numbers) on main stalk.
Dear Radhakrishna Bhandari Modern maize (Zea mays L.) has descended from teosinte (Zea maxicana L.) possibly through a macromutation with pleiotropic effects including preclusion of tillering habit. In cases of early pathogen infection, insect induced or physical damage, "tillering" genes get activated in order to sustain pertetuity of the modern maize. To my opinion, such a phenomenon in modern maize is the relic of tillering ability of its ancestral species.
Best wishes, AKC
In modern maize, high level of apical dominance (due to presence of auxin) mechanism is existing leading to single stem with by and large one or two ears. Damage of shoot tip of maize physically or by insect pest leads to break of apical dominance in the early stage. Consequently lateral shoots are induced in the form of tillers in the early stages of maize growth. Maize biological progenitor (Zea mays subsp parviglumis) also had tillering ability.
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