In an attempt to find better ways of estimating relative maturity differences in corn (Zea mays L.), various thermal unit formulas were evaluated. Utilizing data from six plantings of corn over a 2 year period, 22 different methods of computing thermal units were tested for their ability to account for variation in flowering dates. Both hourly and daily temperature data were used in the equations. In general the daily measurements appeared to be approximately as accurate as the hourly measurements. The best equation for predicting flowering dates on the basis of thermal units utilized a base temperature of 10C (50F) and an optimum of 30C (86F). The excess temperature above 30C was subtracted to account for high temperature stress.