Technical Abstract: Prolificacy associated with higher grain yield in maize (Zea mays L.) has been widely documented. However, one serious concern is that prolificacy appears associated with poor stalk strength and plant standability. The objective of this research was to compare stalk strength and other agronomic characters of one-and two-eared subpopulations derived from three emaize populations (MoSQA(S7-H)C8 x Georgia Cow Corn [ACC]; MoSQB(S8-H)C8 x Georgia Cow Corn [Bcc]; SI171). Entries were evaluated by using nine combinations of three levels of nitrogen application (90, 180, and 270 kg N ha-1) and three levels of plant density (35 800, 47 800, and 59 800 plants ha-1). Stalk crushing strenght showed significant differences between one- and two-eared subpopulationss for ACC and BCC, but it was not significant for SI171. One-eared subpopulations had higher rind penetrometer resistance than two-eared subpopulations for all populations. Two-eared selections generally resulted in poorer root and stalk strength. However, total yield of the two-eared subpopulations was significantly higher than that of the one-eared subpopulations for BCC and SI171, but not for ACC. Prolificacy has significant potential as a novel character for yield improvement in the future. Selection for prolificacy alone, representing indirect selection for yield, would produce undesirable effects on other agronomic characters, especially root and stalk strength. Concurrent selection for total yield, prolificacy, and root and stalk strength should be used to extract the real benefit of the prolific character.