Continued scouting of both corn and soybean fields remains critical for making timely and informed disease management decisions.
Continued scouting of both corn and soybean fields remains critical for making timely and informed disease management decisions.
Throughout July in Indiana, tassels begin to emerge above the corn canopy, signaling the start of pollination. Although pollination lasts only about one to two weeks, it is one of the most critical stages of corn development because it determines kernel set and largely establishes the crop’s yield potential. Corn is also highly vulnerable during this period, often experiencing its greatest yield loss per day when exposed to stresses such as drought or hail. Corn is a monoecious species, meaning each plant produces both male (tassel) and female (silks) flowers. Therefore, successful pollination depends on pollen being released from the tassel and reaching receptive silks at the right time. Any stress that disrupts the synchronization between pollen shed and silk emergence can reduce kernel set and ultimately decrease grain yield. One of the most recognizable structures during corn pollination is the anther or the small, dangling structures that hang from[Read More…]
As shown by the degree-day accumulations below, Japanese beetle adults are emerging throughout the state and the first few traces of feeding can be found in soybeans and corn.
After the brutal heatwave hit us as June transitioned to July, any future above-normal temperatures may seem normal for this time of year.
Red crown rot of soybean, caused by Calonectria Ilicicola, continues to be a concern in Indiana.
Our first significant heat wave hit Indiana this week with the added benefit of high humidity.
This half-day event will highlight grain and fiber research trials, processing demonstrations, and novel applications of hemp.
Corn growth stages are quite variable across Indiana but several areas with early planted corn are reaching tassel.
Many areas of Indiana experienced excessive rainfall from mid-May through late June (Figure 1), with some locations receiving more than 10–15 inches of rain between May 31 and June 29.
The phrase is an old folk proverb that entered the written record gradually in the mid-1800s. The phrase has a historical agronomic basis, it’s just not relevant today. Public interest in the phrase can be filed under the category: “Perennial Folksy Questions About Corn That News Media Like to Write About”. If I had a penny for every time someone asked me about the popular Corn Belt adage “Knee-high by the Fourth of July” over the 40+ years I spent as Purdue’s Extension Corn Specialist, I would have a lot of pennies and no where to spend them in today’s economy. The news media especially love to publish folksy articles this time of year on this well-known “metric” of growing corn and have been doing so for well over one hundred years. The most rigorous tracing of the origin of the phrase (etymologist Barry Popik’s 2012 article) finds the saying[Read More…]
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