The combination of unusually young corn for this time of year (due to the unusually late planting season of 2019) and the recent spate of rain-free, sunny, hot days could result in the development of “rootless” and then “floppy” corn in some late planted fields.
Twisted whorls sometimes develop in young corn plants early in the rapid growth phase. The cause is not well understood. The tightly twisted whorls eventually unwrap to reveal yellowish upper leaves that turn green after a few days of exposure to sunlight. Effects on yield are essentially nil. The curious phenomenon often referred to as the “twisted whorl syndrome” is beginning to show up in some fields in recent days. This “problem” often occurs when young corn shifts quickly from weeks of slow development (cool, cloudy weather) to rapid development (warm, sunny weather). Earlier planted corn has certainly experienced such a change in weather conditions in recent weeks. The occurrence of the twisted whorl syndrome is not uncommon, but rarely affects a large number of fields in any given year or a large percentage of plants within a field. The typical growth stage when growers notice the twisted whorls is[Read More…]
The consequences of flooding, ponding, and saturated soils on young corn depend heavily on the duration of the stress and temperatures.
As May transitions to June, many Indiana corn growers are faced with substantial acreage yet to plant. Statewide, as of May 26 (USDA-NASS, 2019), only 22% of the state’s corn crop was estimated to have been planted. That disappointing planting progress positions the 2019 planting season AT THE MOMENT just slightly ahead of the similarly slow 1996, which currently holds the unenviable record for the most delayed planting season in the past 40 years. AND, there is still a chance we will surpass (or should I say “fall behind”?) that record by the time this planting season is finished. In the remaining days of May, thunderstorms continued to rumble across the state… sometimes across the north… sometimes across the south… sometimes through the central counties. Unless a rapid shift from rainy to sunny, warm, and windy occurs soon, the prospects of serious planting progress through the first week of June[Read More…]
Many of us remember standing against the doorframe in our early years while our parents marked our height with a pencil to measure how much we had grown. Some of you may have spent more time in your youth standing in the corner, but that is between you and your parents
It is not uncommon for young corn plants to suffer severe leaf damage from frost, freezing temperatures, or hail. Such weather-related events usually lead to vigorous debate over coffee and rolls down at the local cafe as to how one goes about staging corn that survives the defoliation caused by such events.
The consequences of flooding, ponding, and saturated soils on young corn depend heavily on the duration of the stress and temperatures.
The number of 30-, 40-, and 60-ft wide (or larger) field crop planters across the U.S. Midwest is greater today than, say, twenty years ago. Certainly, individual farmers can plant more acres of corn and soybean per day with today’s large field equipment than they could twenty years ago.
Being able to predict when a field of corn will reach particular leaf stages can be useful for scheduling post-emergence applications of certain herbicides and sidedress N fertilizer, especially if your farming operation is so large that regular field inspections are difficult to work into your busy schedule.
Understanding the sequence of the visual indicators of germination in corn can help troubleshoot emergence problems.
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