The decision to replant a field of corn because of poor stand establishment or severe damage to an otherwise good looking field of corn is often not an easy one to make.
Bob Nielsen
Successful emergence (fast & uniform), while important, does not guarantee successful stand establishment in corn.
Historical grain yields offer us a glimpse of yields yet to come, although like the stock markets, past performance is no guarantee of the future.
Growth and development of corn are strongly dependent on temperature. Corn develops faster when temperatures are warmer and more slowly when temperatures are cooler.
There is now a new Purdue Crop Chat episode available, and this week #4 talks about the ramp up of planting across Indiana and considerations for seeds going into soil that isn’t quite warm enough for establishing the best stands.
Sulfur (S) deficiency has become more common in Indiana with reduction in atmospheric deposition of S arising from coal-fired power plants.
Rapid, uniform germination and emergence of corn help set the stage for maximum grain yield at the end of the season.
Successful stand establishment of a corn crop relies on many factors, including the successful emergence of the seedlings in the first place.
While the coffeeshop rumor mills were active this past week with talk of “a lot” of corn planting going in areas of the state, in reality very little planting actually occurred (USDA Weekly Crop Progress, 13 Apr 2020).
Successful germination alone does not guarantee successful emergence of a corn crop. Elongation of the mesocotyl must elevate the coleoptile to the soil surface before the inner true leaves emerge from the protective tissue of the coleoptile.
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