Currently, rootworm larvae are hatching throughout the state. If larvae are successful in finding vulnerable corn roots, they will feed until pupation. In a matter of days, the beetles will begin emerging, then feed (e.g., mostly on corn and other pollen), and mate.
The silks that emerge from the ear shoot are the functional stigmas of the female flowers of a corn plant. Each silk connects to an individual ovule (potential kernel). A given silk must be pollinated in order for the ovule to be fertilized and develop into a kernel. Up to 1000 ovules typically form per ear, even though typically only 400 to 600 actual kernels per ear survive until harvest.
Yield potential in corn is influenced at several stages of growth and development.
Desperate times calls for desperate measures. As delayed planting conditions persist and the calendar approaches June, we can’t anticipate all likely miscues that will play out in the next few weeks.
Yield potential in corn is influenced at several stages of growth and development
– Corn produces individual male and female flowers on the same plant.
– The ear represents the female flower of the corn plant.
– Severe soil moisture deficits can delay silk emergence and disrupt the synchrony of pollen shed and silk availability, resulting in poor kernel set.
This past week we learned of a producer in a northwestern Indiana county that gambled by not protecting his continuous-corn from rootworm.
This is the time of year when much of the insect pest management in crops has been completed… early season pests have come and gone and weather conditions are ideal for crops to grow and recover from most minor damage.
As many have asked, or made note, insect pest numbers seem lower this season. No surprise that the moisture and temperature extremes have had an impact, especially those insects depending on the soil to complete at least a portion of their life cycle.
The post-pollination scuttlebutt overheard in coffee shops throughout Indiana during late summer often revolves around the potential for severe stress that might reduce kernel set or kernel size in neighborhood cornfields.
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