Some corn fields where corn has emerged, the coleoptile and first leaf appear pale yellow to gray or transparent. The weather over the last few weeks has been cool, slowing crop development. Pale or transparent corn leaves are often a result of cool, wet conditions. Plant metabolism slows, resulting in an inability to absorb nutrients…
1) Shake or roll pail before opening. Product must be fluffed up after settling during shipping. 2) When applying, spread and mix product into seed (don’t dump the scoop or pail in a pile). 3) More is not better! This product is wax based and too much product leads to clumping. Kirk Van Will, CCA-ON,…
Early planted corn often faces the risk of chilling injury. This occurs when the seed is exposed to cold soil and water temperatures 6 to 24 hours after planting. As the seed imbibes water and begins germination, the kernels will swell and expand. This can cause damage by stretching or rupturing cell membranes and causing…
Don’t hit the panic button yet, we still have plenty of time. As Kirk discussed in his article last week, we still have 7 weeks until the end of May, which leaves us plenty of time to get the crop in. Growing hybrids that range in both maturity and flowering date is one of the…
The term “Relative Maturity” is often used when discussing corn and soybean seed. It is best defined as a criteria or process to compare or group hybrids and varieties based on physiological maturity. This is extremely important to understand when creating your cropping plans as you assign hybrids or varieties to your fields. It is…
Rapid, uniform emergence (all your crop up in 12 hours) is one of the key factors in setting your corn crop up for maximum yield. There are only a few requirements you need in the seed zone to set the crop up right – sufficient and uniform soil moisture, soil temperature, seed to soil contact…
With renewed interested in planting corn comes additional corn-on-corn acres. The continuous corn yield penalty is a well know phenomenon, however, why the penalty exists is not well understood. Research at the Illinois State University identified three main factors which may help when positioning fields for corn-on-corn acres. Common belief in the countryside is that…
Corn harvest is just around the corner. Harvest maturity (occurring around 25% grain moisture) usually refers to the point at which harvest and mechanical loss are at a minimum. Before this happens, corn develops a black layer which is located at the base of the kernel opposite to the embryo. Typically this occurs approximately 60…
Multiple ear shoots have been observed on a few hybrids in the past few weeks, which caused some concern among producers. Multiple ears on a single stalk are not uncommon when found on different nodes. This season, some hybrids are showing multiple ears on the same node, known in the industry as “bouquet ears”. Multiple…
Standard thresholds for soybean defoliation from bloom to pod fill is 15%. It increases to 25% during pod-fill to maturity (unless pod feeding is occurring). When scouting, be sure to look at leaves from the center of the canopy to get a representative sample. Most often, the feeding looks worse than it is and a…