Some fields that missed showers for the ‘nth’ time this spring are dry without a doubt. The bigger corn is trying to twist during the warmest parts of the day and overall color is more variable even where side dress nitrogen has been applied. Streaky fields and yellow corn are the result of not enough soil moisture to allow corn roots to grow to the nitrogen. We have fields at Jackson that were terribly variable that have really improved after receiving a half inch of rain this past Monday. Also, receiving more calls about burned corn not recovering from broadcast ammonium nitrate or urea. I have looked at some of these fields and it is distressing to see, but dry weather means those plants aren’t producing new leaves as quickly as normal and unfortunately they will take a few extra days to grow out of the damage.
- Apply sidedress nitrogen to minimize loss and also cause least amount of damage to dry stressed corn. Injecting anhydrous or spraying UAN behind a coulter down row middles is preferred if possible. If broadcasting ammonium nitrate or urea with Agrotain, please apply when corn leaves are DRY during mid to late morning and afternoon. Spreading at night or early in the AM when there is dew on plants usually means fines and particles stick easier and may result in more damaging burn.
- Rethink inputs (nitrogen) in anticipation of an average yielding dryland crop. With all the early planted corn, many folks had planned to bump their nitrogen amount to support a high yielding crop. I have talked with folks who are in seriously dry areas about reducing their total nitrogen rate in anticipation of a lower yielding crop and I think this makes sense to not ‘shoot the moon’ on nitrogen unless you are irrigating this year. Staying with an adequate (somewhere in the 160 to 180 lb/A range) but not excessive rate is a good idea. This will give us adequate nitrogen to make a decent crop if we get better rains later this month and in June but we aren’t throwing dollars after yield that probably won’t be better than average.
- Keep weeds out of the crop to hold onto soil moisture. See any or all of Larry’s Blog articles related to corn weed control. Try not to burn corn with herbicide mixtures which only adds stress to the crop.
What about foliar products to help with stress, provide nutrients, etc.?? We generally discourage using these products due to lack of consistent response for the cost. We are trying a few of these to see what they do on some very dry corn at Milan, but I doubt that they will turn fields around that aren’t getting water. If you decide to try one on a few acres I would not spend a lot of money on any product. Plants can only absorb so much nitrogen, etc through the leaves and the benefit may only be a temporary cosmetic color change. Check labels!!! Some of these materials don’t have much information about whether they can be mixed with your post herbicide products and some higher load fertilizer products may actually cause more leaf burn when applied with herbicide combinations. The more ‘stuff’ you throw in the tank the more likely some things won’t play well together.
So Angela, you believe the few weeks of dry weather we had are enough to limit this corn crop to “average” yields already? Or do you think the dry weather pattern will persist resulting in “average” yields and farmers should not “shoot the moon” based on that presumption?
“…but we aren’t throwing dollars after yield that probably won’t be better than average.”
I need to know because I have been asked if I thought the several days of leaf rolling and dry weather we had hurt the corn yields. I was thinking we still had potential for higher yields IF rainfall was timely. From what I saw, the roots were in some moisture most everywhere I went before the rains. Are these seriously dry areas you mention in west TN? Are the yeilds already impacted that much?
Thank you,
Bill
Bill- I guess my concern comes from having had below normal rainfall for more than 2 months now. The showers we are getting certainly help keep the crop going and corn looks pretty good in some areas. But in many areas of the state we are not getting enough rain to support the crop so plants are relying on soil reserves early to maintain growth. There is moisture down in the soil, but I hope we don’t have to use up our reserves before pollination. You are correct that if we get timely rains close to and after pollination we can make corn. If we have a wet June we will make decent corn too but I have given up trying to predict what the weather will do. Realistically, with a moisture deficit going into the summer I would anticipate an average yielding crop. Eternal optimists- I know we are all hoping for significant rains soon. Thanks for your question.
My supplier is pulling tissue samples on my corn planted in late March. Every farm is indicating a need for boron and one was deficient in zinc. Phosphate, nitrogen, potash, and sulfur levels are generally sufficient. I am another grower trying to push corn yields but my “skeptical pocketbook” has a strong influence on my decision making, especially, with micro- and foliar feed nutrients. I have tried some of these products and I am not opposed to trying ideas that have yet to gain widespread acceptance. The question is, “How do we know we gain an economic benefit from the time and expense of applying these inputs?”