Contrary to some studies, dry matter losses after blacklayer are not overwhelming. Still, growers should carefully manage their corn harvest timing to minimize loss altogether.

Factors that stress corn throughout the growing season can lead to stalk rots, which can lead to yield loss due to premature plant death or lodging. Understanding stalk rots risk factors and management practices are critical.

It is a common belief that high heat and humidity are ideal for corn growth. In reality, high temperatures, especially high nighttime temperatures, can reduce corn yield potential by increasing respiration.

Zipper ears, or ears with missing kernel rows, are a result of stress during pollination or grain fill. Ears affected by zippering have kernels that developed poorly or more slowly than other kernels or have ovules that aborted shortly after pollination. It’s important to understand how and why zipper ears occur and how to minimize their occurrence in the future.

Stand establishment depends not only on the success or failure of germination but also on early season stresses. If you notice early stand problems, carefully examine damaged seedlings to discover clues to the likely causes.

Early season seedling damage can significantly reduce yield. Scout cornfields regularly and diagnose problems before economic losses occur.

It can be difficult to schedule irrigation, herbicide application and harvest if you don’t have a good handle on corn maturity. Identifying the milkline and blacklayer will help gauge the stage of corn growth and estimate physiological maturity.

Many factors contribute to how early frost in the fall will affect corn harvest and the expenses associated with drying and storage. Damage severity will depend on the stage of the crop, the duration of freezing temperatures and subsequent plant damage.

Planting corn at the proper depth helps to ensure proper germination and development, allows for optimum seed-to-soil contact, leads to more uniform emergence and helps achieve top yield potential.

When corn planting is delayed due to inclement weather and poor field conditions, you can still take advantage of the compressed growing season and achieve reasonable yield results by adjusting your hybrid selection and managing cropping activities with later planting dates.

When corn planting is delayed due to inclement weather and poor field conditions, you can still take advantage of the compressed growing season and achieve reasonable yield results by adjusting your hybrid selection and managing cropping activities with later planting dates.

When a spring alfalfa seeding has failed due to wet soils, weather, disease problems or unexpected herbicide carryovers, or when an older stand is deemed unproductive, late summer planting allows a grower to establish alfalfa fields with a good chance for success, sometimes with better odds than spring seeding.

In areas of the Corn Belt, frost and variable soil temperatures can place corn under significant stress after planting.

If your cornfields have been damaged by heavy rain, hail, pests or poor emergence, you may consider replanting.

Demand for higher grain yields are helping to reinforce the importance of healthy, robust corn crops. Using a starter fertilizer can increase early plant growth, nutrient uptake and yield potential, as well as improve overall plant health. What is the best approach to applying a starter fertilizer?

Warm, moist conditions from July to September can cause increased disease incidence in corn. Recent studies have show potential economic benefits from foliar fungicide applications. Fungicide treatments can give protective or curative benefits for corn diseases such as: gray leaf spot, common rust, eyespot and antracnose. These diseases can limit photosynthesis due to tissue death. Loss of leaf tissue also may result in grain production loss or harvest loss due to weakened stalk strength and harvestability issues.

Each year, alfalfa stands risk being injured or killed by cold temperatures, ice sheets or heaving. Evaluating alfalfa stands for winter injury is crucial to crop rotation decisions.

Poor nitrogen (N) application methods or application timing could result in a shortage of available N to meet your corn crop’s needs next season. Understanding proper N application methods can help maximize N efficiency on your operation.

Fair weather along with an early harvest provides conditions conducive for growers to fall-apply manure to their fields. Before applying manure, review your nutrient management plan to determine the appropriate amounts of nutrients needed to improve success in selected fields.

Traditionally a headache for soybean growers in Southern states, frogeye leaf spot is an increasing concern for growers in the central Corn Belt and soybean-producing states such as Indiana, Illinois and Iowa because of recent weather patterns. What is this yield-limiting foliar disease and how can growers manage it?