DELPHI, Ind. — The Indiana corn crop is looking to finish strong — but a little moisture wouldn’t hurt.
“Our roots are getting as much subsurface moisture as they can, but if we want to get those larger kernels to make a heavier bushel, that’s where we need moisture and we need it sooner rather than later,” said Jason Harmon.
Harmon is a DEKALB Asgrow technical agronomist whose territory includes northern Indiana.
Overall, he said, the state’s 2020 corn crop looks to be in better shape than last year, including acreage-wise.
“Overall, the growing season has been impressive. There are not many wet holes out there this year. Every acre has a crop growing on it,” he said.
The Aug. 10 derecho that swept through all three of the corn-growing “I” states, doing the most catastrophic damage in Iowa, didn’t wreak quite the havoc on Indiana’s corn and soybean crops. Harmon said he and the DEKALB Asgrow Indiana team have Iowa in their thoughts.
“Our hearts go out to the farmers in Iowa. Not only was the crop damaged, but there was a lot that went on with homes and farms and farmsteads. That is definitely heavy on our hearts, and we’ve been thinking about them. We’re over here in one of the ‘I’ states, and it was tough to see the damage that they had,” he said.
While few crops can withstand the over 100 mph winds that were measured from the derecho in Iowa, Harmon said strong roots kept the Indiana crop from sustaining more damage from the lower winds that came through the state, before the derecho dissipated in western Ohio.
“It didn’t affect us as much as I thought it could have. It wasn’t as bad in the central and northern Indiana area as what it could have been,” he said.
Getting a strong start early in the season can help.
“This corn is well rooted in. Seed treatments made a big difference, especially with the DEKALB lineup. The Acceleron Enhanced Disease Control (EDC), that we have now really helped make sure that we don’t have any of that crown rot coming in or anthracnose that may be starting, that would cause some of those weak shanks to blow over,” Harmon said.
The crop weather for the state has been a mixed bag, leaning toward the dry side.
“We planted in not extremely wet conditions, so the seedbed was good. Plants got going, but then it was really dry in June through most all of northern Indiana. That caused those roots to really have to work to keep going. I think that’s going to pay dividends here late,” Harmon said.
As the Indiana corn crop turns into the home stretch, the attention is on grain fill, kernel size and depth.
“How many kernels does it take to get that bushel? The old research saying is 90,000. Back in 2018, we were seeing all the way down to 65,000 seeds to make a bushel, which is why our yields were so good,” Harmon said.
Harmon said a whole bushel basket of factors contribute to what those kernels weigh when combines roll, but there are three that are prominent.
“Mother Nature is No. 1. No. 2 would be, are plants protected from these diseases we knew would be coming,” he said.
While dry weather kept disease at bay longer, Harmon said they have made a late appearance in fields.
“I see a lot of gray leaf spot in about every field I walk in,” he said.
That prompts the fungicide question.
“Did they utilize a fungicide to keep that photo factory alive longer, to supply the energy to make those kernels bigger?” Harmon said.
The third major key to having a corn crop that finishes strong is fertility. Does the crop have enough nutrients at the end of the growing season to contribute to successful grain fill?
“I have seen some firing from lack of nitrogen but a lot of the crop, I feel, was well fertilized this year,” Harmon said.
As farmers start to make preparations for harvest, Harmon said stalk quality checks should be starting, as well. Planting in cool and damp conditions could contribute to stalk issues at harvest.
“One big thing that I am a little scared and worried about would be these fusarium crown rots or root lodging or stalk issues because of how cool it was when this corn was in the ground, especially if you planted in that April timeframe and even into May. This corn had a long time in the ground and a struggle to get up and get going. It got introduced to a lot of seedling diseases, and we saw that early on,” he said.
Those early seedlings saw pythium and seedling blight. But if seedlings missed that, they could face issues later.
“Anywhere you didn’t get bit by that, there’s a good chance that fusarium, which would have been inside the plant, could really show its face later and you’ll start seeing some plants that are showing dieback at the top,” Harmon said.
Push tests can determine if a field needs to be moved higher in the harvest order and especially if growers spot signs of fusarium.
“Those would be the fields where you’ll want to go out and do some push tests to see how that corn is standing. If it’s starting to break really easy with the push tests, going over the center and touching the other row and snapping, then you need to move that field to the top of your harvest priority list,” Harmon said.
This column was contributed by Indiana AgriNews for DEKALB.
September 29, 2020 at 07:32AM
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