As always, a lot is on the line with weather at harvest time. Corn stalk rots can result from crop stress during the grain fill period due to nitrogen deficiency, foliar diseases, hail, lengthy periods of cloud cover, excessive heat or dryness such as the eastern Corn Belt experienced in July and August.
Symptoms of stalk rot could now be developing and should be on your list of things to look for as you scout fields prior to harvest. It’s a good thing to do fairly early-on to prioritize which fields are more susceptible to blow-down should windy weather occur and get them harvested first.
You can test stalk integrity by simply pushing on them to see if they easily collapse or by pinching lower stalks to see if they are easily broken between your fingers.
Comments