Suggested Event
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
What will you see when you begin scouting corn as it grows this season? Weather conditions and when you were able to plant will play a large role in what you might find as you begin walking your own cornfields.
Dave Nanda, director of genetics for Seed Genetics Direct, has encountered lots of different situations while walking cornfields during his long career. For the past several years, he has scouted the Corn Watch program field, which is a Farm Progress project sponsored by Seed Genetics Direct.
The purpose of Corn Watch is to follow a field in the eastern Corn Belt from planting to harvest and see how it develops, Nanda says. Some of the things that Nanda spots in this commercial cornfield could be similar to what you are seeing in your fields. The goal is to help you home in on where to focus your attention as you scout, and to increase your knowledge base so you can make more informed management decisions, both this year and i
Dave Nanda
I favor early planting if the ground is ready. However, earlier planting also requires early weed control. I saw several fields last year where weed control was not very effective, perhaps due to too much rain. Is early weed control necessary? Yes, because the micro-environment of each plant is very important for their ability to reach maximum yield potential. Plants sense early on if they have competition from weeds or other crop plants, and they start to react and plan their future accordingly. If growers can reduce pressure from weeds, it will encourage crops to produce more yield.
Tom J Bechman
LEAF SAMPLE AT V5: Betsy Bower demonstrates how to pull a tissue sample from five-leaf corn. It takes about 25 leaves at this stage for a sample. Corn Watch: Examples from Corn Watch ’20 illustrate potential value of tissue testing early.
If you push for super-high corn yields, you may be tissue-testing already. If not, it’s another tool to consider.
“We believe there is value in seeing if plants are taking up nutrients as we think they are,” explains Betsy Bower, an agronomist with Ceres Solutions, based in west-central Indiana. “If you’re just starting out, we suggest sampling in corn at least three times: at V5 or the five-leaf stage, around V12 and at the R1 pollination stage.”
Tom J. Bechman
DIFFERENT HATS: Dave Nanda has worn many hats as the corn seed industry evolved over time. He held an important role at Seed Consultants in the early 2010s until the company was sold. Breeder’s Journal: The introduction of traits in seed changed the landscape of growing corn.
Monsanto, a chemical company, shook up the whole seed industry in 1996. Monsanto announced that it had developed corn inbred lines resistant to its Roundup herbicide so that the herbicide could kill most weeds but not harm the corn hybrids carrying the gene for Roundup resistance. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, and now that it’s off patent, many other companies sell glyphosate herbicides.