How Extended High Heat Disrupts Corn Pollination by Univ. of NE – Lincoln

As of July 15, the USDA NASS survey showed 11% of corn was silking, behind 60% last year and the 42% average. Growers with corn fields currently pollinating have been asking how this week’s heat may impact corn pollination. Figure 1 shows a July 14 vegDRI map which uses multiple data sets to show vegetation condition on a short time scale. It shows dry areas in eastern and southwest Nebraska and that crop stress from heat/lack of water is most likely occurring in those areas, regardless of whether pollination is also occurring. The following article is updated for this year’s conditions and contains information from  Tom Hoegemeyer, corn breeder and former adjunct professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, who wrote about this for CropWatch in 2011.