How would one categorize the last of winter, spring and how our summer season has progressed and how it resembled other years in regards to cropping progress and the weather? More than one person remarked that it was most similar to 1991 when in the northern third of Iowa there were only three short planting windows before June 1st arrived. The mostly flat terrain with its many low spots was pock- marked with numerous waterholes that filled and stay filled as the tile systems and outlets were not geared to handle as much water as fell every three of four days. For many farmers who took advantage of the dry soils around April 10th and were able to get a major percentage of their ground planted by April 25th and felt good about their progress. Then they had to sit on the sidelines until late May or even as late as June 10th when their slower draining fields to get everything planted for the fires time. Then their last important task was to return to the same fields to replant as many of the drowned-out spots as were fit. Thus, we have just completed one of the longest planting seasons in modern times. Within that time frame there were a few days when there was a major solar flare which caused interruptions in the functioning of the GPS signaling systems.
In the past two weeks I have been in several different states where a sizeable percentage of the acres ended up being planted after the dates at which a person could expect trendline and optimal yields. The worst areas I have seen so far would be in the flat land region between Charles City clear to Sheldon. As of June 11th, there were many fields where guys were still planting on worked ground, were waiting for the ground to dry and plant for the first time, trying to patch in the waterholes, or waiting to see if the emerging crop had satisfactory stands. So far, I have not heard any official reports on this lack of planting progress or poor growth, as most updates only focus on planted acres and assume that a normal yield will be achieved. With the expected hot and dry August, the shallow rooted crops may under very stressy conditions when they would be pollinating or trying to fill the kernels or seeds.
At the same time farming ground with more roll to it allowed the water to infiltrate or run off the ground to dry faster, thus a higher percent of the acres were planted within the optimal windows. There are nice looking fields which have been reaching the V8 growth stage and could shortly enter the rapid growth stages and could be tasseled near July1.
After seeing first hand and getting reports from other cropping areas, it appears that NASS statistic place too much emphasis on planted acres and assuming trendline yields will be achieved on all acres. Real yellow corn plants and late planted beans typically don’t top many yield charts.
Other Tasks
One very health crop has been members of the Amaranthus or pigweed family. Currently they range from 6” in height to just emerged. Scattered fields have very high populations or those just emerging plants which are not visible unless you kneel down to try to count the plants per square feet. If you have one of such fields and it has already been sprayed with an herbicide which should have controlled then you then have to identify the cause of their escape. Did it rain before the rain-fast guidelines were reached, was the existing seed bank just too large, or did heavy rains dilute the concentration of your herbicide mix? A number of us had been looking forward to the widespread availability of Bayer’s new to the Midwest Convintro or Diflufenican herbicide which has been fully available to growers over in Europe and Australia for years, long enough ago that generic versions of the product are being marketed.
I am hoping that this new product gets planted into the Answer plots so we can judge if it will provide the effective control which growers can rely for use in their fields. One major take-away from seeing the major consolation of the herbicide companies is that most of them had their own discovery teams which were developing actual new products and new families. They were being released on a yearly basis and each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Now we have maybe five companies with their own discovery groups, and if the umbrella company they are under also has a pharma division which is demanding research dollars, the development of new weed control products may not be a major focus for these firms.
A week or two ago we saw many V5 corn fields went from a nice dark green color to one where large areas turned a lighter green or yellowish color. Without pulling leaf samples and having lab work done we can’t pin-point the cause of such change. Did the warm saturated field conditions create the perfect storm for early fall applications of anhydrous? Might the N have moved deeper into the soil profile where it will be accessed by the roots as they grow to that depth? Should a higher percentage of corn growers investigate the effectiveness of N Stabilizers and adopt the use of these if fall application of N is to continue? Or would it be better to follow Regen Ag principles which focus on using different forms of N, applied closer to the time the plants will utilize the N? This last one is interesting if you have been following the work by Dr James White of Rutgers University. He is finding that up to 70% of the N which ends up in the plants comes thru the Rhizophagy process.
If a person is going to be side dressing using Y-Drops it may make financial sense to try out the RDX-N product from Redox BioNutrient company. It contains a plant or microbial component which short circuits the N metabolism in the plant, doubling the value of UAN.
I always advise corn growers that if you are shaving rates or trying to get by with lower rates, they need to use a SPAD meter to gauge N sufficiency. The Minolta model lists at $2,500 to $2,700. The At Leaf model costs $269.
By now cutworm have done most of their damage. To be able to manage them one needs to understand that the moths fly or get blown in from TX and Mexico Gulf areas looking for a green patch on which to lay their eggs. A person needs to ask to see who might be running black light traps in their areas and then compensate for latitude differences.
Disease Issues
You were correct in thinking that our abundant supply of water and dew so far this season will create conditions favorable to disease formation, both fungal and bacterial. As partial proof a regional extension agronomist reported finding early Tar Spot in two counties in east central Iowa. I found my first signs of this bacterial pathogen on Ju 10th on V7 corn. Typically, I don’t find it before V10. Our investigation found that TS occurs when mineral deficiencies are occurring. Those deficiencies can happen for ten or twelve reasons. (i.e.: Actual low mineral levels; low soil health scores due to low fungal populations; poor root development; sidewall compaction; genetical based faults on mineral uptake; serious hard pans, broad based chelation of minerals by current, legacy and residual pesticides; bacterial endophytes plugging of vascular tissues; etc…)
My thinking on fungicides has changed dramatically since I started working with several serious plant scientists who had researched and wrote text books on the correlation of low or excessive mineral levels with the incidence and severity of fungal and bacterial pathogens. It dovetails with a triangle where the different tropic levels which are based on mineral and energy levels. The higher those mineral/energy levels can be maintained the less vulnerable the plants (an humans/) are to disease attack. When an early season cropping plan includes the use of a fungicide, doesn’t it mean they are planning on raising an unhealthy crop with a non-functioning immune system? (Soybeans are the exception in that Septoria Brown Spot always appears once the rows close and humidity levels increase.) Keeping the plant healthier to begin with is likely to cost a lot less than it would to make multiple application of hard chemistry. A grower who gains the knowledge to understand this is more likely to have been in the livestock arena and recognize the cause and effect of good nutrition and healthy animals.
Soybean Issues
Lots of soybean acres were planted many weeks later than planned or desired. Mother Nature did not cooperate and threw us a curveball. Even a high percentage of the beans planted on time have been slow to grow and develop. Soybean breeders told us that night time temps of less than 50 F cause bean plants needing several days to recover from a temperature drop. This means that both groups of bean plants are later than normal and poised to have fewer podded nodes on their main stem.
I know of SB growers who use products and practices to help late beans not suffer any yield shortfall. Extra branches need to be coaxed by hormonal products, then manipulated by foliar applications at least at V-5/R1 and again at R3. And by keeping the plants shorter with foliar P and sugar, later V stages can have the small seeds plumped up with late foliars. The late foliars can bypass the inadequacies of the vascular system or soils and help seeds grow larger by applying minerals which are transported directly from the leaf surfaces into the filling grain.
If your beans got planted late, be sure to apply the BranchOut along the foliar MicroBoost. Then follow shortly with the Sea Stem and Foliar Blend. These are all available thru Marv (515-370-3381) or Larry Eekhoff with Agronomy Rx in Webster City.
Bob Streit is an independent crop consultant and columnist for Farm News. He can be reached at (515) 709-0143 or www.CentralIowaAg.com.