In this week’s crop report, you’ll see some references to corn that’s tipping back or experiencing premature denting. Yesterday, a Wallaces Farmer article highlighted the topic. Brian Lang, Iowa State University Extension area agronomist at Decorah said, “Corn is showing some ‘tipping back’ of the kernels at the ends of the ears, which is normal.” If there is no ‘tipping back,’ that usually means that excessive seeding rate would have resulted in higher yield.
Lang went on to explain, once the ears reach the R2 (blister) stage, if the plant is stressed and starts to ‘become less optimistic,’ kernel abortion will occur from tipping back. Kernel abortion will continue to the end of R3 (milk) stage if stress is present. Once the plants are into the R4 (dough) stage, the only adjustment the plant can make is to the kernel size. Early denting would be an indicator that the plants are continuing to be ‘less optimistic’ and are adjusting kernel size down, which will result in lighter kernels at harvest.
Click here for the full article.
Northeast Iowa
Nick Benson reports the corn is maturing nicely although there is some tipping back from excessive moisture. Some early silage harvest is underway. He’s seeing some ear worm and army worm pressure, but Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5777 SS ears look perfect! Beans are in the R5 to R6 stage with very little spraying being done for aphids. Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans L 2440 R2 look awesome. There are a lot of four-bean pods plus the pods are higher on the plant this year, which will help in harvest. Northwest Iowa looks to have very good bean crop to harvest.
East Central Iowa
Brad Beatty reports many eastern Iowa corn fields showing signs of tipping back, so many farmers are asking me why it’s so prevalent this year. He said we usually want one-half to 1 inch of tip back, which indicates we’re pushing the population to its limit. If we have no tip back, we probably should have pushed the population. Under very wet and cloudy conditions, the corn plant doesn’t function efficiently. It’s not producing enough sugar to fill the whole ear, so the tip becomes expendable.
Tipping back is caused by embryonic kernel abortion due to poor or unfavorable conditions. Kernels will shrink with the embryo visible (yellowish in color). Kernels are susceptible to abortion during the blister and milk stage with the tip being most sensitive. Stresses that affect kernel development early in the grain fill period can be: excessive heat, drought, nitrogen loss, high disease infestations, cloudy weather, excessive seeding rate, wet conditions, compaction, cool temps, etc. These stresses can also lead to early denting indicating that the plants are continuing to be less optimistic and are “down sizing” the kernel size; which can result in lighter test weight. Stresses this year are heat, nitrogen loss, high disease pressure, cloudy weather, wet conditions, and compaction. Growers need to scout their fields before getting surprised when harvest hits. The bad news is there is nothing we can do at this stage of growth to change this scenario.
Central Iowa
Kevin Meyer says his area lucked out and missed heavy rains and winds this past week. Corn continues to progress with most kernels dented at this time. Preliminary yield estimates are being made with much of this crop looking good considering the weather challenges during the last couple of months. SDS is the major concern for soybeans. Aphid counts stayed below economic thresholds, so very little treatment was actually applied. Great weather is being forecast for plot days.
Many eastern Iowa corn fields are showing tip back, so many farmers are asking me why it’s so prevalent this year. We usually want one-half to 1 inch of tip back, which indicates we’re pushing the population to its limit. If we have no tip back, we probably should have pushed the population. Under very wet and cloudy conditions, the corn plant doesn’t function efficiently. It’s not producing enough sugar to fill the whole ear, so the tip becomes expendable.
Tipping back is caused by embryonic kernel abortion due to poor or unfavorable conditions. Kernels will shrink with the embryo visible (yellowish in color). Kernels are susceptible to abortion during the blister and milk stage with the tip being most sensitive. Stresses that affect kernel development early in the grain fill period can be: excessive heat, drought, nitrogen loss, high disease infestations, cloudy weather, too high a populations, wet conditions, compaction, cool temps, etc. These stresses can also lead to early denting indicating that the plants are continuing to be less optimistic and are “down sizing” the kernel size; which can result in lighter test weight. Stresses this year are heat, nitrogen loss, high disease pressure, cloudy weather, wet conditions, and compaction. Growers need to scout their fields before getting surprised when harvest hits. The bad news is there is nothing we can do at this stage of growth to change this scenario.
North Central Iowa
Sudden Death Syndrome continues to prevail in soybeans across north central Iowa. Now is the perfect time of year to take crop notes, so in the future, you can plant different varieties in affected fields. Corn continues on a rapid pace with isolated diseases like Eye Spot, Grey Leaf Spot and some Gosses Wilt in the western part of this territory.
South Central Iowa
Gentle showers fell early this week across South Central Iowa. Although conditions have improved immensely this week, several spots are still showing effects of last week’s flood. Travis Slusher’s area will struggle with harvest due to stalk and grain quality issues from the debris left in flooded areas. Corn across much of his territory is denting, and beans are filling the pods nicely. The usual foliar diseases are present without one being more prevalent than the next. Travis said he still hasn’t seen very many issues with aphids but some growers went ahead and added a residual insecticide with the fungicide when spraying beans.
Wisconsin
Steve Bailie’s area was hit by storms and high winds, which caused some soybeans to lodge. It’s been interesting to see the difference in the standability between soybean varieties; standability issues will be magnified as white mold sets in. There are a few fields suffering from Sudden Death Syndrome and Brown Stem Rot, as well. At the beginning of last week, you had to be in the fields to detect these diseases but now you can see it from the road. Many dairy farmers are switching their choppers from hay to corn. A few samples last week dried down to 70% moisture after being tested, so corn silage harvest is only about 7-14 days away. Many of the fields I’ve been walking are denting or are at full dent stage in southwest Wisconsin. With tomorrow’s field day at Bailie farms, many growers will get a first-hand look at what Latham can provide to help them hit their yield and personal goals. It’s a very exciting year to be in agriculture!
Minnesota
Farmers in Jason Obermeyer’s area continue to spray for aphids, and there are a lot of bean fields showing SDS and some BSR symptoms. Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans L 2085 R look fantastic as do L 2440 RR2 and L 2183 RR2. Corn is ahead of schedule, and if the heat remains, we should harvest lots of bushels.
South Dakota
Several rainfalls of one inch or more occurred again in Bill Eichacker’s region this past week. Temperatures have been warmer than average, pushing the crop development. Over half of the corn is at or beyond the R4 stage, with 10% at the R5 stage. Corn crop development is slightly ahead of South Dakota’s five-year average. Sudden Death Syndrome, white mold and aphids are present in soybeans. Over 80% of the soybeans are at the R5 stage.
Eastern Nebraska
While walking fields this week, Mike Lorenz hasn’t seen a lot of insects, bug damage, or fungus on the soybean crops. It’s turning out to be a great year for the soybeans despite the wet weather. Corn is in early black layer, and fertility levels seem to be holding out so far.