Most farmers across Latham Country have experienced some type of extreme weather this year. Phil Long discusses the impacts from the derecho and the yield impacts from drought.
:30 – Topic introduction
1:00 – Derecho impacts
2:17 – Current corn field conditions
5:45 – Stalk & ear rot
7:20 – Drought effects on corn
9:50 – Drought effects on soybeans
Most often the result of heavy rainfall, soil crusting presents itself in the form of hardened soil with a smooth and compacted appearance. Heavy rains following planting along with high heat and winds can cause finely tilled soils with limited residue cover to form a very dense crust. In addition, planting in wet soils and the use of heavy tilling are primary causes of soil crusting. Fine soils and soils with little organic matter are also more susceptible to the condition.
Hardened soil presents implications for water infiltration while also interfering with crop emergence. The coleoptile of a corn plant acts to protect leaves from emerging before the shoot penetrates the soil. When soil crusting occurs, this can cause leaves to emerge prematurely through the coleoptile below the soil instead of above ground – also known as “leafing out”. When the coleoptile ruptures before penetrating the soil, it becomes much more difficult for leafing out to occur above ground.
The hypocotyl of the soybean plant may enlarge as it pushes against the crust and can eventually snap and kill the plant. If you notice a swollen hypocotyl, that soybean plant is trying harder than normal to break through the soil.
A study from Iowa State University found that when 17% of corn plants on a plot exhibited delayed emergence, overall yield was decreased by 4-8%. For soybeans, research from North Carolina State University concludes that delayed emergence reduced overall yield by an average of 14 bushels per acre.
Leafing out is often seen in the form of a “shepherd’s crook” when the coleoptile ruptures prematurely and prevents leafing out above ground. The decreased vigor resulting in premature leafing out can lead to uneven emergence and ultimately reduce yield.
No-till or minimum-till can reduce the amount of soil movement in times of heavy rainfall, preventing the onset of crusting. In addition, improving surface soil structure can be done by adding organic matter using cover crops or manure.
Using a rotary hoe at the depth of the crust can break up the soil, allowing seedlings to emerge. This practice can also act as a means for weed control prior to their emergence. By using a combination of approaches, soil crusting can be eliminated to avoid leafing out below ground.
The virtue of patience is most beneficial when the time comes to assess frost or freeze damage in early-season corn. Once a frost or freeze event takes place, do an initial assessment of your field and wait 3-5 days before making any final decision on how to proceed. Young corn plants can tolerate cool temperatures up to V5 since the growing point is still below the soil surface. Early season damage caused by the cold temps does not show up immediately as the cells that get broken from the freezing moisture inside the plant may look normal the first morning after a freeze. Depending on the actual low temperatures, symptoms may take a day or so to appear.
Frost Damage Assessment
Frost Damage
Young corn plants can tolerate some low temperatures and still survive and achieve high yields. The growing point of the plant remains under the soil until the plant reaches V5. At this stage, you will see five leaf collars showing around the stem. You may have more leaves visible, so count the collars for accurate assessment of crop stage. Low temperatures that do not fall below 30 degrees generally just damage the exposed leaves and do not hurt the growing point. However, recovery of these plants may take some time (up to a full week) depending on weather after the frost. Below is a photo from the Iowa State University Integrated Crop Management newsletter showing a viable growing point after a frost event.
Frost Damage Management
Freeze Damage
If you experience low temperatures of 28 degrees or lower for a prolonged period of time, most all the plants in a field will show significant damage. These extended low temperature situations become more critical for assessment. You may see variation across a field due to soil type, soil moisture content or the amount of residue on the field. Corn damaged by a hard freeze will still need patience for assessment. Assess all fields after hard freezing temperatures, even those that have not emerged yet. Check soil temps at 2” level soon after a freeze for a sound understanding of the scope of damage to a field.
Freeze Damage Assessment
The photo on the left shows leafing out underground due lack of energy of seedling. The photo on the right shows damage to the coleoptile that will result in shoot not having capacity to push through the soil. Photo courtesy of RL Nielsen, Purdue Univ.
Freeze Damage Management
Patience is key when assessing damage from a frost or freeze event. If you allow time for the crop to respond to the event, you will make better decisions for that damaged field.
By Lyle Marcus
Many parts of the Latham marketing area continue to deal with the effects of the long 2019 growing season. Farmers have acres they harvested and prepared well for winter; acres they harvested with questionable tillage completed; and acres that still have crop in the field. The abundance of fall moisture combined with an early freeze and heavy snow cover have farmers in many areas wondering what this spring will bring.
The Latham Team has fielded questions from farmers wondering if they should order hybrids that are earlier than they usually plant. The short answer is to plan for usual planting dates. Order hybrids in the relative maturity that you prefer to plant, and then adjust in late spring if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
Much research has been completed on effects of delayed planting to hybrid yield, maturity and profitability. Materials developed by North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota state that farmers should wait to change from their normal maturity only when planting delays extend past May 25. An Iowa State University field agronomist in May 2019 said Iowa farmers, in general, should be able to plant full-season well-adapted corn hybrids until June 1. While that’s later than what we recommend, especially for Iowa’s northern counties, the point is that research show yields are better from full-season hybrids even if they get in the ground later than the optimal planting window.
Corn planted after May 1 requires about 6.8 fewer growing degree days per day to reach maturity, according to an ISU Extension publication. Purdue University has an online calculator that can help determine growing degree day requirements for late planted corn.
A 2007 ISU newsletter shared results from a Purdue University research project on delayed planting effects on flowering and maturity of dent corn. I found this information interesting as I have seen many times that planting delays did not necessarily translate into significant maturity delays. The Purdue project showed that hybrids planted late shortened time to flowering, had a little longer fill period, but overall they reached maturity nine days quicker on average than early plantings of those same hybrids. The research also showed the reduction in time spent in vegetative growth outweighs the increased time spent in reproductive growth.
Purdue’s research on hybrid response to late versus early planting showed time in vegetative growth was reduced by 14 days, from 75 to 61 days, for a 14-day reduction for late planted hybrids. Whereas, time in reproductive growth was increased by 5 days, from 68 to 63 days, for 5-day increase for late planted hybrids. The hybrids adjusted to the shorter growing season by reducing 9 days total (-14 + 5 = -9 days). In summary, hybrids compensate for late planting mostly by shortening the time necessary to reach silking. The old story that hybrids can adapt to the environment holds true. See references to this information below.
At Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, we will continue to help our dealers and customers make the best decisions to create the highest yield potential with greatest return possible for every acre. Today that means a cropping plan of traditional maturities for your farm, but we will be prepared to help adjust those plans should spring of 2020 require a change in plans.
On his Ethan, South Dakota farm, Matt Bainbridge planted just 15% of his acres in 2019—the rest were swallowed up by prevent plant. That’s the most prevent plant acres he’s ever had, and it turned all his careful pre-season planning upside down.
For the 2019 planting season, farmers in the Midwest were no stranger to the crippling impacts of heavy rainfall, flooding and unseasonable temperatures on crop yields. May 2018 to April 2019 was the wettest 12-month period ever recorded in United States history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Estimates from the American Farm Bureau Federation find there were 20 million acres of prevent plant across the U.S. in that same time.
South Dakota was at the epicenter of the record-breaking planting season, bearing the brunt of the devastating spring weather with 2.9 million corn acres and 867,000 soybean acres of prevent plant. For Bainbridge, the season brought immense challenges he worked to overcome.
“Our production plan changed so many times during the season it was almost hard to remember the original plan,” Bainbridge said. “The chemical plan was completely changed to try managing very big weeds by the time we could spray.”
Due east and across the Mississippi River, Dan Erickson was combatting similar issues when planting corn in Altona, Ill. Though planting was extremely late, Erickson was fortunate to not have had any prevented plant acres.
“Our main problem was with saturated soil, and the cooler temperatures made this an issue,” Erickson said. “We had very poor stands in the early planted corn and ended up replanting about 20%.”
While South Dakota led the nation with the most prevented plant acres, Illinois was severely reduced with 1.5 million acres lost to the unseasonable weather. For Erickson, challenges during planting season carried into harvest and even today threatens outcomes for the spring 2020 planting season.
“Harvesting was finished so late that we didn’t really get any field work done to eliminate any compaction problems we created during the spring,” Erickson said.
For both Erickson and Bainbridge, conservation practices have offered solutions for the challenges of 2019 and hope for 2020.
“We were able to plant most of our acres to cover crops,” Bainbridge said. “We ran the air seeder every month from April to October trying to grow anything to cover the soil and use some moisture.”
Cover crops helped him reduce weed pressure in addition to diminishing soil erosion from wind and rainfall. In addition, cover crops protect fields from fallow field syndrome, which can have damaging effects on microbe populations in the soil.
Conservation practices – ranging from cover cropping to no-till – are offering farmers significant monetary savings.
“With evidence we have, the no-till system can not only increase productivity and profit in a sustainable manner but is useful to repair damages caused by the past,” says Roberto Peiretti, founder of the Argentinian no-till farmers association and co-founder of Bioceres. “The ability [of this system] is beyond just sustainability.”
A report headed by the Iowa Soybean Association found adopting no-till and strip-till creates savings of $10 to $88 per acre compared to regular tillage. Expenses attributed to pesticide inputs were also much lower for farmers using no-till. If half of Iowa’s regularly tilled acres switched to no-till or strip-till it would save farmers $265 in equipment and fuel costs.
Bainbridge and his family have been using no-till conservation practices for 30 years. For Erickson, holding off on spring tillage has allowed his soils to drain better.
“We have to improve the capturing efficiency of rainfall,” Peiretti says. “With no-till, water runoff is much less in no-till and infiltration is higher.”
In a year such as 2019, better infiltration was the difference for many in planting or taking prevent plant. While you can’t beat Mother Nature, you might be able to hedge your bets in the future through sustainable practices.
If considering cover crops for prevent plant acres, the first step is to talk with your insurance agent, early and often. Knowing your options for payments, cover and potential harvest or termination are important parts of the overall plan.
Should your plan include the use of a cover crop, here are some considerations to include in that planning process.
Before ordering, take inventory:
If the main goal is forage for livestock or grazing, timing matters. To receive full prevent plant payment the cover crop must not be harvested before November 1. If the main goal is tonnage, some crop options yield higher quality forage if harvested prior to November 1. Here are some crop options to consider:
Cereal Rye, also Winter Triticale, Winter Wheat
These cereal grain options provide fast establishment in dry or wet conditions and good weed suppression. In terms of forage quality, fields planted early to Mid-August will provide best growth, but will start to lose biomass and quality by November 1. All cereals planted earlier than the August time-frame will struggle to overwinter if planted early summer.
Ryegrass and Berseem Clover Mix
When seeded at about 15 lbs/a this cover crop mix can provide the benefit of fast establishment with excellent forage quality. It can tolerate close grazing and has good hay potential. Great weed suppression and a strong fiberous root system help break up layers of compaction. Berseem clovers adds 50-100lbs/A nitrogen to the mix for corn next season. Great before corn.
Oats
Oats are a great option for quick establishment, fast growth and a good palatable feed. We recommend them in a mix with a legume for added livestock benefit. If mixing, consider Oats with Sorghum-Sudangrass and/or turnips for early summer plantings and for late summer Oats with Berseem Clover.
Italian Ryegrass
Italian Ryegrass is another option for fast establishment while providing excellent forage quality. This crop tolerates close grazing and would have good hay potential with its higher tonnage as well.
Sorghum Sudangrass and Pearl Millet
These warm season options can be grazed within 4-5 weeks with medium to high palatability for livestock. These options would also provide high biomass for haying or chopping for silage.
Teff Grass
Teff grass is fast-growing and can be harvested in 60 days. It’s fine-stemmed with medium palatability for livestock feed.
Cereal Rye (Overwinters)
As mentioned before cereal rye provides fast establishment in dry or wet conditions and provides great cover for erosion control, weed suppression and organic matter to build soil health.
Ryegrass and Berseem Clover Mix (Winterkills)
When seeded at about 15 lbs/a this cover crop mix can provide the benefit of fast establishment with excellent forage quality. It can tolerate close grazing and has good hay potential. Great weed suppression and a strong fiberous root system help break up layers of compaction. Berseem clovers adds 50-100lbs/A nitrogen to the mix for corn next season. Great before corn.
Oats and Radish (Winterkills)
Oats and radish is another mix that can provide the cover needed for weed suppression when planted anytime from June to August. Fast growth and large amounts of aboveground biomass are perfect for holding onto nutrients from manure applications or fertilizer applied. Great before soybeans.
Berseem Clover: (Winterkills)
Berseem Clover is a quick growing summer annual clover with the main benefit being that it can produce 50-100 lbs/A of nitrogen for the following corn crop.
Disclaimer: There are several options available for prevent plant acres, please contact us at 1-877-GO-LATHAM to inquire about the benefits of different mixes. Be sure to communicate with your crop insurance company to understand the rules and regulations for planting a cover or forage crop before or after your “final plant date” and/or “Late Plant Date” in your state.
If you’re fortunate to be done with planting your crops, it’s time to get back out there and check your stands. This year I’m especially concerned with soybean stands for three main reasons:
Walking fields right after emergence gives you the most time to make corrections or to replant. Stand reductions rarely occur evenly across a field. That’s why I recommend taking 10 stand counts in the area where the problem is the worst, as well as taking 10 counts in an area that was not affected or is slightly affected. Most university researchers recommend keeping a final stand of at least 100,000 plants per acre.
University trials also indicate that planting soybeans on or before June 1 in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota gives 95% of expected yield. It is usually June 15 before soybean yields drop below 85% of what is expected. Over the years, we have seen decent soybean yields when soybeans were planted around the 4th of July.
Scouting early and often is the best advice I can give, so you can remedy the situation as soon as possible. Different insects, diseases and pests may be present due to weather conditions and stage of crop development. Scout diligently all growing season long!
Many farmers are pushing the envelope to get their crop in the ground this season. With moisture continuing to be a real issue, we run into problems with sidewall compaction. We have three examples below of scenarios that can lead to sidewall compaction issues later on: open trench, rubber closing wheels and spiked closing wheels.
Sidewall compaction can result from V-openers “smearing” through wet soil. Gauge wheels or planter lift wheels will then compound the problem. When the soil dries it becomes too hard for roots to penetrate through and develop the root system.
If you see an open trench, the key takeaway is to decrease your unit down pressure and increase closing wheel down pressure. During a seed’s crucial growth stage, it transitions from growing seedling roots into developing its nodal root system. This tends to be around V2 and V3 and is when you can see implications of sidewall compaction. When the seedling shuts down those seedling roots the nodal root system starts to grow horizontally along the trench searching for water. You may start to see nutrient deficiency symptoms, yellowing corn, stunted growth or floppy corn.
The University of Kentucky released a study showing a 50 percent yield reduction when corn is planted in a completely open trench. We recommend avoiding sidewall compaction by either staying out of the field until conditions are suitable, staggering your closing wheels or investing in the spiked closing wheels. The spiked wheels leave a zippered pattern in the soil that breaks down the sidewalls to ensure seed to soil contact.
Sidewall compaction is not something you can see from your planter, so we encourage you to jump out and look at what’s happening with your seed to soil contact. Dig few plants and wash off the roots to determine how growth is proceeding. Knowing this information early on will be important for late season windy and wet weather, and for evaluating stalk quality when harvest approaches later in the season.
