ROCK AND ROLL AGRONOMY

Q&A on The Hottest Four Letter Word in Farming: CORN

By Jason Hanson, Certified Crop Advisor
jlhanson@agriliance.com

What is the hottest four letter word in agriculture right now? CORN. It looks to be the main course in fields across the plains, and why not: Nothing beats a large helping of renewable fuel smothered in a tasty sauté of ethanol, with a side order of DDGs, some cellulosic stover extract and the best mash you can find to wash it down. Not since the days of great uncle Willard and those prohibition Blue Laws has there been this much fermented corn crossing state lines. It’s a very encouraging trend. The ethanol, I mean.

Corn and corn related production questions have been my most requested topic thus far this winter.  Striking is the fact that many of the questions have come from areas that haven’t grown as much corn in the past, or first time producers. It’s appropriate, since when you read where all this corn is going to come from, it looks like much of the increase in our area will be planted in areas north of Highway 200, which runs in N.D. through Mayville, Cooperstown, Carrington, and Underwood.

“Photo taken May 31 near Campbell MN illustrates importance of other nutrients in corn besides N.  Green corn to left has 10-34-0 and liquid chelated zinc. The right side has noticeable deficiency symptoms, that purple P deficient color and striping yellow/green of zinc deficiency. A foliar application might be done at this stage to help with the zinc, but doubtful with phosphate as the damage has mostly been done by now and a rescue treatment would do little to help the P deficiency at this point. Bottomline is that P or Zn foliar at this stage will contribute more to cost than to yield. Just shows the importance of P and Zn with corn,  in conventional or corn/soybean rotations and especially in no-till, early planting, following sugarbeet, or preventative plant situations. “  - from Jason Hanson’s RockNRoll Field Notes

Some of the common questions coming up on corn:

How is seed supply? Yes, this is a touchy subject. Seed supply for maturities under 90 day corn is very very tight at this time. There is demand that is far exceeding the supply as acres potentially expand beyond seed company seed production and forecasted sales. If anybody could have predicted corn prices to get to these levels a year ago, I believe the seed companies would have reacted. But when you have to do that a year in advance, it’s another thing. Keep in contact with your seed reps and see if any seed becomes available. A few previously committed seed bags might become available as other crops move to bid up acres or if weather becomes an issue in some areas.

What day maturity should I plant? That question is a little tougher this year, as seed supply dictates that somewhat. The temptation is to plant longer maturities as we remember the nice long fall and summer filled with those great heat units. But those great heat units are never guaranteed. First, check with your crop insurance to make sure what maturities are acceptable in your area. Agronomically speaking, it’s best to stick with your proven area’s maturity. If that is an 85 day corn, I wouldn’t be pushing an 88 day number or higher. Maybe an 87 day and that will depend on the traits in the variety. Don’t take the temptation to plant just anything – they give hybrids a maturity rating for a reason.

Where can I find data? Use your seed rep as a source and request multiple yield trials to look at different environmental climates and conditions. This year even one rain event (or missing that single rain event) made a huge difference in yields.  Look to the public universities and regional extension centers as other sources of performance data. NDSU’s corn data from 2006 is posted online at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/variety/corngrain.htm.  When reviewing last year’s performance numbers, ask: how much rain occurred? What were the soil types like? How was the plot conducted? Numbers don’t always tell you everything about a plot.

How should I fertilize this crop? Of course, start with soil sampling. Last year the U of M revised its nitrogen recommendations based on price of nitrogen and price per bushel of corn (bulletin online at www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC3790.html). But with corn now tracking over $3/bu. it does change the math quite a bit. I would push for average yields that fall in line with the past couple of years. Understand that corn’s nitrogen demand really starts to kick in about that 5-6 leaf stage, so we don’t want to be short early in the development stage.

Phosphate helps in early growth development, thus I would highly recommend getting enough phosphate to meet either a crop demand or slight build program. Successful corn over time needs medium to high testing phosphate levels. Best placement for that is a starter, in either a deep band, 2x2 or in-furrow. Don’t be afraid to broadcast but be aware that it will take more fertilizer to produce a similar response. With in-furrow applications of 10-34-0 liquid, limit your gallons to 7-8 gal/ac.

I would also recommend zinc in your program. Corn is very responsive to zinc on most soils. There was quite a bit of zinc deficient corn last spring, and zinc -deficient corn is tough to correct after the fact. Another nutrient to look at would be sulfur. Research is showing benefits in some situations.

Which herbicide program should I use? Hopefully you base your corn decision on the genetics, maturity and then herbicide trait. So many times we want Roundup Ready corn and then look at the other things like emergence, root pattern, and other agronomic considerations as an afterthought.

No matter what herbicide program you use, the most important thing is getting weeds out of corn early. Research demonstrates that controlling weeds early is the best for corn yields. So that is why you probably have read or heard about the use of a pre-emergent herbicide even ahead of glyphosate, Liberty or Steadfast. Bottom line: think early when it comes to weed control.

Weeds have shifted around in our glyphosate-dominant world, so there is a good chance you will have to mix in some other products like atrazine, dicamba , Callisto or Distinct to help out. Don’t try to skip by with just one pass on glyphosate to cut corners. I would rather have a corn field with a few weeds at season end if that field was sprayed early than a spotless field sprayed late.

What about Bt corn, and seed treatments? Genetics and traits have gotten corn production to the level we’re at today. That shift from crop protection to seed technology has been growing at a pretty fast pace. I know that herbicide tolerance has been a great thing for some of our early genetics as other products under adverse weather conditions hurt yields. The addition of Bt in corn has shown a benefit in most years against corn borer, especially in our area of low infection levels extended over a longer period of time.

Now the discussion is corn traits to protect against corn rootworm.  Work with your seed rep or agronomist on where it fits and doesn’t. Another thing, I would suggest that your seed corn investment be protected by Cruiser or Poncho – it’s so important to get a great stand.

When do I plant? Base it on field conditions and heat units. It depends on the amount of acres you have to plant, but start as early as possible to allow quick germination. Don’t look at the calendar, go by the field conditions.

What is the best population? I would refer that to your consultant or agronomist. Certain varieties perform better at higher populations and all respond differently to the environmental conditions of the year. Some genetics respond better at low to medium populations. It will depend on soil type and moisture availability.

This is NDSU’s general recommendation: Populations of 14,000 to 18,000 plants per acre are recommended in western areas, low rainfall areas, and on light sandy soils. Populations of 19,000 to 24,000 plants per acre in eastern, high rainfall areas and 24,000- 30,000 plants per acre for corn grown under irrigation are recommended for plant population at harvest. The seeding rate should be 10-15 percent higher than the desired harvest populations.

What’s the one thing I need to do this winter to get ready for corn? Get the planter checked over, parts replaced, cleaned and hopefully metered. Spend the money getting the planter worked on so it is ready to shine come planting time – nothing is more important in corn than an evenly spaced, even-emerging proper stand of corn.

What do I do with all this corn? Are you prepared to market corn? A lot of growers have already presold a good share of their anticipated ’07 production. How about storing it? Have you contacted your local elevator about drying? Can you dry it? Do you have enough trucks and grain carts to keep the combine rolling? Do you have the needed header? These are big issues to deal with, and you need to deal with them now, not during the growing season. Make the right preparation to handle the end product. Unlike in great Uncle Willard’s day, it all can’t fit in a jug. 

Hanson rocks and rolls as a certified crop advisor near Devils Lake, N.D.