DuPont Pioneer Agronomy Update 6/20/16
According to the drought index, most of Indiana is still in drought though some areas of the state did see rain last week. The latest DuPont Pioneer Agronomy report says drought stress is going to be an issue for corn all summer long.
Corn that was planted in late May is facing compaction issues in many fields and the lack of a well-developed root system is causing stress for the young plants. DuPont Pioneer agronomist TC Huffman says, “We are going to have to see timely rains all summer long or this crop will be stressed.” In many areas, the later planted corn was planted into wet soils which has resulted in compaction that is preventing good root system development.
As for soybeans, Hoffman says planting is still being done in many areas but the biggest issue for bean fields is weed control, “We let some of these weeds get out of control, and now we don’t have a lot of good options for control.” He urged growers to read labels carefully to insure there will not be crop injury or problems with planting next year.
As we move toward pollination, Hoffman says nitrogen level is one thing growers may want to assess, “Growers who put on nitrogen last fall will want to evaluate how much N they have left after the moisture we had last fall and this spring.” He said the plants will need to have enough to make it through the critical reproductive period.
The Pioneer Encirca system has a tool for assessing nitrogen needs. This can help growers determine if they have enough to put their crop over the edge this this season. Listen to the latest DuPont Pioneer agronomy update in the crops section of the HAT web site or the agronomy tab of the HAT mobile app.