Two different storm systems that swept through Indiana in recent weeks left some fields ponded and had farmers a bit concerned about their corn.
“I had some pictures sent to me, actually saw some of my neighbor’s corn here in West Lafayette the day after that, that was leaning pretty good,” explains Purdue Extension’s Dan ‘Corn’ Quinn on the latest Purdue Crop Chat Podcast from Hoosier Ag Today.
Quinn says the first of the storms was the worst of the two.
“The good thing is that a lot of that crop really recovered in two to three days. Corn is pretty resilient to root lodging. And what I mean by root lodging is that we’re not snapping that stalk. We’re not having green snap or any issues like that. When that soil gets really, really moist, like three or four inches of rain, and then you have wind on top of it, that crop is just lodging at the roots. So, the roots are coming out of the soil a little bit.”
All in all, Quinn says the corn crop recovered really well.
“You can notice some goose necking out there. But you know, a lot of that crop, as long as it recovers in time for pollination, should be okay. We shouldn’t expect a whole lot of yield loss. A lot of the crop that was in pollination at that time is standing. It looks really good. There’s a little concern for some of the sweet corn growers, some of the popcorn growers, that maybe had a few more instances of lodging, but for the most part, I thought it was going to be a lot worse than what it actually was.”
Reports from Northern Indiana are that the moisture that came with those storms gave them just what they needed. Quinn expects excellent pollination and kernel numbers across the state, something we’ve grown accustomed to the past few years.
Here more from Quinn and Purdue’s ‘Soybean Shaun’ Casteel in the Purdue Crop Chat below or wherever you listen to podcasts.
