What a difference a year makes! Last year we had corn up. Temps were warm and conditions were excellent... until the Easter freeze. With winter rains delaying corn planting, we must be ready to roll when the opportunity comes.
For corn planting, look more at soil temperature instead of the calendar. We need minimum soil temps of 50 degrees (2 inches deep at 9 a.m.), with a warming trend in the forecast. Even though corn seed is tough and can lie in the ground for three weeks, the best scenario is to have emergence in 7 to 10 days.
April Planted Corn
One good thing we did learn from last year’s “trial by freeze” is that April planted corn is GOOD CORN. Corn planted in April emerged quickly out of warm soils and grew off quickly. The YieldGard™ trait gives protection against the corn borer for April planted corn. Fungicides also offer protection by defending plants against diseases.
Population, Population, Population...
Another valuable lesson we have learned last year is the importance of plant population. Ideally we are looking for a plant stand on irrigated corn of 29 – 31,000. We kept some 25,000 stands last year and basically offset the cost of replanting with anticipated lower yield. Stands of 20 – 22,000 should have been replanted. There are many variables that determine “how high can you go” on plant population. Row width (higher pops on 20” rows than 38” rows), field dry or grain dryer (field dry corn at 15% can’t take the higher pops that a grain dryer field could when harvesting at 24%), and irrigation potential (intense water management and volume to manage a high pop crop, or is irrigation limited).
Kernel spacing is just as important as the overall seed rate. Eliminate “skips and doubles”. Set your planter correctly for the seed that you are planting.
New Hybrids for 2008
Complimenting the strong and mid-season lineup of Belle 1545RY and Belle 1646RY are two new hybrids for 2008. Belle 1147RY is a 111 day hybrid with mid-season yield potential and good late season plant health. Belle 1844RY is a 118 day hybrid with excellent top end yield, outstanding agronomics and high test weight grain.
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jeffpangle@cullumseeds.com.
Good Growing!
Jeff Pangle
