CROP SCENE INVESTIGATION – 20: What teamed up to damage Matthew’s corn?

by DEAN SHANTZ

When a field is doing poorly, a quick investigation may uncover a problem, but you need to be thorough in your assessment. Your diligence may reveal that several things are teaming up to take the sting out of your crop’s yield punch.

At the end of June, I received a call from Matthew, a Wellington county farmer who was puzzled by the unusual appearance of one of his corn fields. “The corn is much better along the roadway than the rest of the field,” he said. “The first 12 rows in from the side road are already at the 10-leaf stage. The plants are dark green and uniform in size. The rest of the field is yellowish and only at the 6-to-8-leaf stage. I think there is some kind of bug damage, too.”

Better Farming - October 2009