Final ECE Plot Update

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

Final update on the 92-105 day early corn early plot. It was planted on April 10, not so early for what we normally call early, but early for this year. We applied 30-40 lb of Urea with ammonium sulfate for 15 lb of sulfur pre plant and worked it in. Later we top dressed 150 lb of treated Urea at around V5 plant stage. No further N was applied. It seemed with the flat ground and swampy conditions that we lost nitrogen and the corn did not have the full color of green in last part of grain fill. A fungicide app was made around brown silk. Between deer, wind, and nitrogen deficiencies this plot has had a rugged go. This seems like more real world conditions for an ECE plot anyways. This will be interesting to see how it pans out.

The following ratings will be on grain quality: kernel set, color, and dent (1 is straight, orange, no dent 5 is crooked, pastel, deep dent)

Hybrid Ratings Comments

4292V2P 3.5 big ear

4323VZ 2.5 little dent, great color

4636V2P 2.5 good color, nice kernels

4971AM 3 ave color

5077V2P 2 straight, good color, ave dent, filled out big ear

5113AM 2 straight, good color, less dent, filled out big ear

5313AM 1.5 great color, little dent, filled out big showy ear

5140HR 3 straight, ave color, little dent yet

SDS risks in soybeans & eyeing management of stalk rot in corn!

Have I announced the great news of Scott Dickey joining the Beck's Hybrids team as an agronomist for SW Missouri? We are blessed to have this support and I have already utilized his experience and knowledge in this challenging season. Below is information he has sent to us and am sharing it with you!

SDS sends toxins up soybean plants causing speedy death.

Sudden Death Syndrome:

I think it is only a matter of time before we begin to see SDS in area fields.  Very wet, harsh conditions during the early life of many soybean fields were very conducive for Fusrium virguliforme to infect soybean root masses.  With rapid pod fill occurring in some soybean fields at this time, foliar symptoms of this disease are likely in the near future. 

SDS spores appear blue on soybean roots.

If SDS becomes apparent in your fields, mark these as infected and consider

Escalate Nemasect SDS+ as a seed treatment option for control/suppression of SDS.  This treatment brings 2 modes of fungicide action for 4 different seedling diseases. With this new and updated treatment, we will not see the halo effect that is always present with ILeVO. 

(In 2020, we will offer three levels of treatment on soybeans. Basic fungicide/insecticide/biological treatment, Nemasect added, and finally Nemasect SDS+ for control of SDS, nematodes, and additional insect control. This will allow you to make the best choices for your farm's needs.)

Corn Issues:

We already mentioned Southern Rust last time.  We continue to see reports of this disease throughout Kansas and increasing areas of Missouri.  Late planted fields will be at the most risk. 

I also want to send documents on foliar diseases of corn and stalk/crown issues in corn.  We will likely see many of these over the next few weeks.  We can’t treat for stalk and crown issues, but foliar fungicide applications can go a long way to help maintain overall plant health which can reduce the impact of stalk issues.  Most corn fields are moving past the optimal window for foliar treatment, but there may be a few late planted fields that are at that prime VT/R1 treatment window.  It may be worth having a discussion with growers about the benefits of protecting those higher risk late planted fields.

(On a side note, I might add that pre harvest inspection of your fields for the most infected corn stalks to help time harvest field order could be a good idea. Use the pinch test on the stalk nodes during dry down to test for stalk strength.

Downloadable .pdf for viewing or printing:

SDS White Paper

Foliar Corn Diseases

Crown Rot

Stalk Rot

Contributors to this article:

-Scott Dickey, Beck's Hybrids Agronomist

-Beck's Hybrids PFR