With winter yield map meetings underway, Ken Ferrie says one question keeps coming up from corn growers as he talks with them. The question is, “In certain soil types, we are seeing a consistently poor corn stand due to missing plants. How do we figure out what caused the poor stand and fix it for this season?”
One challenge in answering this question is that the evidence needed to identify the problem cannot be provided by the yield map, says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
“The yield map can tell us where the problem is and maybe how much that problem is costing us, but that’s about it,” he says. “With the field harvested and in many cases, tilled, all the evidence is gone, kind of like a contaminated crime scene.”
If the field in question is in no-till, however, a visit back to the site yet this winter may still help provide clues or answers.
“Do actual stand counts with the stubble, and look for uniformity. Uniform plants would indicate there was uniform emergence,” Ferrie says. “If you find poor stands and ununiform stalks, that may represent more than just an emergence problem. Dig some plants and look closely at the seed furrow. If you’re dealing with sidewall smearing, it will still be present and visible even after harvest.”
The Bigger Challenge
Ferrie says when he gets questions like the poor corn stand one from his customers, it’s usually a sign they don’t have a pest team in place to address agronomic issues.
He describes a pest team as being responsible for all agronomic threats against the farm – from bugs and weeds to disease.
“The pest team needs a pest boss, one person who has a handle on all things pest related, who makes the call on pesticide applications, which fields get insecticide, fungicide and so forth. The pest boss doesn’t have to do all the scouting, but he does need to make sure it gets done,” Ferrie says.
“Designate some of your farm labor for this job, and give them the time and the authority to do it,” he adds. “If that’s not possible, work with your suppliers. Many will help in this area for their loyal customers. Or, hire a scouting service.”
One of the important jobs of the pest team is to do stand counts and compare them to planting rates. This practice needs to be implemented right after corn emergence, Ferrie says.
“You want to look at each hybrid and field and a good selection of soil types within the field. This data should be recorded and kept for any diagnostic process. After emergence, we can tell what the cause of a missing plant is – whether it was a planter issue, planting conditions, insects, disease or varmints,” he says. “Once we know the problem, we can put a plan together to fix it.”
Assign Solutions To Problems
“If it’s a seedbed-related issue, maybe drainage is part of the cure,” Ferrie says. “If it’s insects or disease you’re dealing with, picking a seed treatment that can influence them would be a good start.”
Seed treatments are being used this spring by one of his customers to address a pest problem the farmer identified last year.
Ferrie recalls what transpired. “Going through yield maps on one field, we had two hybrids split in the planter. One hybrid was dropping off in yield in certain zones in the field. When I asked about it, the farmer knew exactly why. He had seen it in the stand counts and investigated the problem. The stand loss was due to wireworm.”
Upon review, the hybrid in trouble didn’t have a high enough insecticide rate on the seed to prevent wireworm from causing damage, while the other hybrid did.
“This small detail had slipped through the cracks with the one hybrid, but at least the farmer knew the cause and how to fix it,” Ferrie says.
He offers one additional recommendation for growers’ consideration: Before the 2025 harvest rolls around, he advises training the farm’s combine operators to be on the lookout for agronomic issues as they go through fields.
“You want them to stop when they see poor stands, and collect data while the crop is still there. That will improve the odds of identifying the problem. Taking actual stand and ear counts, and taking pictures can all help in answering the problem,” Ferrie adds.
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Listen to Ferrie’s complete Boots In The Field podcast here:
