Ferrie: ID Your Agronomic Issues to Grow More Bushels

Across parts of Illinois this week, Ken Ferrie is seeing corn leaf rolling occurring in fields. It’s taking place because the corn is attempting to protect itself from damaging high temperatures and parched soils. 

“We can take some heat and some dry weather here in central Illinois, but we are probably giving up some efficiency with our heat units,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist and owner of Crop-Tech Consulting Inc., Heyworth, Ill.

He explains that when corn leaves roll up during the day, the crop shuts down to some degree and won’t experience as much photosynthesis and, as a result, growth slows.

“Any compacted fields, fields with wheel tracks in them, sidewall smearing…they’re all now showing themselves in these fields,” he says. “If this is happening in one of your fields, it may be talking to you and telling you to come take a look and identify which of the sins of spring is causing the problem – that's how we’ll be able to fix it for next year,” he adds.

Farm Journal Corn & Soybean College Can Help! 

The annual event is coming up and is just a few weeks away – July 26-27. This marks the 15-year anniversary for the event, and Ferrie’s crew is putting together some extra activities to celebrate. 

All the corn and soybean content is new, as it is every year. Ferrie says this is an unsponsored event, making more time for him and his agronomists to spend with you in the field, looking at crops and answering questions.

Scroll down to take a look at the topics listed at the bottom of this page.

You can register at CropTechInc.com. Look for the Corn & Soybean College tab at the top of the website page.

COMMON ISSUES IN THE FIELD 

Here are some problems to look for in the field now. As you scout, take some notes to reference next spring:

Uneven Emergence
Causes of late emergence remain visible all season. “Dig good and bad plants in multiple areas of the field, and compare them,” Ferrie says. “Sound roots will show no evidence of how seed was placed in the soil. Crown roots should come off the stalk in a circular pattern, growing downward at a 30˚ angle.”

Tip a plant upside down. “If roots are growing in the line of the seed trench, you have sidewall smearing,” Ferrie says. “Another indication is when the soil has a seam and splits into two halves at the seed trench. Sidewall smearing results from excess down pressure and/or planting into wet soil.”

If the roots look normal, check planting depth by removing the mesocotyl from the base of the crown; measure it and add ¾".

“If small plants are shallower than others, the row unit was not staying in the ground,” Ferrie says. “Causes include planting too fast, too little downforce, worn-out disk openers or too aggressive of a setting on closing wheels.

“If late-emerging plants are deeper, it suggests a false bottom in the furrow,” Ferrie continues. “This occurs most often in strip-till. It happens if a planter is running on its nose, causing the row-unit coulter to run below the seed depth. If soil is loose or has an air pocket where the opener runs, seed firmers will tuck the seed down there.”

If seed depth is uniform, look for discoloring on the mesocotyl, indicating seedling disease.

Gaps In The Stand 

“Identify the cause of missing plants during early stand evaluation, from emergence to the V6 growth stage,” says Ferrie. “Dig to find seeds or plants before the evidence is lost.”

Possible culprits include poor-quality seed, misplaced seed, animal predation, seed chilling, insects, diseases or fertilizer burn.

With misplaced seed, you’ll find an extra seed down the row from the gap, Ferrie explains.

“That may result from worn seed tubes on your planter, static electricity at the meter combined with too little talcum or a planter running nose-down,” he says.

Here are some common reasons you see gaps in your fields:
•    A hole where a plant should be suggests wildlife feeding.
•    In ungerminated seed, holes in the pericarp indicate likely insect damage.
•    Plants present below ground but missing above might have been eaten by wildlife or sheared off by cutworms.

Seed chilling can cause skips and/or late emergence in corn. “Seed might not germinate,” Ferrie says. “You might find a shoot without roots or roots without a shoot. The most common effect is corkscrewing, with the shoot failing to reach the surface.”

High-quality seed and seed treatments can help.  

“But you must identify the cause,” Ferrie says. “An insecticide treatment won’t help if the problem is chilling or fertilizer burn.”

Start Checking For Disease Pressure
“As we close the rows on this corn, all pest teams need to be on the lookout for tar spot, especially in the areas where we are getting moisture,” Ferrie advises.

He says with the current dry stretch central Illinois is experiencing, that will help hold back an early start for the disease like what occurred in 2021.  Even so, he says to stay on top of the tar spot scouting. 

“When you see black spots on the corn leaf, lick them a couple times – get them wet and try to rub them off. If they won't come off, most likely it's tar spot. If they do come off, it was probably fly droppings -- nothing to worry about except maybe the taste on your tongue,” he says, laughing.

Ferrie asks Illinois growers to let him know if they do find tar spot in the field. Let us know here at the office, so we can track where it is and how fast it's developing. Staying on top of this will help us decide when and how many times we'll need to spray,” he says. The Crop-Tech office phone number is (646) 801-0591.

Corn And Soybean College Topics

How to Manage Tar Spot When the Cards Are Against You
Tar Spot is a new player at the table, and we need to learn its strategy. Weather conditions are key for all diseases and the environment you are dealt will dictate how you play your hand. Don’t let tar spot make you fold early.

Texas Hold 'em Simulation
Try your hand with the materials learned from Day 1. There are many different combinations of management styles, but how will your management style succeed with the cards you’re dealt.

Tissue Testing: Strategy or Bluff
Will knowing your numbers give you an advantage at the table or not? Tissue tests can be a wildcard, learn when and how they can be used before going all-in.

Giving Fungus the Royal Flush
In a time of high prices with labor and equipment shortages, it is crucial to understand the disease triangle and bring the 4R’s to fungicide application. To get a royal flush, you not only have to have the highest cards, but also the right sequence. Often timing is more important than the product. Knowing the right application windows for what you are targeting is key.

Can You Raise Your Bet With Lower Bean Populations?
Higher populations is a safe bet in terms of weed control and soybean yield. Is lowering the population with early planted beans with improved singulation and spacing really a gamble?

Is Sulfur an Ace in the Hole?
Don’t play blind when it comes to managing hybrids. Some hybrids just need a strong start to bring in the bushels and others need hand holding all the way through black layer. Knowing what hybrids are in your hand makes the hold or fold decision easier. You may have to discard a hybrid if it doesn’t fit your management style.

Learn more from this week's Boots In The Field podcast: