‘Tis the time of year to be scouting for various diseases and pests and assessing how your corn crop is coming along. In addition to keeping a watchful eye for southern rust and tar spot, some farmers and agronomists have been surprised to find pollination issues. “Overly tight tassel wrap” went largely unnoticed until a couple weeks ago.
“It’s a situation where the tassels on some varieties, based on the growing conditions, were wrapped too tight. The pollen couldn’t get out of the wrap, which led to a poor start for the pollination cycle,” explains Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.
Farmers and agronomists have reported pollination issues due to tight tassel wrap in at least 10 states. Only time will tell how widespread the unusual problem impacted yields.
In addition to pollination problems, southern rust has now been confirmed in at least 15 states. With the recent heat, humidity and strong winds, agronomists are encouraging farmers to scout their corn fields, as conditions are ripe for the disease to spread.
Since late June, Ferrie has been closely monitoring tar spot reports in Illinois and working with growers to create and implement action plans for their specific fields to address the disease.
That’s why we want to hear from you. How is your corn crop faring? Click here to take our AgWeb poll, and let us know if you’re seeing pollination issues due to tight tassel wrap and/or if you’ve confirmed southern rust or tar spot this year. We only ask four questions, so it will take less than a minute to participate.
