Sulfur is an essential nutrient for corn crops, and it plays several important roles in the plant’s growth and development. Here are some of the functions that sulfur performs in a corn crop:
Read more…
The success of a corn crop is dependent on a variety of factors, one of which is even emergence. Even emergence is the term used to describe the uniform emergence of corn plants from the soil. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of even emergence in corn and its impact on crop […]
Read more…
Finding your limiting factor isn’t as obvious as just looking at a soil sample or even a tissue sample and adding whatever is lowest. I’ve looked at a soil sample and saw that there was plenty of something, but when we dove in deeper with a tissue sample it showed a deficiency multiple times throughout […]
Read more…
Raising a high-yielding corn crop requires careful attention to a range of factors, including soil fertility, crop placement, and pest management. Identifying the primary yield-limiting factor in a given field can be challenging. Here are some methods I try and use to help determine what the yield-limiting factor may be in raising a corn crop: […]
Read more…
Base saturation is a measure of the percentage of cation exchange sites in soil that are occupied by basic cations, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. It is an important concept in soil fertility management because it provides valuable information about soil nutrient availability and soil pH. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil […]
Read more…
With the weather cooling down and harvest nearing the final stretch, it finally feels like fall here in Southern Illinois. With fall comes the evaluation of how your farm did this year and making plans for next year. Placing the right product on the right acre is the first step to maxing your field’s yield.
[…] Read more
Farming is the only business in the world that resets itself every year. Your plans, your goals, and even the products you use vary every year. As with any other occupation, when you go to start a new business you need to make sure you have a plan. The earlier you have a plan, the […]
Read more…
A Harbinger of Stalk Health Problems Serious crop stress during the grain filling period of corn increases the risk of stalk rots and stalk lodging (breakage) prior to grain harvest. Among the more common serious stresses that can occur during grain fill are nitrogen deficiency, foliar diseases (e.g., gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight), […]
Read more…
Two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) are present in soybean crops every year, but they are not often a significant problem. The risk of significant two-spotted spider mite infestations increases considerably during periods of hot weather and prolonged drought. Click here to learn more!
Read more…
While the record will show that corn planting progressed at a more or less normal rate this spring in Illinois, wet, cool conditions that developed after nearly half of the crop had been planted resulted in a great deal of replanting, especially in the flat-soil areas of Illinois. Some fields damaged by water and some that were too wet to plant before late May likely were planted to soybeans instead of corn. The June 30 acreage report shows Illinois corn acreage dropping by 500,000 from 2016 to 2017 (to 11.1 million acres) and soybean acreage increasing by 290,000 acres, to 10.4 million acres in 2017.
0