Update from the Field: Don’t Delay, Plant Today
Posted by Dave Dyson, Agronomist on June 06, 2019
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It’s now June and few acres of the Corn Belt have corn seed in the ground, let alone emerged and growing. As of June 3rd, only 32% of the expected corn acres have been planted in Ohio and Indiana. Michigan is slightly ahead with 42% planted, and Illinois has jumped to the head of the pack with 45% of expected corn acres planted. This week is forecasted to be dryer than normal and looks to be our best chance to get corn seed into the ground before the weather pattern turns wet again.
The talk lately has been what maturity of corn to plant in June. We are entering the “endgame” for planting corn. Now that we have flipped the calendar to June, the opportunity for higher growing degree day (GDD) accumulation before fall frost begins to decline. Just because the temperature dips down to 32 degrees F and frost may damage the corn leaves does not mean the plant is dead and cannot finish maturing. According to Dr. Robert Nielsen, Professor of Agronomy from Purdue University, “The temperature has to reach 28 degrees F for several hours to be considered lethal for corn plants.” Last year, in the 2018 cropping season, our first “hard freeze” occurred between Oct 11th and Nov 10th (figure 1) for the Corn Belt. According to the U.S. National Climate Data Center, the date by which our first “hard freeze” typically occurs in the Midwest, with 50% probability, is the last week in October.
Figure 1: shows the date across the country when the temperature gets down to 28 degrees F. On average in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, the date of first 28 degrees F freeze will occur between Oct 10th – Nov 1st. https://mrcc.illinois.edu/VIP/indexFFG.html
So, what length maturity corn should you be planting in June? I dislike recommending a corn maturity less than a 100-day for the simple fact that you drastically cut the top-end of the yield. Since we know chances are good for a killing freeze around the last week in October, we’ll use October 15th to do calculations. If you count back the days from October 15th, we can get 122 good growing days before a killing freeze occurs if we plant by June 15th. Using this knowledge, I recommend with confidence to plant a 108-day corn maturity up to June 15th (figure 2).
Figure 2: This chart from DeKalb shows the level of risk increases as the date goes farther into June.
In conclusion, if we get a three-day window of no rain, my recommendation is to not worry about herbicides or cultivating the ground. We need to no-till as much corn into the ground as we can before the next round of rain starts. As already mentioned, we are in the “endgame”. We need to focus on getting seeds in the ground and tackle weed control during the next break in the weather. Consider moving your corn maturities back to a 108- or 105-day maturity, but I strongly discourage planting below 100-day corn. Remember, we are still agronomically sound planting corn up to June 15th. Please contact an agronomy advisor from The Andersons with any planting questions.
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Dave Dyson is a regional agronomist for The Andersons’ Farm Centers which are located throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He is an Indiana native and grew up on a dairy farm in Miami County. A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Crop & Soil Science, Dave has a deep knowledge of various agronomic topics and is committed to helping growers improve their crops. If you have any questions, Dave can be reached at david_dyson@andersonsinc.com.
