Extension
Connection
Extension
Connection
Corn and Soybean Crops
By Heather Benedict, Agronomist Specialist
This is Heather Benedict, Regional Agronomy Specialist. I am based out of Bethany Mo. I serve Worth, Gentry, Harrison, Mercer, Grundy, Daviess, Caldwell and Livingston Counties. I will be bringing you today’s program.
This year growers have seen problems with their corn and soybeans. In many cases the early growth seemed to start slowly. Also, there was the appearance of nutrient deficiencies in the crops. While the cool weather played part in this delayed growth, another culprit was the wet weather.
Soil nutrient researchers from Missouri have found that the subsoil in Missouri has large reserves of plant available phosphorous and potassium. In many locations the subsoil contains more of these nutrients than are required for plant growth. This has let many growers get away with skimping on the amount of P and K fertilizers they use to grow crops. However, in years like this year, with the large amounts of moisture in the soil, the plant roots do not grow down fast enough and far enough to capitalize on the nutrient reserves. As the summer has progressed many of the crops seem to be growing out of the deficiencies except for nitrogen deficiencies, that they showed earlier. While this may allow for little yield loss, it will affect harvest of these fields. Fields with uneven plant maturity will require more effort for optimum yield potential.
In soybean fields this season has shown cases of herbicide injury that is sometimes mistaken for nutrient deficiencies. When diagnosing a field, the history of the field is very important to determining the cause of abnormal growth. In some cases, not knowing the herbicide treatment from previous years may cause injury to the current year’s crops. When taking a plant in to an agronomist for diagnosis, bringing the whole plant as well as the field history is important. Knowing whether the newest or oldest leaves are showing symptoms of problems is very important for determining which herbicide, nutrient or disease may be causing the problems.
More information and the research on the practices I have discussed as well as on many more subjects can be found in your local extension office. So if you would like further information on this or any other topic contact your local University of Missouri Extension office. University of Missouri and Extension programs are open to all. Thank you for your time.
(Written August 24, 2009)
 |
Extension Connection Barb Ubben, Web Manager harrisonco@missouri.edu Last revised: 05/25/04 |