Uncategorized

The source of fertilizer had an effect on 2011 corn yields.  With corn at $6.00/Bu, for equal net $ returns per acre for both fertility programs, the dry P & K program would need to be better than $50.00/acre cheaper!

 
                                 Source of P & K Fertility for 2011 Corn Crop________________
                  Fall Fertility Program)_____             Yield (Bu/A)           Harvest Moisture (%)

         24-45-65-10s  Liquid  Dribbled                     174.4                             22.4

 

          24-45-65-10s  Dry  Broadcast                       165.9                             22.1

                                _________________________________________________________________

                                 Previous Crop:  Soybeans

                                 Variety:  Dekalb DKC 58-83 Gen VT3P

Our efforts at the Agronology 10 Research Center have been directed toward methods, procedures or products that increase the odds that the farm will have a successful crop.

 

1. 
   The 24 plots in our consideration group had an average yield of 228.0 Bu/A.  This was a very average yield for our considerations group.  The 228.0 Bu/A ranked 5^th lowest yield in the new millennium (2001-2011).
2. 
   The highest yielding individual corn plot achieved 260.6 Bu/A.  This yield ranked 5^th highest in the new millennium.
3. 
   20 of 24 plots (83%) had P & K applied for the corn crop.
4. 
   18 of 20 fertilized plots (90%) had a micro-nutrient package applied.
5. 
   16 of 20 corn plots (80%) were either fertilized with a fall, dribble application of 24-45-65-10s-.428zn-.2B or 24-55-85-10s-.428zn-.2B.
6. 
   23 of 24 plots (96%) were fertilized with P & K the prior year to the 2011 corn crop.
7. 
   The average soil test values for these 24 plots were:
   • 
     Available P (ppm):  32
   • 
     Exchangable K (ppm): 238

8. 
   17 of the 24 plots (71%) were planted with Dekalb DKC 62-97 GenVT3P.

Yes, micro-nutrients are increasing yields and enhancing profitability for the farm!

This result is clearly demonstrated in the data from our 2011 Agronology 10

Research Center at Walcott.

 

                                        Influence of Micro-Nutrients on 2011 Corn Yields__     ___   _________

 
P & K Fall Dribble (lbs/A)      Yield* (Bu/A)     Harvest Moist (%)     Micro-Nut. Cost ($/A)    Net ($/A)

 

24-55-85                                       200.8                    23.7                                   —-                            —-

24-55-85-10s-.428Zn                 209.1                    23.0                                 9.96                         43.99

24-55-85-10s-.428Zn-.2B         218.2                    23.3                               10.20                       102.90 

*Average for four replications

Variety:  DeKalb DKC 59-35 VT3

Date Planted:  30 April 2011

Date Harvested:  30 September 2011

Corn Price:  $6.50/Bu.                                                                                           

Farmers have experienced good to outstanding soybean yields in 2011.  The large soybean yields have created a need for an additional 5 to 10 lbs. P₂0₅/A and 15 to 20 lbs. K₂0/A, thus should be added to your normal 2012 corn fertility program.  From the following chart, the need to apply this additional fertility can be easily seen.

                                            

                       Crop Removal for P & K for Soybeans                                          

               

Soybean Yield (Bu/A)	P205	K20
50	36	70
60	43	84
70	50	98
80	58	112

 

Many farmers were utilizing the 60 Bu/A Liqui-Grow soybean program for 2011, 17-40-80-10s-1.3Mn, but removed significantly more P & K per acre.                

                                                               

This past 2011 growing season had significant periods of dry or droughty weather conditions.  As a result of this dry weather condition, two items on your soil test may be affected this fall.  The first item is the soil or water pH value.  Because of added amounts of salts not being leached from the upper soil profile, the soil or water pH value could be half to one point lower than expected.  The second item on your fall soil test being significantly different than expected is the exchangeable potassium (K) value.  The reason this value could be lower is due to the lack of K released from between the layers of our clays.  We are unable to predict how much difference this unique weather condition will have on your potassium readings.  Since both soil pH and exchangeable potassium may be wrong this fall soil testing season, I would suggest that the most recent past soil test be utilized as a guide.

We finished harvesting our soybeans late on 3 Oct 2011.  Overall, our yield at the Agronology 10 Research Center in Walcott, IA, was truly outstanding.  We harvested our 7^th highest individual yielding plot with a yield of 83.95 Bu/A.  The 18 highest yielding individual plots make up our critical observations each year.  In 2011, our average yield was 80.9 Bu/A for these 18 plots which was the highest recorded yield ever.  This critical observation data base spans the time period from 1994 to present, an 18 year period.

Our “Plant Health” experiment for soybeans showed a 5.9 Bu/A yield response to a fungicide and insecticide application at R3 growth stage.  My general observations were that the incident of disease and insect pressures was quite low this year.

We began harvesting the 2011 corn crop at our Agronology 10 Research Center in Walcott on September 25, 2011.  The 105 day corn planted in the borders yielded 180 Bu/A with harvest moisture at 19.8% and test weight was 57.8 lbs/bushel.  The 2011 yield in the border is 20 Bu/A less than previous years.

With this year’s stalk quality being very suspect due to this year’s stressful weather conditions, I would recommend that corn harvest start sooner versus later.  Happy harvesting!

This year with its many environmental stresses, high temperature and lack of moisture are causing many fields to experience “top leaf die back”.  This top leaf die back can be easily confused with European corn bore (ECB) damage or anthracnose top kill.  With European corn bore damage, you will find holes (tunnels) in the upper stalk.  With anthracnose top kill you will find the presence of black lesions on the outer stalk tissue behind the leaf sheaths.  So, if European corn bore damage and anthracnose top kill are eliminated, then it’s top leaf die back.  The impact of the top leaf die back on grain yields will depend when the leaves died during grain filling.

I am finding corn moistures reading 26% to 28% on early planted 105 day corn.  Don’t wait too long before you start fall harvest, stalk quality is poor!

In July, there were 18 nights that were warmer than 69º F (nighttime minimum); and the daytime maximum temperature was warmer than 86º F. The potential impact of these temperatures can be analyzed from two viewpoints.

First, the elevated nighttime temperature means less net photosynthate (energy) available daily to increase corn yields. This yield loss is the direct result of the higher nighttime respiration rates. The “net energy” is equal to energy produced by photosynthesis during the day minus the energy utilized by the plant for respiration during the night. This “net energy” provides for the daily gains in yield during grain fill. This can translate to yield reductions of up to 1.2 bu/A/day or in our case, more than 20 bu/A.

Second, the number of days necessary to reach black layer from mid-pollination is reduced. For instance, a corn variety that normally requires 55 days may only need 50-51 days to go from mid-pollination to black layer. When we see reduced days, lower yields are possible.

That’s it for now, have a good week.

The soybeans which are photoperiod sensitive will have begun flowering.  At the time of the summer solstice (21 June), the soybean plant recognizes that winter is coming and begins its reproductive phase of plant growth.  The more nodes the soybean plant has at this time of year, the more sites there will be for potential pod development.  At the Agronology 10 Research Center at Walcott, IA, our soybeans currently have 6 to 8 nodes at this time.

With the adverse weather this past spring – too cold, too wet, and too dry; these conditions have certainly affected the corn plant’s ability to grow large, robust root systems.  As a result of this smaller root system, reduced or diminished nutrient uptake levels have occurred.  The effect of this extended stress (lack of nutrient uptake) will be evaluated more clearly at R₁ thru R₃ growth stages.