August 17, 2012

Mark Hinze, Extension Educator in Hall County:  Some growers are in the process of harvesting corn for silage. The dryland acres were knocked out first followed by the irrigated acreages. One producer who didn't have enough water to irrigate his soybeans, chopped them for silage and mixed it with corn silage. 

Most commercial corn in the area is in the full dent stage with kernel starch lines approaching or over the 50% mark on the kernel. Those fields will full moisture profiles are now finishing their final irrigations for the season, while others who barely had enough water may need one to two more circles. Some producers ae considering irrigating after harvest to provide enough off-season moisture to get a freezing / thawing action in the soil over the winter.Seed corn harvest has already begun. The harvest so far looks pretty good; however, it's too early to comment on all the seed corn acres. There is some interest in using a cover crop on the already harvested seed corn to provide for nutrient recycling.

Most soybeans here are at stage R5.5 to R5.75 and a few fields were nearing R6.0 (full seed). With this summer's  continuous high heat, a lot of folks changed their interruptible electric service to non-interruption or a reduced number of days of interruptible service.

Spider Mites: There appears to be an influx of spider mites in corn. The corn is well into dent stage or even fully dented so  mite spraying may be unnecessary at this point in the season.

Southern Leaf Rust: While southern leaf rust was found in this area, on closer examination of samples under a microscope, common leaf rust was predominant.  At this point in the season, additional treatment for rust is not warranted.

This summer it has become quite evident that a lot of center pivots have plugged nozzles or poor water distribution patterns. If you look at the seed set, in the dry spots, the ears have already tipped back. In fact, even in the seed corn, you can clearly see areas where the irrigation was not evenly distributed.