Evaluation of Crop Health During Late-Season Grainfill

Posted on: Aug 1, 2014

This is the time of year to assess how well your crops are growing as they near the latter stages of maturity. Did you go with a game plan to carefully invest in making sure the crop maximized its full potential yield, or did you leave bushels in the field by falling short in adequate plant nutrition and pest protection? Some worthy assessments include:

Overall Crop Health:

  • Was crop nutrition sufficient throughout all phases of crop growth, and was tissue sampling used to verify critical quantities?
  • Did corn have sufficient N and K at demand peaks to keep stalks strong and provide kernel fill to the end of tips?
  • Did soybeans have adequate components to hold and fill pods with plump high-quality seed?

Hybrid/Cultivator Selections:

  • Will your corn hybrids and soybean variety selections planted in 2014 indicate you placed some worthy numbers in your field(s), or will they reveal you have some homework to do for next year's selection process?

Pest Control at Early Reproductive Phases:

  • Did “nibbling insects” (stink bugs, bean leaf beetles, corn rootworm beetles, etc.) rob potential bushels from the field?
  • Did a timely fungicide application prove to be a good decision to provide both disease protection as well as improved plant health to help with plant standability, maturity and drydown?

We all know the final yield per acre is very important. I hope each of you can learn from your experience with this year’s crops. At Helena, we utilize the Helena Acre™ approach to maximize each acre’s profitability. Let your Helena sales representative share how they can help you for years to come with great seed selections and cost-effective Helena products.

- Sam N. Bartee, CCA/CAC, West Central Division Agronomist