News

A successful pollination

This July is on pace to be one of the coolest on record and Purdue Extension corn specialist Bob Nielsen says overall he doesn’t anticipate it hindering the crop.  “I don’t think the temperatures have been low enough to cause an actual negative impact on the crop,” he says.  “And it represents very, very moderate heat stress and so I think it really bodes well for a successful pollination and the initial survival of those young, developing kernels.”

He tells Brownfield the corn crop is pretty far along and this growing season has definitely set the stage for pretty good yields. “But clearly, the impact for August can be very strong in terms of rainfall and temperature,” he says.  “We need to hope we continue to have moderation in both categories in order to finish off this crop.”

Nielsen adds one issue farmer should keep an eye on during the month of August is stalk rot.

AUDIO: Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension, (1:15mp3)