Cool temperatures certainly have been plentiful recently in Hardin County so far this spring, but with a period of warm, dry weather in the forecast some planters likely will roll late this week.
It feels like we all need to be reminded of this every year, but there is still opportunity for a high yielding crop in Kentucky this year. Let’s take a look at some ways to best work around the cool start to the spring and set this crop up for success.
For corn, traditional recommended planting dates for Central Kentucky are April 15-May 15. The reality is that a portion of the corn in our area typically does not get planted by May 15. If that’s the case, producers shouldn’t panic though. Five years of farmer yield data suggests that the highest yielding corn is usually planted between April 29 and May 15.
After mid-May, it is estimated that yield loss per day of delayed planting is around one bushel per acre per day. This figure moves to two bushels per acre per day as we go into June.
Planting date is important, however, it is also important to remember basic agronomic principals when deciding when to get in the field this spring. “Mudding-in” a crop is almost always a bad decision, as this leads to compaction issues (both sidewall compaction and surface compaction), poor emergence and can be destructive to equipment.
Some years crops have been “mudded-in” and the effects were minimal. Keep in mind though that usually those years have near perfect growing conditions. Issues like sidewall compaction usually show up more during stressful conditions, such as extremely cool, wet weather or hot, dry weather.
Remember this saying: “The sins of planting will haunt you until harvest.”
Consider planting depth throughout the planting season. Corn should be planted at 2 to 2.5 inches. Corn planted shallower than 2 inches could have lodging issues later in the season and is more vulnerable to wildlife and bird damage. Corn planted too deep can have failed or uneven emergence, leading to low yields. Corn with varying planting depths will have uneven emergence, also leading to lower yields. It is important to not only check planting depth upon initial start up, but also several times throughout the day and/or when conditions change.
What about soybeans? Recent soybean planting data suggests that yields don’t begin to decline until around May 20. After this date, yields only decline by a half bushel per day of delayed planting. Soybeans planted after early June will typically lose one bushel of yield per day of delayed planting.
One final piece of hope pertaining to planting date is the fact that later planted corn will develop faster. Corn development is based on growing degree days. As spring progresses, growing degree days accumulate more rapidly. This means that corn planted in early April will develop at a much slower pace than corn planted in late April or May.
If nitrogen fertilizer is applied in anticipation of planting and that planting is delayed, you might not need to be as concerned as you might think. In cases where heavy rains caused rapid runoff, nitrogen losses are there, but likely low.
Source: thenewsenterprise.com
Photo Credit: GettyImages-fotokostic
Categories: Kentucky, Harvesting