Watch out for harvest problems this year in your corn fields. “Be sure to walk your fields this year,” warns Jeff Renk. “We know there have been many unusual types of plant stresses this year from drought, high winds, too much rain, compaction and extremely hot weather during the summer.”

Any of these stresses can set up stalks for invasion by disease organisms, which can cause stalk rot.

Delayed planting this spring because of wet conditions caused some corn to be planted in less than ideal seedbeds. Compaction resulted. Then the dry conditions hit along with warm temperatures.

Other stresses have attacked corn this season, too. Rootworm larval feeding is prevalent in many areas. Many fields with rootworm feeding are on first year corn. During pollination, rootworm beetles clipped silks vigorously, which in some fields affected pollination. Because the level of rootworm larval feeding on roots was high in some areas, many plants were subject to lodging. Combine the root feeding and soil compaction with high winds and some fields got set up for serious harvest problems.

Now is the time to walk your fields and identify stalks that may need to be harvested early. Try the push test: push stalks at a 45 degree angle away from you and if they don’t snap back, they will probably lodge before harvest. Use the pinch test, too! Pinch the lower 1/3 of stalks to determine if stalk rot is setting in. A significant number of plants with that soft spongy feel indicate severe problems. Wet weather in early October may cause even further stalk deterioration and huge potential for yield loss.

Some hybrids resist stalk and root lodging more than others. Stable performance of a hybrid, says that these hybrids have high stalk and root lodging scores. Be sure to ask your Renk dealer about high performance hybrids that have great standability!