At the Shantz Farm Field Day in Hydro, Okla., Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk caught up with Oklahoma State University Extension Cropping System Economist Josh Lofton and talked about this year’s late-season corn.
Lofton spoke about some late-season corn grown in Hydro at the field day and described this type of corn as a risk-reward scenario.
“Inherently, when we plant these later systems, they are always risky systems because they are outside of what we normally do,” Lofton said. “However, the reward is often there, because in a lot of our double crop and a lot of our late season, we are typically in a lot better environmental conditions.”
If producers have never planted late corn, Lofton said they need to be prepared for southern rust disease. While southern rust is common in corn, Lofton said it usually comes when the corn is mature enough not to see yield limitations.
“As opposed to last year, we are seeing a little bit more spike of the southern rust than we did last year,” Lofton said.
The hot and dry September had an impact on this year’s crop as well, Lofton said.
“It really took the top end of our corn out,” Lofton said. “We are seeing a little bit smaller kernels to where we are not being able to fill out that ear as well as we would like to.”
If rainfall becomes more frequent, Lofton said that will be favorable to the crop, especially if temperatures improve.
“In our full season (corn), a lot of times, growers can even forego a fungicide application depending on where you are in the state and what you typically see, especially for southern rust,” Lofton said. “We don’t typically see it until much later in the year if we even see it in our full season.”
When it comes to late-season or double-crop corn, Lofton said he recommends growers be ready for one or two fungicide applications.
Regarding Nitrogen application, Lofton said it is not typically necessary in terms of yield management, but it is helpful for weed management.
“Maybe we don’t gain a lot of bushels from it, but maybe we have a lot cleaner fields, and we are able to capture that yield a lot more efficiently,” Lofton said.
