Published on Wednesday, May 16, 2018
With all the rain we have had in our area and more in the forecast, I have received several questions about whether or not there is a need to switch to planting an earlier maturity corn hybrid. Eric Wilson, Beck’s field agronomist in northern Iowa, and I have put together the following information to help you decide if you need to make a change. Planting Later Affects the Maturity Rate of Corn Hybrids Hybrids mature faster, requiring fewer growing degree units (GDU), when planted after May 1st.
What are the Risks of Keeping My Current Hybrids? The main concern about planting full-season hybrids later is the grain moisture at harvest:
Another major concern, especially in the north, is the risk of a killing frost before the corn reaches full maturity at black layer. The best tool I have found for assessing this risk is from the University of Illinois. This tool analyzes 30 years of weather data from your county to chart expected GDU accumulation and potential frost dates. You can enter hybrid maturities to see when a hybrid is expected to reach black layer at different planting dates. The only downside is that this tool does not automatically account for the late planting reduction of 6.8 GDU’s per day after May 1st, but you can adjust for that manually. Click here to access the tool now. Eric Wilson made a video demonstrating how to use this tool that you can watch by clicking below.
What are the Risks of Changing Hybrids?
If you have any remaining questions, please reach out to your team of Beck’s representatives who are happy to work with you make the best decision for your operation.
Author: Mike Hannewald
Categories: N Indiana, Michigan
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