Across the Cornbelt, with very few exceptions, water availability to the growing crop is a daily topic of conversation, consideration, or concern. Too much, too little, too late, and on occasion, there has even been concern of too dry to plant. We manage water with ditches, tile, subsurface drains, pipes, pumps, and supplemental irrigation water – the most common being an overhead, center pivot irrigation. And as goes water availability, so goes root growth and, in general, nutrient availability, especially nitrogen and sulfur. To a grower with sandy or coarse soils, the ability to irrigate is the ability to raise a profitable crop.

What the 2020 growing season will offer is yet to be seen, but there is a strong trend toward higher precipitation levels and more significant rainfall events. What can we do to adjust our nitrogen management to better cope with the uncertainty these trends present?

Diseases in cultivated crops are not a new phenomenon. The root cause of the Irish Potato Famine was a fungal disease, Phytophthora infestans, commonly called late blight. Today, late blight is still a primary disease concern in potatoes; proactive management practices are in place. Genetics, cultural management, and timely, preventative applications of fungicides are critical.