Corn Moisture Still High

Corn Moisture Still High

grain dryer2Many growers have faced a tough choice this harvest. If they leave their corn in the field to dry, they run the risk of lodging due to disease that has weakened stalks, but if they harvest while the moisture is high, they will spend a lot of money and time drying the crop.  Jeff Tacheny, with DuPont Pioneer, said corn growers have found the choice difficult to make, “All brands and hybrids have had trouble this year with stalk integrity and lodging has been a real concern.” He said there has been some decline in corn moisture in recent weeks but, for the most part, the crop will still require a lot of drying, “I had a grower call me over the weekend who was in some 109 day corn that had been planted in early May and he had moisture at 18% but, for the most part, the crops are still averaging over 20%.” Some Indiana processors are even accepting corn with moisture over 20%.

Tacheny said crown rot and other late season diseases have weakened stalks this fall. He added that many Pioneer representatives are busy walking fields with growers helping them evaluate what fields need to be worked sooner rather than later. 

As for yields, in Central Indiana some of the new Pioneer hybrids did quite well in this cool, wet, growing season. Tacheny said special attention should be given to PO496AMX, a 105 day hybrid PO506, a 109 day hybrid PO909, and a 111 day P1197.  More yield and agronomic information is available on the agronomy page of this web site.

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