Two-Thirds of Illinois Corn Rated Poor, Very Poor

As the Illinois corn crop continues its rapid development with 8 percent of the crop in dent stage by July 22, its rating continues to decline. University of Illinois crop sciences professor Emerson Nafziger said that on July 22, only 7 percent of the crop was rated as good, none was rated as excellent, and 66 percent was rated as poor or very poor.

“It’s of little comfort, but at least we’re getting close to the end of the slide in ratings because they can’t get much worse,” he said. “But such low ratings do raise questions about just how poor crop prospects are.”

In areas where there has been some rain, at least in the morning before leaves wilt in the afternoon heat, the crop has some ears and retains some green leaf area. What is the chance that such fields, many of which are rated as “poor,” will produce a yield that is worth harvesting?

Some reports from recent visits to fields in central Illinois where good and poor fields are often close to one another suggest that the crop might be better than the ratings indicate, depending on whether there is rain. The poor rating may reflect uncertainty about whether conditions will improve.

In dry areas, however, canopy deterioration continues or is complete, with leaf area dead or dying as plants deplete the soil water supply. “We know that many such fields will produce no grain,” Nafziger said.

In fields where some kernels have been set and remain active, the stalks have not accumulated adequate levels of sugar or nutrients. Nitrate might have remained in stalks because there is not enough energy to convert it to ammonium and then to amino acids and proteins. Low sugar and nutrient levels or death of conductive tissue can cause kernels to stop growing.

Stalk quality is a concern when stalk nutrients are depleted to fill kernels, as often happens under dry conditions. “Stalks are likely to be weak this year, but with small ears, there won’t be much need for strong stalks in stressed fields,” said Nafziger. “Even so, lodging may start in fields that died prematurely, even before grain has dried down.”

With growing-degree days (GDD) continuing to accumulate, the earliest-planted corn should now be in dough stage with some starting into dent. According to the Illinois Agronomy Handbook estimates, the milk stage (R3) is reached at approximately 1,925 GDD, dough stage (R4) at 2,190 GDD, and dent stage (R5) at 2,450 GDD.

The more stress the plant has endured, the lower its yield potential. At Urbana, corn planted on April 1 has accumulated about 2,140 GDD. The corn planted on March 15 has accumulated 2,350 GDD. Although leaf death, plant drydown, and the maturation process have accelerated in the dry soils, corn that is now at R4 in central Illinois is not far ahead of where GDD totals suggest it should be.

The grain harvest has started in southern Illinois; with early plant death and drying, yields are expected to be low. “In fields where ears are present, either kernel number or kernel size or both will be small,” Nafziger predicted

In fields with some kernels set, where leaves are active (not rolled or wilted) for at least half of each day, it might be possible to get an idea now of how many kernels are likely to fill.

Estimating yield potential starts with estimating kernel number. However, with so much variability within stressed fields – for example, low areas might have ears and higher areas might have none – it is nearly impossible to estimate ear number. Data on previous yields along with topographic maps could be used to estimate how much of the field might have ears and sampling only in those areas.

Kernel count is obtained by counting the number of ears in 1/1000^th of an acre (17 feet, 5 inches in 30-inch rows). If ear size is highly variable, select five or six ears (instead of the usual three) to represent the range of sizes from the row section. Count kernels per ear, average these counts, and multiply by the number of ears (with kernels) to get the number of kernels per 1/1000^th of an acre. To estimate yield, divide the number of kernels in 1/1000^th of an acre by the number (in thousands) of kernels expected to be in a bushel at maturity.