Agronomy Zone 2

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• Tony Lenz (19)
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Iowa State University confirmed western corn rootworm resistance to Bt (Cry3Bb1 corns) hybrids sold commonly as YieldGard rootworm and YieldGard VT Triple during the 2011 growing season. For the scientific community, this isn’t a big surprise as Ken Ostlie, an entomologist from the University of Minnesota, has been following cases of western corn rootworm damage for the past few years. Growers around the Sioux Falls, S.D., area have also seen significant damage from rootworms on YieldGard VT Triple hybrids the past few years, especially in corn-on-corn fields.

Growers who raise corn-on-corn acres should especially take precaution. If you don’t rotate crops, you need to follow strict integrated pest management rules by planting the needed refuge percentages. Follow the requirements needed for each Bt trait refuge program and contact your Regional Sales Agronomist to ensure proper techniques. A few excellent refuge hybrids I’d recommend include Stine 9206RR, 9417RR and 9731RR. You also can consider applying an insecticide along with your Stine VT3 or VT3Pro hybrids if you have heavy rootworm pressure or are in a continuous corn-on-corn program. It is an extra step, but it may help.

It’s also important to scout your fields and monitor hybrid progress in early to mid July. If you see any signs of lodged corn or heavy beetle pressure, take note and contact your Regional Sales Agronomist or Stine District Manager. We will look for ways to improve your hybrid selection, different rotation options or maybe look at applying insecticides for improved rootworm control.

Regional Sales Agronomist Tony Lenz advises growers to push planting populations to increase yields.

Ask the Agronomist - Tony Lenz - Pushing Planting Populations

This has been a challenging spring. South Dakota has been hit hard by heavy rainfall over the past few weeks. People living close to the Missouri River are experiencing record flooding, and farmers living in rural areas are dealing with standing water in their fields.

The wet weather has made it challenging for many growers to get their corn planted. Growers who started in early May have 5-7 leaf corn, and others are still racing to get seed in the ground. Growers are also having trouble getting their fields sprayed. We may run into some issues with weeds chocking out plants. This shows the importance of applying pre-emerge or pre-plant herbicides to control weeds.

We haven’t had any major issues with insects yet. We had some early concerns about cutworms, but they seem to have been washed out by all the rain. Hopefully, the corn will get past the V-5 stage, when it is most susceptible to damage, before insects become a concern.

My advice to growers in South Dakota is to wrap-up re-planting corn by the end of the week and you may have to start exploring other options for your unplanted acres. You should decide within the next couple of days whether you want to switch to soybeans. Contact your Stine dealer to learn about your soybean options and determine which maturities are best this late in the planting season. 

As we reach the final days of February, the remnants of a long winter are hopefully fading fast. Like all winters, producers have had plenty of time to watch the markets and ponder their spring planting intentions. We have once again seen some switching of acres in my region over to corn on corn. Hopefully producers did a good job of residue management on soils that are normally wet or have a history of high residue. Harvest or soon afterwards is the right time to prepare for success the next spring. Here are some key things to consider when going to corn on corn:

• Have a good corn head that shreds up stalks and allows for better microbial decomposition, especially in a no-till environment.
• Remember that aggressive tillage in the fall on heavier soils helps in preparing a good spring seedbed and will reduce the amount of disease inoculums present.
• Select fields that are the most productive, are well drained and have adequate water-holding capacity.
• Keep in mind that higher rates of Nitrogen will be needed. Apply 30-50#/acre more than you would in a corn-soybean rotation.
• Consider using starter fertilizer for quicker nutrient uptake, which will lessen the effect of any potentially adverse soil conditions early on and get seed off to a fast, healthy start.
• Split applications of Nitrogen is preferred, by either traditional sidedressing equipment or with high clearance applicators that can dribble N between the row; injection with coulters is ideal.
• Select hybrids with excellent seed vigor, excellent disease packages and consistent yields across multiple years/locations.
• Inspect planters for proper operation of various components including disc openers, row cleaner attachments, soil applied insecticides, starter fertilizers, etc.  Use proper planting speeds and proper down pressure to achieve adequate, uniform planting depth and emergence.
• May need to use a fungicide, especially on certain hybrid families, at either the V5 stage or just before tassels emerge (VT stage).