Got Worms? (Corn Rootworms That Is....)
Jul 16, 2021
Maintain Plant Health to Protect Yield Potential
Maintaining plant health should be a top priority to protect yield in your corn and soybean crops especially in challenging environmental climates. Healthy and green leaves help promote photosynthesis, that is especially important during tasseling, leading to grain fill. Certain fungicide products have plant health benefits with long residual, which can aid the plant during stressful weather conditions and translates into better late season standability. Multiple years of Answer Plot® data has shown an average of +6 to +8 bu/A with this type of fungicide application when disease prevalence is very low.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Corn Rootworm Pressures
The early dry season we have encountered has caused an uptick in corn rootworm pressures. The early pressure could be caused by two environmental factors; lack of rain to flush eggs in the soil along with being ahead of GDU's, we are seeing them hatch and pupate earlier.
Corn rootworm beetles cause damage by finding their way through the corn plant's roots, moving up the plant, and gorging themselves on the silks that are crucial to pollination. Heavy infestations can be a cause of the 'zipper effect' on the ear.
Now is the time to be looking for corn rootworm beetles and protect your yield potential if you meet the threshold. The insecticide can catch a ride with your fungicide or vice versa. Contact your local Central Region Coop Agronomist if you have concerns that you have corn rootworm.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
It’s not about the ounces of product per acre that you spray - what’s important is that the active ingredient is actually reaching the plant. MasterLock® adjuvant helps cover more leaf surface area, optimizes droplet size to reduce drift potential, and gets more product penetrating into the canopy.
When MasterLock is added to the fungicide tank, corn yields increased by an average of 5.7 bu/A.3