St. Louis, Missouri
February 21, 2007
As more farmers are moving towards
continuous corn production, they are faced with additional
challenges not encountered in a traditional corn-soybean
rotation. To minimize these challenges and maximize the
potential for high yields, growers need to carefully evaluate
their hybrid choices for continuous corn production.
“Because no corn hybrid is perfect for every field situation, we
encourage growers to carefully evaluate the emergence scores,
disease tolerance and insect protection component of each hybrid
to be planted into corn-on-corn fields this spring,” says Bob
Starke, U.S. Corn Technical Manager for
Monsanto.
The DEKALB® corn brand offers these tips to help farmers be
successful when growing corn-on-corn:
Continuous corn growers who
plant into corn residue in reduced- or no-till fields face a
heavy mat of residue lying on the soil surface that keeps
the soil cooler and damper than a conventionally tilled
soil. Therefore, growers should select a hybrid that is
noted for strong emergence and early-season growth in cold
soils to help increase the likelihood of achieving maximum
plant populations. In addition, these growers are encouraged
to prepare the soil correctly and manage the residue to
obtain a uniform plant stand and prevent the planter unit
from “bouncing” over last year’s cornstalks.
Plant leaf diseases such as gray leaf spot are more likely
to be a concern in a continuous corn system because these
diseases are able to “overwinter” on corn residue from year
to year. When selecting a hybrid for a corn-on-corn
situation, growers should carefully evaluate the gray leaf
spot resistance score. Hybrids that are totally resistant to
gray leaf spot are not available; however, corn hybrids do
vary in their ability to tolerate this disease. While
disease development is not prevented completely, partial
plant resistance in some corn hybrids has the effect of
slowing disease progress. Since gray leaf spot is
principally a disease during mid- to late-season, resistance
that simply slows disease progress can provide for
acceptable yields.
Another critical pest for continuous corn producers may be
corn rootworm. To control this pest, growers should consider
planting a hybrid that contains either YieldGard® Plus or
YieldGard VT™ Triple technology. DEKALB hybrids containing
maximum in-plant insect protection from YieldGard
technologies have observed yield protection in the range of
5 to 12 bushels per acre. Higher levels of yield protection
have been observed under more stressful conditions, which
include corn on corn scenarios. YieldGard Plus and YieldGard
VT technology provides maximum in-plant insect protection
against corn rootworms, European corn borers and a wide
spectrum of corn insect pests.
DEKALB offers a wide selection of
corn products that can be planted successfully in a corn-on-corn
situation. For a list of corn products that are recommended for
corn in your area, please contact your local DEKALB dealer or
visit www.DEKALB.com.
Always follow grain marketing and insect resistance
management requirements, and read and follow pesticide label
directions. DEKALB® is a registered trademark of DeKalb Genetics
Corporation. YieldGard® and YieldGard VT™ are trademarks of
Monsanto Technology LLC. ©2007 Monsanto Company. |
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