mCORNIHK
m Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 11,1997
Corn yields are becoming evident as harvest Is In full swing with a wide variation in
yields because of weather conditions. Clarence Hoover runs the silage harvester on
the John S. Nolt farm north of New Holland.
ANOTHER TOUGH YEAR
FOR CORN
Com never ceases to amaze
me. In many fields this year in
Pennsylvania, com endured
cold, hot, dry, and even wet
conditions along with insect
pressure and still came through
the season in reasonable
condition.
At the low point of the sea
son in late July, I was beginning
to wonder if we had a full-scale
disaster on our hands, but fortu
nately drought-ending rains
arrived for most in August and
the recovery process began in
many fields.
Let’s review some of the
issues that surface this year in
com production so that we can
learn from the success and the
failures of the season.
Early in the season condi
tions were good and planting
was completed in a timely fash
ion. By the end of May, 88 per
cent of our crop was in the
ground, compared to 80 percent
ENNSYLVANIA MASTER
GROWERS ASSOCIATION
Between The
Dr. Greg Rot
Penn State Agronomy Associate
on average. Temperatures took
a plunge in early May and com
emergence slowed, with some
fields taking 4-5 weeks to
emerge. Fields planted deeper
than normal or no-tilled into
last year’s heavy com residue
took the longest to emerge and
this resulted in the most uneven
stands. Shallower (1.5-inch)
planting, row cleaners, and no
tilling com stalk fields last
could help to reduce emergence
problems in the future.
Crop development was
delayed by the cool weather
and again by the drought stress.
Those paying attention to
growing degree days noticed
that com silked well past the
expected date based on GDDs,
basically because it went dor
mant for a week or so during the
drought. The late silking dates
of some of the com resulted in
maturity concerns in some
areas.
The cool weather also
delayed the hatch of rootworm
larva in some fields. This
resulted in less than ideal con
trol from rootworm insecticides
in a few fields, since the hatch
was delayed until 6-8 weeks
after the insecticides were
applied.
The heat and drought stress
near silking caused problems
with pollination in some fields.
Silking was delayed a bit rela
tive to'pollen shed and com
rootworm beetle feeding on
silks and tassels was heavy in
some fields. Both factors con
tributed to less than
kernel set.
The drought also resulted in
heavy smut infestations in a
few fields. Smut is caused by an
airborne fungus that infects
young plants or growing tissues
of older plants. The disease is
favored by warm and dry con
ditions. No mycotoxins arc
associated with smut, so its
impact on feed quality should
be minimal.
The drought also appeared to
(Turn to Pago 2)
New PMCGA President
Wants Vote
On Corn
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
SHELOCTA (Indiana Co.)
Chris Kimmel is steadfast
about his plans.
The new president of the
Pennsylvania Master Com
Growers Association
(PMCGA) intends, within the
next two years, to put a referen
dum before the state com
growers.
That referendum will
address the question: will Pen
nsylvania have a corn
checkoff?
Already, the PMCGA knows
the direction it must take. At the
Crops Conference in Grantville
early this year, com growers
returned ballots heavily in
favor of the checkoff (out of 40
ballots returned, Kimmel indi
cated, 32 were in favor and
eight against).
“The industry wants to prove
it is responsible for itself,”
Kimmel said in' a recent tele
phone interview with Lancas
ter Farming. “If we want
research and promotional prog
rams, com growers should be
the ones to help fund it.”
Kimmel’s Creekland Farm is
home to a total of 1,500 acres of
WNIMK
Tuesday October 14
Solanco Young Farmers meet-
Contact Joel Hunter, (814)
Contact Don Fretts, (412)
Checkoff
crops, including about 800 in
com. The passing of a checkoff,
calculated at point of sale and
based on a similar program in
Maryland, would mean a lot to
the commercial growers who
want to see better promotion of
the product, in addition to
money for research at land
grant universities. (Those same
universities are already exper
iencing the withdrawal of gov
ernment money those dol
lars have to come from
somewhere.)
This is the first time Kimmel
has served as president of
PMCGA, although he has
served as vice president for a
few years. He serves on the
com checkoff committee in the
state. Kimmel, who replaces
long-time president Curt Rake
straw, was elected at this year’s
Ag Progress Days in Rockspr
ing in August.
Kimmel, who farms land in
both Indiana and Armstrong
counties in communities about
50 miles northeast of Pitts
burgh, raises 600 head of beef
finishing cattle. The black
crossbred calves are purchased
in West Virginia and finished
(Turn to Pag* 3)
Farm Calendar
Contact Duane Dilncan,
(717) 240-6500.
Thursthn, December II
Ag Service School, Lancaster.
Contact Bob Anderson,
(IVl) 394-6851.
I ri(la\, December 12
Ag Service School, Reading.
Contact Mena Hautau, (610)
378-1327.
Wednt'sdin, Di'cember 17
Ag Computing and Electronic
Expo, Lancaster. Contact
(717) 761-6050.
(Turn to Pago 6)