Grab a cup of coffee or a cold bottle of water, Ken has two weeks to cover in this week’s Boot’s In The Field Report. He walks through frost reports in NE Iowa, drought map getting bigger and uglier, and corn hitting the rapid growth stage amid water concerns. In these challenging conditions the sins of spring are coming to light, and while many may have gotten away with the same practices in other years without a penalty, not everyone is getting away with it this year without a cost. 

Growers are starting to see some prolonged carbon penalty issues crop up, even with sidedress applied, the lack of water is keeping it from getting to the root system for uptake. Ken reminds growers when sidedressing or Y-dropping the N applied should be for later season green and standability, not for plant building. If you are seeing a hit to sidedress timing this year in building the crop, you may need to rework the 4Rs of your Nitrogen program. 

Plant height is also tattling on some practices that might be hindering an operation. He is seeing plants at the same vegetative stage but stacking internodes due to stress, and a lack of crown roots because of dry conditions or lack of soil. 

The dry weather has created a lot of carryover issues and is something, if these dry conditions hang on, will be a concern next year as well. Growers are also facing issues with lodged wheat, cutworm, armyworm, and rootworm. Ken also warns about parking mowers and keeping an eye on spider mites in the field. 

Despite the tough conditions, Ken reminds growers to never walk away from a growing crop. This growing season has issued some challenges, but Ken encourages growers to stay engaged and keep their heads up. This is when, as professionals, it is time to step up to the plate.