Effect of late planting dates on corn yield
Yields of dryland corn are often related to the conditions at pollination. Yields of late-planted dryland corn can range from 50 to 70% to more than 100% of the highest yield of corn at earlier planting dates, depending on environmental conditions. Late-planted dryland corn does best when conditions are unfavorable (too cool and wet) early, but then become more favorable in mid-summer. On the other hand, yields of late-planted corn typically decrease dramatically when conditions are favorable early in the season, but become hot and dry in mid-summer.
Early-season weed control in cotton
Cotton can be slower to canopy and therefore less competitive early in the growing season than other crops, which makes early-season weed control especially important. Weeds not only compete with cotton for water, nutrients and sunlight during the growing season, but also contribute to trash and discoloration of the lint at harvest, resulting in major dockage in quality grades and reduced value of the lint.
Plan now for volunteer corn control in soybeans
We can debate whether or not volunteer corn is truly a “weed,” but it is definitely a problem for soybean farmers. According to research conducted in South Dakota, soybean yield loss was 8 to 9% when volunteer corn density was about one plant per ten square feet. Yield loss increased to 71% at volunteer corn densities of about one plant per square foot. One of the factors that makes volunteer corn management difficult in soybeans is that this corn is typically resistant to glyphosate and/or glufosinate. However, there are some steps farmers can take early in the growing season to manage volunteer corn in soybean crops.
Protecting your home from wildfire
Wildfires have always been part of the Kansas landscape. As the rural population increases, so does the need to protect life and property from wildfire. While rural fire departments provide this protection to life and property, recent years have increasingly seen fires that exceed the ability of even the best fire departments to control, quickly creating a situation where firefighters simply cannot defend every threatened structure. Learn about the steps to create “defensible space” begin inside your home and move out from there.
Kansas Ag-Climate Update for April 2022
Statewide average temperature in April was close to the normal, with an average temperature of 53F across the state. April is one of two months (the other is October) that has a temperature that is close to the annual average temperature. April ranked as the 75th coldest and 54th warmest month during the past 128 years. However, considering the 6-month window for winter wheat growth, the average recent 6-month (November to April) temperature is ranked as the 16th warmest since 1895.
Kansas Corn Yield Contest: New publication summarizing 2021 management practices
K-State Research and Extension has released a new publication summarizing the results and management practices from the 2021 Kansas Corn Yield Contest. The publication, MF3463 is titled Kansas Corn Yield Contest, High-Yield Management 2021.