Rainfall totals from last night (western NY), today (central NY), and tonight (eastern NY) will keep most growers out of the field for 3-7 days, depending upon soil texture and timing of the next precipitation event. The NASS data indicated that 8% of NY corn was planted by 5/11, last Sunday. Probably another 15-20% was planted this week so we probably have close to 25% of the corn planted, hopefully all to full-season hybrids.
Now is probably the time to consider switching to shorter season hybrids for grain…..silage or high moisture corn can probably wait until May 25th or so. Grain growers should probably back off by 5 days in hybrid maturity, if they can get in later next week-May 22-25. If planting is delayed until early June, grain growers should consider backing off another 5 days or 10 days shorter than normal or consider switching corn acres to soybean acres if it is early June. This is especially true for no-till corn on corn ground (slower early-season growth translates into higher grain moisture at harvest if there is lots of corn residue….if it is soybean residue not really an issue), fields that receive the first frost in the fall, or high elevation fields that mature slowly. As last year’s data shows, there was really no yield hit to staying with long-season hybrids right up until June but either harvest has to be delayed by 2-3 weeks or grain moisture will be much higher (see WCU article).
But again, anything can happen. In 2011, we had an exceedingly wet May allowing only for 24% of the corn to be planted in NY by 5/22 and 43% by 5/29. But then conditions turned exceedingly dry from mid-June through July before the drought was relieved in August. And guess what, the long-season corn planted in late May or early June yielded by far the best because it didn’t silk until the first week of August when drought was relieved.
So, it has been a tough spring so far but the season is not over (I keep telling myself the same thing when I read about yet another Red Sox loss….no comment on the devastating Game 7 loss by the Bruins to the much-hated Canadians!). The long-term forecast has normal rainfall and normal temperature starting next week and for the following 10 days. Likewise, the worthless 3-month long-term forecast for June-August has pretty much normal conditions. Hope springs eternal!
Originally sent to subscribers of CCE-FieldCrops-L from Bill Cox, Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University. To subscribe, send an email to CCE-FieldCrops-L-request@cornell.edu with the word “join” in the email subject line.
