Corn and Soybean Yield Contest Entries Due by August 30, 2021
The deadline for the NYS Yield Contests is coming quickly! Despite the wacky weather we have had this year there are some great looking corn and soybean fields across the region. I have heard predictions of 100 bushel beans and 300 bushel corn! This just might be that year. If you haven’t entered the contest before and you have some good-looking crops, give it a shot. The entry form and contest rules are available on the NY Corn and Soybean Growers Association website. If you have any questions, give me a call.
Soybean Diseases Becoming More Evident
The hot, humid conditions and sporadic rainfall have been great for soybean and corn growth. However, these conditions also bring the potential for plant diseases. I saw my first soybean field with white mold last week up in Wayne County. I had been waiting for it to show itself. Looking at the plant stem, it probably infected the plant weeks ago down at the second node. Those plants were waist high so the lower canopy conditions were perfect for the disease. There is nothing we can do now to help infected plants. Best to watch for those fields that become infected and try to harvest them last to keep the white mild reproductive structures in that field and not spread them. DO NOT go back to soybean in those fields next year! There are some low-lying fields and low spots that have looked ugly and just not recovered. Other diseases that have been confirmed in these areas are stem canker and brown stem rot. Both diseases are in the soil and infect the root tissue. Unfortunately, plants will continue to go downhill and eventually die and turn brown. Again, nothing we can do at this point except plant the best tolerant varieties and rotation next year.
