Quesnel: Managing your corn after flooding

KEMPTVILLE — Heavy rains across eastern Ontario has turned any promise of big corn yields into lost dreams.

When the heavy rains came in June, most of the corn was at the four- to six-leaf stage, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food crop specialist, Gilles Quesnel. That left the critical growing point below ground level, he says. When corn is at that stage, it can survive in flooded areas for a maximum of four days.

The critical growing point on corn is at the tip where the elongated growth occurs.

He estimates that most of the corn will survive, given the warmer and dryer weather in the third week of June. Heavy soils are the most susceptible, but many fields with low spots are going to end up with stunted corn.

It’s too late to replant, he says. He recommends farmers go into fields and pluck a few plants. The growing point should be firm and its colour should be white to cream. By this time, a healthy corn plant will have grown another leaf.

Corn on the heavy soils in saturated fields will have lost between 20 to 30 per cent of its nitrogen. He says there’ll be no 200 bushel yields this year on these fields. So don’t apply nitrogen because you won’t get your money back.

But in some cases farmers would be advised to add another 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. That could occur on "real sandy soils where the crop had been planted early and the nitrogen has leached out," he says. However, everything is an individual’s call.

On some heavy clay fields crusting may have occurred. These fields might benefit from cultivation, but only if the fields have dried.

Check for weed escapes. They might be a problem on late planted fields.