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of their life cycle, which canprevent them from taking some really big yield hits.” Furthermore, a shorter season will re- quire less water simply because the over- all number of growing dayswill be fewer,” Mathesius said. “The worst thing that can happen is that you get blanks in that reproductive phase,” he said. “It’s just too hot, there’s not enough water, the plant can’t cool itself off, so the pollen dies and doesn’t fertilize and create that seed. And that’s reallywhat you’re trying to avoid ... stress during that period.” Us ing late-season var i et i es i s a risk-management strategy because growers may not know exactly how much water they’ll have ahead of time, Mathesius said. Having at least some of the acreage planted later, with short-sea- son varieties, helps spread the risk. Later planting dates will also give growers more time to determine how much wa- ter they will have available. Many growers don’t want to plant short-season varieties because they result in lower yields. But in a drought year, Mathesius said, having a low- yield outcome versus no yield at all may be a compel l ing argument for changing varieties. (Kathy Coatne y i s a repor t e r in Bend, Oregon. She may be contacted at kacoatney@gmail.com.)
they mature and get established,” he said. “They’re essentially setting up the logistical networks for later in the season, which your cropwill be able to draw from as it matures.” Mathesius’ No. 1message is to keep the plant fromstressing during reproductive phase, when it’s leading up to tassel and silking, because that’s the one time not to stress the plant. The second strategy is to control the environment around the corn by reduc- ing competition for water and taking steps tomaintainwhatever water is avail- able within the soil profile. Weeds will take upmoisture, so it’s im- portant to control them early on to pre- serve water for the corn, Mathesius said. “Corn is very, very water dependent. In a year where water is the problem, you have to invest in your corn if you’re going to grow any at all,” he said. “Grain corn prices are going to be impacted by commodity markets. But in silage corn, the idea would be that any corn that you do grow is probably going to be pretty valuable, because there’s not going to be a lot of it.” So, if growers plant corn, he said, com- mit to it, and spend the time upfront con- trolling the weeds. “It’s going to be less of a fight with
Konrad Mathesius, a University of California Cooperative Extension agronomy advisor, says water management will be critical for corn this year. The crop must get full irrigation during critical weeks.
(weeds) in the seedling stage,”Mathesius continued. He said weed management early on is important, but it’s critical in a tight water year. Maintaining residues and avoiding or minimizing tillage may help soil mois- ture. If weed seeds aren’t stirred up, that can help reduce weeds in a field,
Mathesius said, acknowledging that a lot of growers don’t have no-till drills. Another option in a drought is to plant short-season varieties later in the year. “You can still get a crop all the way to the end if you plant it a little later,” Mathesius said. “Those varieties will spend less time in the vulnerable periods
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8 Ag Alert March 16, 2022
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