b"Timing is Key to Manage Corn LodgingTwo agronomy specialists shared insights into the impacts of high wind and lodging on corn.Ally RodenCORN IS A CRUCIALcereal crop across thewe've conducted, we've seen 30% to 50% yield world. In 2021, the U.S. produced 15.1 billionloss during that time.bushels 177.0 bushels per acrereaching nearAlthough stock breakage and crops laid flat record high numbers, according to the USDAscan be detrimental, those damages might not be 2021 Crop Production Annual Summary. the biggest concern for growers following these Stalk lodging can damage up to one-quarterextreme winds. The corn can begin to shade each of corn crops in the U.S. each year. A derecho inother by tucking the ears beneath other plants, the Midwest last August ruined 8.2 million acres ofwhich prevents the crop from getting pollination.corn, resulting in $2 billion in losses for the agricul- Once plants have reached maturity, physiologi-tural industry.cal yield loss can no longer occur, but the risk of While wind damage and lodging can impactmechanical loss of plants remains high.corn throughout the crops entire lifespan, corn is most vulnerable during the later growing stages.How to Prepare for Extreme WindsAnytime we're dealing with stresses, the effectWeather is unpredictable, so for growers to pre-on yield is all about the timing of the stress relativepare for these harsh winds, strategy and hybrids to what's going on with the corn crop. In early veg- could be key. We dont know etative stages, when we sometimes do get theseSomething that producers might considerwhat event is strong winds that will lay a field flat, the plants aredoing is changing up their management strategies still flexible, explains Bob Nielsen, Extension corna little bit to try to avoid a stress in some fields.going to happen, specialist and professor of agronomy at PurdueVarying some of the different agronomic practicesand we dont University. They're still elongating, so there'sand the timeframe in which the crop will reach dif-opportunity for this so called goose necking offerent stages can help to allow a little bit of flex inknow when its the internodes to occur where the plants will trythat and hopefully, you don't have all of your acres to straighten up, at least enough that we can getaffected by a single event, says Lindsey. going to happen. photosynthesis. Prior to maturity itself, the effectHybrids are another tool growers can use to Alex Lindseyof lodging is primarily physiological, and it has toprepare themselves for the impacts of wind and do with how much impact it has on the photosyn- potential stock lodging. An example is short stature thetic capacity of the plant. corn hybrids. Some companies are pushing these More specifically, the V12 to V15 stages and VThybrids that are seven feet or shorter to poten-to R1 are the most vulnerable to this wind damage. tially affect the crops susceptibility to lodging. The The really susceptible period for lodging tendsdownside to this hybrid is growers often need to to align, at least in Midwestern environments,plant the corn at a higher seeding rate to reach the with the later vegetative stagesroughly V12 tosame yield, according to Nielsen.V15 stage. We tend to see some lodging eventsWith corn lodging, one hybrid doesnt work for come through where the corn looks really bad,every abiotic stressor. but there's still time before tasseling where it canWhat you need are hybrids that will tolerate a recover and grow up right, says Alex Lindsey,wide range of stress. That's where a lot of compa-associate professor of crop ecophysiology in thenies are headed in their hybrid development. They at Ohio State University. If lodging occurs aroundare looking for a wide range of stress tolerance, as the flowering stageVT to R1that tends to be aopposed to specific, concludes Nielsen.SWlittle bit more detrimental. In some of the trials that 54/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2022"