Farm Horizons
•
April 4
•
Page 7
Are early planting dates a good decision?
Out-guessing the weather has always been
decline. This statement is backed by years of
a challenge in crop production; sometimes we
research by Extension corn agronomists at the
Dave Schwartz University of Minnesota.
guess right, and sometimes not.
Certified crop advisor
Examples of the guessing games farmers
What is the earliest date corn should be
Gold Country Seed
play include:
planted? Growers run into some risk when
• Should I plant corn today, even though soil
planting before April 15. Very-early planted
conditions are not ideal, or wait a few days?
fields can be damaged by late frosts in mid• Should I cut alfalfa today, or wait a few
May, causing permanent plant injury. This
days and hope for a better forecast?
can lead to yield losses of 9 percent to 15 percent, according to
• Should I start taking corn out today and spend extra dollars U of M Corn Agronomist Jeff Coulter.
drying the crop, or wait a few days and hope the crop stands
I have come to the conclusion, that if I was farming and fields
well and I am able to get the crop out before freeze-up?
were in good condition April 15, I would plant corn.
Every year, farmers can look back at the past growing season
Usually, the earliest planted corn fields (if not mudded in) are
and say, “I should have,” because weather is unpredictable.
best yielding. If not the best, they are usually as good as laterOne of the first weather-related decisions of the year comes planted fields, and usually a few points dryer at harvest.
at planting time.
Seedling emergence is one of two critical growth periods for
It may be April 15, and fields are in good condition. Should a corn plant. It’s critical to have seeds germinate and emerge
I go ahead and plant, even though soil temperatures are not uniformly.
ideal?
Today’s corn hybrids have better seedling vigor than they did
Or it may be May 20, field conditions are not great, but there years ago, and seed treatments provide corn producers excellent
is rain in the forecast, and it may be June 1 before we are back protection from seedling diseases and insects that may interfere
in the field. Do I plant and realize soil compaction will trim with emergence.
some yield, but maybe not as much as if I wait until early June
Of course, there are no guarantees of perfect stands with any
to plant?
planting date, because we are dealing with weather.
University of Minnesota Extension research has found that if
I think we can be confident, though, that seed treatments will
corn is planted between April 25 and May 6 in southern Min- protect seedlings from many of the common pests that are presnesota, corn yields are within 1 percent of optimum.
ent in early planted corn fields. n
Sometime around May 1, we start to see a very slight yield