Corn and Insecticides

Planes and helicopters have recently taken to the skies to apply fungicides. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about soybean fungicides. I wrote about that ahead of fungicide scheduling because management decisions are often made ahead of time.

Proactive pays. Reaction does not.

Farmers don't often decide to apply fungicides haphazardly. It's a management practice that needs to fit into the crop plan. The lowest cost per bushel always wins. To minimize production costs, we need sufficient yields. Cost per bushel is a function of yield. To increase our yields, we need to invest in our crops. It's a fine line as to how much money to spend (and where to spend it). Fungicides and insecticides are part of that equation.

This year, we are seeing a pest called Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) in corn crops throughout the area. Insecticides are being flown on and applied through irrigation pivots to prevent economic crop damage from the Cutworm. If you hire a plane to control pests, you might as well include a fungicide product—or multiple products to include more than one "mode of action"—in the mix.

The timing of application for controlling WBC is similar to that of fungicides. When 95% of the corn plants have tasseled, there is an increased chance that the WBC larvae will be exposed to the insecticide. When plants begin reproducing (tasselling in corn), they are stressed and require nutrients. Applying fungicides at this time helps reduce plant stress and helps protect the silks. High-yielding farmers will tell you, "Don't let your crop have a bad day."

Okay, so if crops are stressed during reproduction, what nutrients do they require to stay healthy? I ask this question myself because there is much to learn here, folks. There is a lot of science behind this. When you get down to the root of it, it's all science. Agronomics, balanced with finances, is the key to successful farming. Here are a few tidbits I have learned recently:

Boron helps with pollination. In severe cases, boron deficiency could result in a barren crop. Copper helps with crop resiliency and is necessary for chlorophyll and seed production. Remember, chlorophyll helps keep plants green. Keeping plants greener for longer is one of the goals of fungicide applications. Potassium is also essential for plant reproduction and aids in stress tolerance, improved kernel development, and enhanced photosynthesis.

Applying liquid nutrients with fungicides provides an opportunity to increase yield while reducing our cost per bushel harvested. Profit opportunities like this are obscure. To find them, we must learn the crop and understand what it needs - and when.

If we could predict what our crop will need to make it to the next stage, we could apply the proper nutrients ahead of time and be proactive. In theory, we would know where to spend our money and how much to spend. Knowing more about the science behind yield will help us discover that fine line between investing in the crop and buying yield. Plant tissue testing might provide some insight.

By tissue sampling this year, we could begin tracking crop fertility needs for next year's crop. Again, we are thinking beyond the here and now. Proactive pays.

Today, we are applying insecticides and fungicides in our corn crops to eliminate economic damage from Western Bean Cutworm, reduce crop stress, enhance plant health, improve pollination and grain production, optimize our yield potential, and maximize our profits.

That's why we have seen so many planes and helicopters flying overhead.