By Tracy Turner, AgAnswers Newsletter
While most Ohio corn growers are finding stands in good condition, some farmers are finding damaged plants due to wet soils and are considering replanting, an agronomist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University said.
But before growers replant their fields, they should make sure replanting is their best option, said Peter Thomison, an Ohio State University Extension agronomist. OSU Extension is the statewide outreach arm of the college.
Thomison said growers should not rush making a decision to replant.
“Replant decisions in corn should be based on strong evidence that the returns to replanting will not only cover replant costs but also net enough to make it worth the effort,” he said. “Other considerations to think about include the potential yield at the new planting date, possibly different planting rate, and seed and pest control costs.”
As of the week ended May 24, 87 percent of corn was planted in Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. That compares to 66 percent that had been planted by the same time last year and 70 percent that had been planted on average during the same time period over the past five years, the agency said.
There were 52 days suitable for field work in Ohio during the week ended May 25, the federal agriculture agency said.
Thomison said if growers decide, after completing a crop damage assessment, that they need to replant, they should consider the following:
* Original target plant population/intended plant stand.
* Plant stand after damage.
* Uniformity of plant stand after damage.
* Original planting date.
* Possible replanting date.
* Likely replanting pest control and seed costs.
Other key considerations include herbicide and insecticide programs under late-planting conditions; the cost of replanting, which will vary depending on the need for tillage and chemical application; and the cost and availability of acceptable seed, Thomison said.
Historically, the optimal time to get corn planted in southern Ohio is between April 10 and May 10 and in northern Ohio between April 15 and May 10. Growers who follow those planting dates generally see optimal yields, Thomison said. Planting later than those times historically has resulted in yield loss - in some cases, a 30-bushel-per-acre reduction in yield, he said.
Growers can use the chart at
to see the effects of planting date and plant population on final grain yield for the central Corn Belt. The chart was developed by Emerson Nafziger at the University of Illinois and modified by Bob Nielsen of Purdue University to provide estimates of potential yield losses for planting dates in early June, Thomison said.
“If after considering all the factors that need to be weighted when deciding to replant, there is still doubt as to whether or not a field should be replanted,” he said, “you will perhaps be correct more often than not if the field is left as it is.”