The Effects Of The August Derecho Could Stick Around In Planting Season

Apr 13, 2021

By Katie Peikes

Farmers will soon head out to plant in their fields. The August derecho that swept across the Midwest will be something many are still thinking about.

The powerful wind storm flattened corn and crumpled grain bins. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Iowa farmers were unable to harvest hundreds of thousands of acres of crops.

Iowa State University extension agronomist Mark Licht said the downed corn left kernels and ears remaining on or near the soils’ surface, so some kernels won’t be as productive. The leftover seeds could create open-pollinated corn called “volunteer corn," which competes for sunlight and nutrients.

“For all practical purposes, we consider them a weed because they are taking water, they're taking nutrients away from the intended corn or the intended soybean crop,” Licht said.

Licht expects many derecho-affected areas where corn was planted to be switched to soybeans.

“Our thought process is if we can move those acres where we have a lot of grain on the ground into soybeans, overall, it’s just going to be easier to manage that volunteer corn crop and have minimal impact on soybeans,” Licht said.

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Video: Not only is corn getting sweatier, it's getting smarter

Over the past several weeks, much of the U.S. Midwest has experienced prolonged episodes of extreme heat, a trend also observed in other major corn-producing regions of North America such as eastern South Dakota, southern Ontario, and parts of Kansas and Missouri. These high-temperature events can place significant physiological stress on maize (Zea mays L.), which is cultivated on approximately 90 million acres across the United States, with leading production in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Like all maize, Bayer’s PRECEON™ Smart Corn System is subject to transpiration-driven water loss under high heat. However, this system incorporates agronomic traits designed to improve standability through enhanced stalk strength, thereby reducing lodging risk during stress conditions. Furthermore, the system supports precision agriculture practices by enabling more targeted fertilizer and crop protection applications. This approach not only helps to optimize input efficiency but also contributes to maintaining or increasing yield potential under variable environmental stresses such as heat waves, which are becoming more frequent in corn belt and fringe production regions.