Watching the corn grow

[JULY 17, 2000]  Have you heard about the latest craze on the Internet? It seems that a leading farm publication in Iowa got the wise idea to post a Web cam in an Iowa cornfield. Why? Why else but to let curious onlookers watch the corn grow!

So far, more than 600,000 Web surfers from around the world have visited Iowa Farmer Today’s CornCam site. One could find the field in rural Prairieburg, which is in northeast Iowa. But why drive there when all a connected person has to do is click here: http://www.iowafarmer.com/corncam/corn.html

Those of you who are not so intimately involved with corn production might be questioning the importance of watching the corn grow. Think of it this way: Those thousands of cornfields in Logan County are not really just fields of corn. Rather, they are industrial parks. And, each corn plant is its own individual factory!

 


[Al Wolf is a giant of a man, but this corn is even bigger at approximately 9 feet.]

 

As a veteran corn scouter, I can’t say that I’ve ever actually seen a particular corn plant rising up inch by inch. But one thing is for sure, when environmental conditions are right, corn can do a lot of growing in a 24-hour period.

 

 

The CornCam site actually documents how many inches their corn has grown in a day’s time. Al Wolf, manager of Lincoln Ag Center and a top Garst seed corn dealer, thinks that you can see it grow. "There’s a lot of tall corn this year," comments Wolf. "I really didn’t think that it would get that way since it was planted so early."

Things have just fallen into place this year. Central Illinois farmers were bracing for a drought year and have been pleasantly surprised with ample rainfall.

The key to a successful corn crop is to have plenty of water and sunlight during the critical developmental stages. Corn grows best in 85-degree temperatures. High temps in the 90s cause the corn plant to shut down. It is during these intense growth and stress periods that water needs are the greatest. Approximately 5,000 gallons of water is needed to produce a single bushel of corn.

 

 

Average yields around Logan County are usually in the 140- to 200-bushel range, depending on soil type and growing conditions throughout the year. Yet today’s hybrid corn seed is said to have a yield potential of greater than 500 bushels to the acre. You see, from the day the corn is planted, a multitude of stress factors can reduce the yield from its highest potential to the amount actually harvested. Those stress factors can include drought, heavy rains, cold weather in April and May, scorching hot weather in July, below and above ground insects, too many weeds, too few nutrients in the soil, and so on. As these stress factors compound, yield potential plummets.

 

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Agronomic specialists at the University of Illinois contend that the optimal window for planting corn in Central Illinois is between April 15 and May 1. Planting dates later than May 1 will diminish the yield potential by five percent per week.

Fortunately for Logan County farmers, 2000 corn yields could be much higher than we have seen in several years. Virtually everyone had their corn planted by May 1. The early drought conditions actually proved helpful as farmers were able to take their time planting and eliminate any compaction issues caused by "mudding in" corn. Plus, corn was able to start the pollination process around the last week of June prior to all the scorching temperatures normally experienced in July. There has been very little insect pressure this year, and the rains have been kicking in at just the right time. Now, as long as the pounding wind and rains of last August stay away, this year’s Logan County corn crop could be one well worth remembering.

 


[This ear of corn in the Garst plot next to Lincoln Ag Center is in the Blister stage.  This means that it has been pollinated and that the kernels are starting to grow.]

 

"We need about one more good rain during fair week to make the corn crop," reminds Wolf.

You won’t be seeing the 2000 Logan County corn crop grow any taller. Now all the corn plant’s energy is being utilized in producing big, healthy ears. Most of the corn has been pollinated and is in the blister stage. Yet to follow are the milk, soft dough, full dent and physiological maturity stages, with each stage lasting from 8 to 12 days. During this time, nutrients still in the soil and elsewhere in the plant will be migrating to the kernel. Harvest will begin when the stalk looks as if it is dead and the moisture content of the corn is around 15 percent.

 

 

The corn plant is fascinating indeed. Log on to the CornCam site to watch the corn grow, and visit the many links to better understand all the incredible things happening in the fields all around you.

http://www.iowafarmer.com/corncam/corn.html

 

[Marty Ahrends]

 

Editor’s note: Send in your favorite corn recipes to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. We'll post them with other favorite summertime recipes in the new Home and Family section.

 

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