Emergence tracked in Corn Watch '20 field

June 1, 2020

Dave Nanda, Ph.D., SGD director of genetics, flags corn emergence.

On May 13, the Corn Watch ’20 field was planted in central Indiana.  This year is the first time that 1/1000th-of-an acre areas were selected in the Corn Watch ’20 field to track corn emergence. In all, 10 consecutive rows in one planter pass of a 24-row planter were included in the Corn Watch ’20 emergence test.  

Flags of the same color were then placed on all plants that emerged on the same day within a row in the selected area. Twenty-four hours later, flags of a different color were placed by plants that emerged since the first day. The process was repeated until all corn emerged. Corn that emerged 96 hours or more after the first plants got the same color flag.

The first plants emerged on May 23, 10 days after planting.  In at least 80 percent of the rows, the majority emerged together with even more emerging within 48 hours.

For comparison, the same emergence tracking procedure was followed on a field planted on April 20. In that field, it was 14 days before the first corn emerged and emergence was spread over more days.

More reports to come in the future at seedgeneticsdirect.com or #CornWatch20.

The Corn Watch ’20 field is sponsored by Seed Genetics Direct. Reports on the field’s progress are provided all season (#CornWatch20); read the latest Corn Watch ’20 articles here.