Wet spring -- when to pull the trigger on planting

May 1, 2019

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“To plant or not to plant” - that is the question! As well as, “when do you pull the trigger and plant?” and “Can you afford to wait for perfection?”

The weather did make an abrupt shift in May 2018. Will it do it again?

Dave Nanda, Ph.D., director of genetics for Seed Genetics Direct, explained that deciding when to plant corn may be one of the bigger decisions to make this year.

“Planting when it might be wetter than you like can be a necessary evil,” Nanda said. “At some point you’ve got to get the seed in the ground. I believe you have more to gain by planting by mid-May, if it’s feasible at all, than by waiting for ideal conditions. Ideal conditions may never come this year.”

The Corn Watch ’19 field in central Indiana has not yet been planted. There simply hasn’t been a reasonable window in that part of the world for planting, at least not by May 1. (The Corn Watch ’19 field is sponsored by Seed Genetics Direct to help farmers think through management decisions by observing what happens on one field which Nanda, as a consulting agronomist, watches closely throughout the season.)

Decision time

So what would Nanda do? If conditions were reasonable, not necessarily as good as preferred, and it’s May, Nanda said he would take his chances rather than wait for ideal conditions.

“Tacky soils could cause lower germination and erratic emergence,” said Nanda, a long-time proponent of the average value of planting corn early whenever possible, as well as a realist who understands the risks of soil compaction created by planting in undesirable conditions. “On the other hand, if soils are dry on top but still on the wet side underneath, emergence may be more uniform. In either case, you will need to watch how much down-pressure you apply on row units when planting this spring. Soil compaction will likely occur in both of these situations. Your goal should be to do what you can to minimize it if you decide it’s in your best interest to plant and get seed in the ground.”

Nitrogen vs. planting

The operators of the Corn Watch ’19 field typically apply anhydrous ammonia pre-plant in mid-to-late spring before planting. The goal heading into April was to pre-plant N if possible. However, they have indicated that at some point they may have to forego pre-plant nitrogen applications and plant first, depending on just how late it gets in the season. The plan then would be to side-dress nitrogen soon after corn emerges.   

“I would forego pre-plant after May 10 most year, which means I would forego it now and move on to planting,” Nanda said. “I would hope to side-dress nitrogen later.”

However, Nanda noted that it isn’t a cut-and-dry decision and may vary depending upon the operation.

“How many acres you have to plant and how big a planter you possess will play into it,” he observed. “After all, by this point, the goal is to get that seed in the ground.”

 

Connie Jeffries