Maize is having a hard time

The field of silage maize of Roughage Tour participant Roel Assies from Zeewolde has not had an easy year, the maize did come up but grew poorly and recently plants were blown flat by strong wind and precipitation. 

The maize in Zeewolde is not lucky this year. The weather plays a major role on the plot this year. After sowing, the dry spring first affected the plot. Once a growth spurt started, everything seemed to be going well, until on August 16, wind and rain hit the plot for a short time. In short, the maize has had a hard time in Zeewolde.

Suffering from pre-fruit
After sowing on May 7, 2020, the plot suffered from the drought. But according to participant Roel Assies, the early crop on this plot also had an effect on the growth of the maize. In the previous cultivation year there were sprouts on this plot, the leaves and stem of this plant remain on the plot. This has hindered the growth of the maize due to the rot, as it turns out on the plot. Assies has noticed in recent years that the maize has a lesser start than when Brussels sprouts is the pre-fruit.

Severe weather conditions
Despite the drought, the crop has produced beautiful cobs. The maize looked good until the maize suffered another setback on 16 August. Large amounts of rain and wind got a hold of the plot.

Assies indicates that as much as 40 millimeters of rain fell on the plot in an hour. Most plants have survived, but a number of plants that have sprouted later or that have developed poorly, are lying flat. When harvesting the silage maize, care must be taken not to lose the cob, if harvested incorrectly, it will fall to the ground and the cob will be lost. 
 

Good harvest
Despite the setbacks, Assies is optimistic. A good harvest is expected, according to Assies. More than 100 millimeters of rain fell on the plot in August. In the initial stage, the maize is still irrigated, this is no longer necessary with these amounts of precipitation. The plot has also recovered reasonably from the damage from mid-August. Most plants are upright again after the storm and have suffered no further damage from last Wednesday's summer storm.

With an exciting season, the length of the plants has lagged slightly behind the other plots. The maize has a length of about 270 centimeters at the end of August, which is not bad in comparison with the other plots of the Roughage Tour and given the circumstances. On most Roughage Tour plots, the maize has a length of about 3 meters. 

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