Nice cob but drought is cutting in on corn

The maize is in its last growing days, ripening is (too) smooth. Despite the recent drought and heat, the cobs look promising, although precipitation is badly needed to not reduce the yield potential.

"A well-stocked flask", is the first opinion of most dairy farmers participating in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour when they dive into their maize field early this week. The maize had found its way up after the difficult start of the season and is now on course for the harvest. Ripening is also in top gear.

At first glance, the maize does not seem to be affected much by the drought, but if you look further than just the edge of the field, you will notice that precipitation is really needed. Curly leaves due to the drought and heat are common and the ripening of the crop occurs considerably earlier than normal in several cases. As a result, there is less time for growth and that will ultimately cost revenue.

But if you just look at the corn on the cob, it's not that bad right now. Dairy farmer Joost van Nostrum from Sint-Oedenrode in Brabant therefore continues to irrigate his maize. "We are irrigating in order to maintain the crop. It is now a nice cob and well filled". Roel Assies from Dronten (Flevoland) also sees a well-filled flask, noting that the drought is showing itself hard through deep cracks on his heavy clay soil.

Yield drops due to drought
The maize may be in its final weeks and look promising, but it could turn out to be disappointing later on. This becomes clear in the Agrility data program of maize breeder Limagrain. By using satellite images, the fields are closely monitored and predictions are made about growth, yield, vegetation and other elements. It is now clearly visible that the vegetation of the crop on several maize fields declined early this year. Normally the vegetation starts to decrease in the last weeks during ripening. According to the forage specialists at Limagrain, the rapid decline is due to the heat and drought of recent weeks. In addition, it will cost revenue.

Using Agrility, dairy farmer Silvain Kusters from Guttecoven (Limburg) clearly shows that the vegetation (the leaf mass of the crop) already decreased in early July. It has been very dry for him for a long time and he cannot irrigate. He also sees that the maize is suffering from the drought. A little further north at dairy farmer Joost van Nostrum in Sint-Oedenrode (North Brabant), the vegetation is only just beginning to decrease, which is normal given the stage of the crop.

Evolution of the vegetation on the Kusters maize plot in Guttecoven (Limburg).

Vegetation of the plot in Guttecoven. A darker shade of green is high vegetation and a lighter shade is lower vegetation.

Evolution of the vegetation on the maize plot of van Nostrum in Sint-Oedenrode (North Brabant).

Vegetation of the plot in Sint-Oedenrode. A darker shade of green is high vegetation and a lighter shade is lower vegetation.

At Silvain Kusters in Guttecoven, the shredder can almost get out of the grease. According to the data program, the dry matter percentage is 33% and the optimal harvest time is next week.

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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