Corn

Resources on growing organic grain

The University of Maryland offers a fee-based, corn hybrid performance testing program to local and national seed companies. The results from these replicated trials provide agronomic performance information about corn hybrids tested at five locations in Maryland considered representative of the state’s geography and weather conditions.

For a project sponsored by the Maryland Grain Producers, we looked at increasing applications of sulfur (S) and boron (B) on corn yields and nutrient uptake. As anions, S and B leach easily from the soil surface (particularly sandy loams), potentially leading to crop deficiencies. In the soil N is also commonly in an anion form (NO3), which may also leach easily, or compete for uptake with the anions S and B. Therefore, our question was whether the addition of S and/or B would also affect the uptake of N into corn.

Organic grain production is promoted for greater potential profits with premium grain prices, improved soil health with organic inputs and fewer environmental hazards in the absence of synthetic chemical use. However, the three-year period required for organic certification is a challenging phase when transitioning farmers are learning to do without synthetic chemical manage soil fertility, weeds, diseases and pests, while not yet receiving those attractive premium prices (Delate and Cambardella, 2004). Organic grain production, if done regeneratively, may reduce environmental impacts and increase ecosystem services from agriculture. Among the latter, minimization of nutrient loss to water is especially important in Maryland, since a good deal of the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Chesapeake Bay comes from agriculture (2025 Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs)). However, the change in environmental impacts due to the transition from “conventional” to organic farming could be either positive or negative (Bavec and Bavec, 2015), depending on the system of practices (inputs, soil disturbance, soil cover, etc.) utilized in the conventional and organic systems (Röös et al., 2018).

September Grain Market Summary

Dairy farmers are constantly looking for sources of forage to meet their feed needs. One source that many of our region’s dairy farmers utilize is the fall planting of cereal grains that are green-chop harvested the following spring. Among the cereal species used for this purpose are rye, triticale, barley, and wheat. Per the Maryland Cover Crop Program guidelines, cereal grains planted as a cover crop prior to November 5 and suppressed via green-chop in the spring are eligible for the grant payment for participation in the Cover Crop Program. In addition, per the Nutrient Management Regulations, a fall application of dairy manure is allowed to a field planted to a cereal cover crop.

As planting gets underway, it is important to stay on top of our most troublesome weeds. In particular, marestail/horseweed, common ragweed, and Palmer amaranth. Below are two new charts to help determine the type of products to be included in the tank mix to best manage these weeds in corn and soybean.

A few hot spots where corn earworm (also known as tomato fruitworm, soybean podworm, and sorghum headworm) activity is starting to rise have been identified in central Maryland. The relatively mild 2020-2021 winter allowed adult moths to overwinter in Maryland, and some parts of the state experienced a higher than normal first flight in early June.

August IPM insect scouting tips on soybean, field corn, and sorghum.

There exists a lack of control efficacy information to enable decision-making about which organic insecticide product works best for a given insect pest. Here we summarize results of 153 field trials on the control efficacy of common active ingredients in organic insecticides against groups of the most difficult to control insect pests. The performance of organic products Entrust (spinosad), Azera (pyrethrin and azadirachtin), PyGanic (pyrethrin) and Neemix (azadirachtin) varied widely among pest groups, as well as among pest species within a group, providing an overall reduction in pest infestations by 73.9%, 61.7%, 48.6% and 46.1%, respectively.