Corn

Agronomy News is a statewide newsletter for farmers, consultants, researchers, and educators interested in grain and row crop forage production systems. The topic for this edition is Small Grain Variety Trials,

Tar spot is a new foliar fungal disease of corn first discovered in the United States in 2015 and confirmed in Maryland in 2022 and was estimated to be the most significant yield-limiting disease of corn in the US in 2021 and 2022. As a new disease for our state, this project collected preliminary data on the distribution of tar spot in our state and compared the efficacy of different fungicide application timings.

Agronomy Newsletter -November 2023, Volume 14, Issue 8. Topics include: Flame Weeding for Early-Season Weed Control, Optimizing Early Season Pest Management for Maryland Field Corn, Effects of Cover Crops and Nitrogen Rates on Corn Yields, 2023/2024 UME Crop Production Meetings, Soybean Foliar Fungicide Trials, 2023 Maryland Tar Spot Research, Effects of Increasing Corn Tissue Boron and Sulfur Concentrations on Nitrogen and Yield , Corn Planting Timing Effects on Yield and the Relationship to Deer Feeding , Soil Texture Relationships to Grid Sampled Coastal Soils, Nutrient Management Update, Advanced Cover Cropping Field Day, 2023 Maryland Corn Hybrid Trials, SBA Disaster Loan Program, Grain Market Report, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports

In order to capture the range of pest pressures and growing conditions in Maryland, we replicated our study across 3 UMD research farms (Keedysville, Beltsville, and Queenstown) and over 3 years (2020-2022). At each location we planted one field of a Bt hybrid and one field of a similarly-yielding non-Bt hybrid as early as possible in the growing season (Table 1). In 2020 our Bt hybrid was LC1196 VT2P (Local Seed, Memphis, TN) which expresses Cry1A.105/Cry2Ab2 proteins. In 2021 and 2022 we planted P1197YHR (Pioneer Hi-bred International. Johnston, IA) which contains Cry1Ab and Cry1F proteins. We planted P1197LR (Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc. Johnston, IA) for our non-Bt hybrid all three years. All hybrids had excellent yield potential and were grown with standard no-till practices. In each field we established 3 replicates of 3 treatments at planting: 1) an untreated control, with bare seed and no in-furrow product, 2) an in-furrow pyrethroid treatment using Capture LFR® (active ingredient: bifenthrin, rate: 13.6 fl oz/acre), and 3) an NST treatment using Poncho® (active ingredient: clothianidin, rate: 0.25 mg/seed). Each replicate consisted of 24 rows of corn at 30 inch row spacing, and was 200 feet long.

Grain Market Summary for the Agronomy News

Tar spot of corn has been confirmed in Maryland for the 2023 growing season. The first report came from a field in Cecil county, followed by several additional reports in Harford and Carroll county.

During the month of September we have confirmed the presence of tar spot of corn in four additional counties in Maryland. Fields with tar spot in Queen Anne’s and Kent County were found on September 19, Baltimore County on September 22, and Caroline County on September 25. This brings the confirmed distribution from Carroll County east to Cecil and south on the shore to Caroline county (Figure 1).

Agronomy Newsletter -October 2023, Volume 14, Issue 7. Topics include: Pesticide & Nutrient Management Trainings, EPA Webinar on Bulletins Live Two, 2023 Crop Management School Registration, Scout for Aphids in Small Grains, 2022-2023 Cover Crop Growth and Tillage, On-Farm Research Trials, Tar Spot Confirmed in Additional Counties, Job Openings: Nutrient Management Advisors, Updated Tax Credits for Farmer Food Donations, Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, Cost-Share for Manure Transport & Injection, Grain Market Report, Weather Outlook, Regional Crop Reports.

Agronomy Newsletter -September 2023, Volume 14, Issue 6. Topics include: Farmland Rental Averages, Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School, Nutrient Management Farmer Training, Tar Spot Confirmed in Maryland for 2023, SARE Farmer Grants, Nitrogen Modeling Survey, Beneficial Stink Bugs in Crops, Deer Damage Survey, Wildlife Wednesday Webinars, On-Farm Research Trials, Weather Outlook, and Regional Crop Reports.

All eyes have been on news headlines coming from the Black Sea for the last two to three weeks since the termination of the previous agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The escalation in the war between these two nations has seen drone strikes, missile engagements, and major destruction of Black Sea ports like Odessa in Ukraine. Traders have watched these headlines and acted accordingly in the market place as the price of corn and wheat retraced previous months losses.