If Ohio’s corn crop stays on track with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s predictions, then farmers could be looking at a record yield.

“The prognosis for corn looks good,” said Peter Thomison, an Ohio State University Extension agronomist. “It’s still a mixed bag in some areas of the state but, overall, the weather has cooperated and we have surprisingly been absent of serious disease problems.”

According to the Ohio Agricultural Statistics Service, more than 90 percent of Ohio’s corn crop is rated in “fair” to “excellent” condition. Average corn yield is projected at 160 bushels per acre, up 17 bushels per acre from last year. If realized, this would surpass the state record of 158 bushels in 2004.

Indiana farmers also could challenge the state’s production record. The USDA projects Hoosier producers to harvest 893.5 million bushels of corn, at an average yield at 167 bushels per acre. The estimated corn yield is 13 bushels per acre higher than 2005 and one bushel per acre lower than the 2004 state record.

Despite the crop’s overall good condition, Thomison said problems exist in some areas, especially where inadequate rain has fallen.

“There are significant acres in some areas that are stressed or are beginning to die prematurely due to lack of rain,” Thomison said. “Growers really need to be cognizant of stalk quality issues and the increased risk for stalk lodging with this stressed corn. Get out into the field and pinch the stalks to see which fields need to be taken off first. You don’t want to leave corn with potential stalk quality problems in the field any longer than you have to.”

One of the most visible indicators of stress is “firing” of the plants — a condition where the leaves at the base of the plants turn yellow.

“Yellowing is an indication of nitrogen stress,” Thomison said. “The soil is so dry that plants can’t take up adequate nitrogen. They also begin to cannibalize the sugars in the lower stalk to fill the kernels in the ears. As a result, the stalks of some hybrids may lose their viability and integrity, and can easily be pushed over by winds or heavy storms.”

Much of Ohio’s corn is heading into maturity, Thomison said. Any rains at this late stage of development probably won’t greatly impact yields. However, rains could help mitigate some potential stalk quality problems.

“If we get rain, some of the late-maturing hybrids might recover,” Thomison said. “But if the corn plant has reached ‘black layer’ or what’s also referred to as physiological maturity, the kernel is no longer receiving sugar from the plant. Grain moisture has usually dropped to about 30 percent to 35 percent moisture and kernels are drying three-fourths to one percentage point per day.”

Severely stressed corn unlikely to recover may be earmarked for silage and, in many cases, silage is already being harvested for that purpose. The USDA estimates that about 200,000 acres of Ohio corn will be harvested this year for silage.

For more information on Ohio’s corn crop,

Indiana producers are invited to visit Purdue Extension corn specialist Bob Nielsen’s Chat ’n Chew Cafe Web site.