The remnant of Hurricane Ike moved through southern Indiana about two weeks ago packing winds in excess of 60 mph that caused damage to corn crops ranging from mild stalk lodging to nearly totally flat fields.

Some of the fields were already mature and not far away from harvest moisture, while other fields were late-planted and still immature (ranging from about early dent to half-milkline). Some of the lodging occurred primarily in areas of fields where stalk rot development was also severe, but not in all cases. Severe lodging also occurred in perfectly healthy, albeit very late-planted, corn. Assessing the yield losses prior to actually harvesting damaged fields is difficult because the losses will be a mixture of physiological (death of immature corn), mechanical (challenges of harvesting downed corn), and quality-related (kernel molds and premature kernel sprouting) factors.

Keep reading Dr. Neilsen’s article