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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Genetic Garden Shows How Different Types of Corn React to Drought

by Rachel Norby, Seed-2-Soil® Summer Intern

As you drive through the countryside, it’s evident that different corn hybrids are handling the drought stress differently. Some hybrids have stronger roots and stalks, so they’re holding up better in these dry conditions. Other hybrids have weaker stalks and are lodging.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ Genetic Garden shows how corn from many different eras is reacting to the drought conditions. You can see how much better today’s hybrids can withstand the high heat and low moisture than their early ancestors.

Genetic Garden Shows Drought Stress

Although minimal irrigation was used to keep our “living museum of corn” alive for the Latham Country Fair on August 25, many varieties still reacted to the drought. You’ll see lodging in many early varieties. (NOTE: “Early” is being used here to reference the chronological history corn of varieties, not as in the relative maturity of hybrids.)

Open-pollinated corn varieties grown during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s didn’t pollinate then, and you’ll see the same thing happened in our Genetic Garden. A corn variety found in the Genetic Garden from around the time of the 1988 drought is also showing signs of stress. One of the differences in the droughts of 1988 and 2012, however, is there was less rainfall during the months of April to June in 1988 than we received in 2012. This lack of rain during that quarter of the year meant more stress on crops during early season growth compared to this year when the majority of the stress happened around the time of pollination.

We’d like to invite you to see the differences for yourself! Take a walk through our “living museum of corn” on Saturday, Aug. 25, during the Latham Country Fair. We’ll be hosting tours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

bonnie-harris

August 13, 2012

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Drought, General, Industry News, Seed Technology, Weather
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Corn as High as an Elephant’s Eye

“Knee high by the Fourth of July” was an expression used for many years by Midwest farmers, indicating their corn crop was expected to yield well if those “knee-high conditions” existed. These days the lyrics, “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye,” from the song Oh, What a Beautiful Morning from the 1943 musical Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein, is more accurate.

This year you could even describe much of the corn crop as “high as an elephant’s eye and tasseled by the Fourth of July.” But a walk into Latham’s Genetic Garden will show you just how much corn varieties and hybrids have evolved from the 19^th Century until now.

On July 4^th we saw corn plants of every size: ankle high, knee high, head high and even some that had tasseled. Temperate teosinte, one of the first ancestors of corn, is about knee high. Wild teosinte is measuring around knee high. Northern flint, a red dent corn is tasseled. Current hybrids like LH 5494 3000 GT are “as high as an elephant’s eye.” This truly shows the evolution of hybrids at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.

Many of the varieties aren’t equipped to handle the hot, humid and dry weather we have seen. Because the weather we’ve experienced this growing season is starting to take a toll on the Genetic Garden, we’ve begun to irrigate it.

Look to TheFieldPosition.com for continued updates on the Genetic Garden. We’d also like to invite you to see it for yourself! Take a walk through our “living museum of corn” on Saturday, Aug. 25, during the Latham Country Fair in Alexander, Iowa.

bonnie-harris

July 9, 2012

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Iron Chlorosis is Serious Threat to Soybeans

I’ve received an unusually high number of calls this spring from people, who have noticed all the “yellow soybean fields.” These fields are exhibiting Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC).

Contrary to popular thought, IDC is not a disease as there are no pathogens, fungi or viruses that can be blamed for this condition. Rather, IDC is a function of the soil type common in the area we call the “Des Moines Lobe.” This area covers most of Central Iowa, continuing north into Minnesota and even further north and west into the Red River Valley region. These soils typically contain some areas that are poorly-drained and also have higher-than-normal pH values.

This is one of the worst years for IDC in recent memory. Unfortunately, once IDC is noticed in a field, it’s too late to really manage it properly this season. Avoid applying chemicals on these areas that will damage the already-stunted and chlorotic plants. Then be proactive when choosing future soybean varieties for these fields.

Iron chlorosis symptom – soybean. Photo © John E. Sawyer

There is no such thing as complete resistance to IDC, however, some soybean brands (i.e. varieties) are better than others at handling this condition. Because Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is headquartered right in the heart of North Central Iowa where Iron Chlorosis is a familiar challenge to us, we have always tried to choose soybean genetics that have the best possible scores against this condition.

Latham® soybean brands like L1585R2, L1783R2, L1985R2 and L2183R2 have all demonstrated that they belong in this elite class of defensive products that are designed to give the best possible performance under some of the toughest conditions that our soybean seed customers run into. This is just one more example of our commitment to bringing the highest performing seed products with the best trait values to all of Latham Country!

July 2, 2012

Agronomics, Crop, Fertility, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Potassium Deficiency is Growing Problem in Corn

Potassium deficiency symptoms in corn develop on the edges of older leaves, typically starting at the tip, while the new growth appears normal. (Photo courtesy of the University of Illinois Plant Clinic.)

While walking fields recently, I’ve seen corn leaves that are yellowing around the leaf margins. The yellowing starts at the tip of a leaf, extending along its edges to the base of the leaf. In more severe cases, the edges are brown.

Corn and soybeans are showing signs of potassium deficiency this growing season. Most of the potassium deficiency I’ve seen so far this season is not due to planting in too-wet soil conditions or compaction, although this certainly could be a reason in some cases. Instead, I’m seeing more potassium deficiencies where there is an extremely dry soil surface and where root activity has been slow. Dry conditions typically limit root growth, which explains why soils can have good levels of potassium but nutrients don’t get to the plants. It also helps explains why, in some fields I have observed, the K deficient symptoms are occurring in the best-drained soils in the field while the more poorly drained areas look better.

Dry surface soils express K deficiency most often. Ridge-till, no-till situations and side wall compaction will sometimes show symptoms in dry years. Irrigation or simply rainfall is a great way to jumpstart the root systems and help the plant develop through the K deficiency.

It’s important to understand why if and why there is a potassium deficiency because K is an essential nutrient for plant growth that has a large impact on overall yield. Potassium controls transpiration and respiration, as well as the uptake of certain nutrients including nitrogen and magnesium.

Photo courtesy of www.omafra.gov.on.ca

The type of nutrient deficiency determines soil management strategies. Some people side-dress potash or various forms of K. Others try foliar products. One word of warning is that some of these products can be harmful to the plant at certain stages of growth. A grower should select a low salt form of K and avoid anything with KCl or KSO4 for foliar applications. A better and safer means is to address the situation by applying potassium before planting 2013.

Walk your fields now and note where you’re seeing signs of potassium deficiency, so you can be sure to test and possible treat those areas before the 2013 crop is planted. Another leaf tissue sample can provide helpful information, too. You can see if there are other nutrient deficiencies in your field. Tissue sampling is one service provided through Latham’s Seed-to-Soil program.

Team Latham

June 28, 2012

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Fertility, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Corn Rootworm in Northeast Iowa

Corn Rootworms have arrived in Northeast Iowa nearly three weeks prior to normal years. Farmers are urged to be diligent in scouting fields and monitoring pressures in the coming weeks. For more information, tune into Nick Benson’s most recent YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/TLNYMhaw-u4

Team Latham

June 24, 2012

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General, Insects
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Wage a War on Weeds

As a business owner, I tend to focus on the bottom line. The bottom line here is that farmers need more weapons in the war against resistance weeds.

Weeds are more than unsightly. They’re more than a nuisance… They’re costly! Weeds are yield robbers, meaning there is less crop (i.e. food) produced come harvest time. Yield losses can accumulate very rapidly when weeds compete too long with corn, according to a recent article in The Bulletin.

Controlling weeds early with a properly timed application of a post-emergence herbicide is key. The problem is not all post-emergence herbicides are as effective as they used to be; glyphosate-resistant weeds are a growing problem.

“Sixty percent of farmers reported they have seen a decrease in the effectiveness of the glyphosate system – compared to 45 percent just 24 months ago,” said Damon Palmer, Dow AgroSciences U.S. commercial leader for the Enlist™ Weed Control System.

Farmers need alternative weed control systems, and that’s one of the reasons that I’m so excited when new tools to fight weed resistance come along like the Enlist weed control system (2,4-D) and the new Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Xtend (Dicamba).

It’s frustrating to see a new tool like Enlist Corn receive unsavory media attention, leading to public outcry based on fear rather than fact. Just a few days ago CBS News aired a story entitled, “Controversy flares over ‘Agent Orange corn’.”

CBS compares the new Enlist Weed Control System with Agent Orange, which was widely used during the Vietnam War. Some people even use “2, 4-D” and “Agent Orange” interchangeably, but that’s not correct.

The chemical 2,4-D has been used safely in this country since it was initially registered back in the 1947 and was reregistered in 2005. While Agent Orange did contain 2,4-D like Enlist does, the two products are very different. Enlist does not contain the 2,4,5-T component of the herbicide or its contaminant, dioxin, as Agent Orange did.

Let’s focus on the facts and wage the war against weeds, not against the companies that make the weed control products or the farmers who plant food for a growing world population.

John Latham, President

June 14, 2012

Agronomics, General, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Potassium Deficiency in Northeast Iowa

Symptoms of potassium deficiency are surfacing in Northeast Iowa corn fields. These symptoms are most likely the result of dry top soil during late May and early June. Any soil factor that limits root growth and water uptake can limit K uptake. For more information, tune into Nick Benson’s most recent YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/F7iVHw8BMo4

Team Latham

June 11, 2012

Agronomics, Fertility, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Sidewall Compaction in Northeast Iowa

Nick Benson shows us the sidewall compaction side by side to a normal corn stalks. For more information, tune into Nick Benson’s most recent YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/kM2xrMgUuxE

Team Latham

June 11, 2012

Agronomics, General, Soil
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tissue Testing Helps Unlock Full Yield Potential

A deep, dark, lush green isn’t always the sign of a healthy crop. Sometimes the plant appears healthy but is really suffering from nutrient imbalances. Other times we become suspicious when we see plants with light green colors, or interveinal stripes, and purpling. We begin to ask whether the discoloration is a sign of herbicide, disease or a nutrient insufficiency or imbalance. Further testing is needed to diagnose the situation.

In the human world, annual physicals help determine if we’re on the right health track. This involves blood tests to find out how we compare to the normal limits scale. Armed with the results, doctors can suggest diet changes, supplements or prescription medicines to bring our bodies into balance.

As important as blood tests are for humans, so are tissue samples for our crops. Results of the tissue sample will very accurately reflect the nutritional health of the plant and the soil in which the plant receives its food. While soil test results give a good idea of N –P – K levels, tissue samples are more reliable and trustworthy results.

Tissue samples provide us with the most accurate reflection of the soil and plant’s nutritional matrix. There are 16 essential elements responsible for plant growth and yield. Tissue samples help us know where the plant is so we know where we need to go. By starting early, we can supplement early. If you haven’t sampled in the past, try a field or two this year. Supplement where needed, and get those “WOW” type yields. Click here for tissue sampling instructions.

June 11, 2012

Agronomics, Crop, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Latham 1884’s have Outstanding Emergence & Early growth

L1884R2 had such strong emergence that it actually lifted a 6″ square of dirt that is about 1″ thick. This is a sister line to our number one selling soybean L2084R2. Look for more updates on this family of varieties as the season progresses.

Larry Sailer, Musings of a Pig Farmer

June 11, 2012

Agriculture, Agronomics, Emergence, General, Industry News