Tom Hoverstad on AM Minnesota Tuesday

Tom Hoverstad, who is a scientist at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca, will be my guest on AM Minnesota on Tuesday. It was only about a month ago Hoverstad was on AM Minnesota, but a lot has changed since then. The excessive rain is causing a lot of concern beyond just wet fields and maybe delayed harvest. There are concerns about stalk rots causing corn plants to shut down abruptly and causing lodging problems during harvest. Some farmers tried to cut seed costs and planted conventional or untreated corn. I have heard from many agronomists that there are a lot of corn bores tunneling in ear shanks.

In soybeans there have been many reports of white mold and sudden death syndrome, not to mention weed escapes like giant ragweed and waterhemp. There is another mold I have heard about affecting the ears of corn called Diplodia ear rot. I have seen pictures of ears of corn covered with a white mold. It begins at the base of the ear and spreads toward the tip. Apparently some hybrids are more susceptible than others. I have heard that some corn has been rejected because of high levels of the mold. So far it has been an issue farther south in the corn belt. I just keep thinking when is the pendulum going to swing from much wetter than normal to drier than normal?