Throughout the growing season, there have been many ups and downs when it comes to moisture availability. Crops have seen excessive rain, followed by drought, more rain, and another dry cycle. July wrapped up being one of the top five wettest Julys in Illinois which has helped recharge soil, which Pioneer field agronomist Brad Mason hopes can help finish the 2024 crop.
“I will say, as we look at the corn crop, it still needs a little bit of rain to finish, especially the May corn and the soybeans. I tell a lot of people that from the time we start seeing pods develop into what we call full pods, we still need up to nine inches of water for that plant to optimize yield. We don’t need that all in rain, but we need to get it from the soil,” says Mason. “And as we dry out, our humidity and things like that, we’ve had in wind here the last couple weeks, it starts to dry out that soil profile- so, we are going to need another rain.”
Because of the back and forth between wet and dry conditions, says Mason, the disease hasn’t taken hold in corn fields as much as in past years.
