By Brayden Evans
AgVenture Product Marketing Intern
Hail-damaged corn field at Ott Family Farms in Clay County, NE – June 15, 2022
Certain areas around the Midwest have received significant hail damage to crops in recent days and weeks. After damage has occurred it is important to wait at least 5 days before assessing. This gives the crop the appropriate time to regrow and allows you to more accurately evaluate stand loss.
For most of the Midwest, corn is young and in stages ranging from V2 to V7. Staging a crop at the time of injury is important to know how much yield loss can be expected. Corn that is V5 and younger will relatively have little yield loss. At stage V6 the growing point of corn is near or at the soil surface. Damage that occurs at this stage and older can cause yield reduction and potential plant death. When splitting corn stalks, look for a soft and discolored growing point. This is a good indicator that the plant will not survive and should not be counted in your stand evaluation.
Accurate stand counts need to be taken to be able to calculate potential yield loss. Yield loss is low when plants are young but increases significantly as plants reach stage VT when tassels appear. Replanting may be an option if hail damage is severe early in the season. To determine this decision, you should compare the yield potential of the replanted crop to the yield potential of the current crop. It is important to consider the costs of seed, tillage, fuel, and labor when considering replanting. When replanting is not an option it is beneficial to consider other options like a fungicide.
AgVenture West Regional Product Manager, Louis Sutton, says, “After hail damage has occurred it is important to apply a fungicide such as Trivapro® or Veltyma® that will repair crop health. These products have multiple modes of action allowing plants to increase yield potential.”
Hail damage to corn leaves causes tears and bruising creating an easy area for fungus to infect the plant. Applying a fungicide helps to control fungal diseases that can damage plants further. Fields that have received hail damage should be considered for an early harvest. Reach out to your local AgVenture Yield Specialist to see what fungicide is right for you!