How BASF Fungicide Products Improve Harvestability
Published on June 10, 2024
When summer starts to near its end it typically marks the beginning of the end for corn growers as their cornfields begin drying out. During late summer, the final growth stage R6, also known as “black layer,” typically occurs; about 7-8 weeks after pollination.
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Once your field is in the black layer growth stage, the accumulation of dry matter in the kernel stops and you are simply waiting for the corn to dry down at that point. These last few growth stages are a good time to evaluate plant health fungicide performance in your crop, especially as we get into the late R5 and early R6 stages. Plant health differences first start to show from aerial images in late August or early September and then become more evident on the ground as time goes on.
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Once it's harvest season, growers really start to see the benefits of applying fungicide by seeing improved harvestability of their crop. Harvestability is the level of difficulty you have in harvesting your crops. The easier it is to harvest your crop, then the better your harvestability is. A plant subject to lower stress and more photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation is going to give you stronger and healthier stalks.
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When looking at reasons we would want stronger stalks, we like to look at an example from 2018. That year provided a prime example of improved harvestability due to plant health. See diagram above. A late harvest and wet fall conditions led to many fields being harvested four, five, or six weeks after they normally would have a combine in the field. Cornfields
that looked good at the beginning of October were a complete mess in November. The stalks couldn’t maintain their integrity into November and fell, which forced some growers to harvest in one direction or slow down the combine. When you slow down the combine, costs increase due to a decrease in efficiency; higher fuel cost, more separator hours, more hours for the hired hand, it all adds up. See diagram below.
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This is just another example of the operational benefits of spraying your fields with BASF plant health fungicide. It keeps your plants still standing at harvest, regardless of the environmental factors of the season, making harvest more efficient and putting more money in grower's pockets.
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Harvest season also leaves some growers who did not apply a BASF fungicide still be concerned about about late-season diseases or stalk rots. With no plant health to protect the plant during grain fill, keep the stalk integrity intact and fend off possible entry paths for stalk rots, untreated fields should be monitored and probably scheduled first in the harvest order.
Fields that WERE treated with Veltyma®, Headline Amp® or Revytek® are not in the high-risk category for late-season disease, stalk rots or harvestability issues. While no fungicide will keep a field 100% clean all season long with one application, fields treated with BASF plant health products at the VT timing have been given plant health benefits during the most crucial time of pollination and grain fill. Those healthier plants will resist opportunistic stalk rots, which leads to better harvestability.
Catherine – You and I can plan to touch base on Monday on the status of things and schedule our next meeting from there.
Ready to see the difference fungicide can make on your yields?
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