Producers took advantage of a break in the typical spring rains to get much of Mississippi’s corn crop planted in late March. Erick Larson, Mississippi State University Extension Service corn specialist, examined corn in Starkville, Mississippi, on April 5, 2017. Photo by MSU Extension Service/Kat Lawrence


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40th


Lull In Spring Rains Helps Corn Planting


gap in spring rains to plant much of their crop early. Erick Larson, corn specialist with the


F


Mississippi State University Extension Service, said warm weather and a break in typical spring rains has al- lowed farmers to make considerable corn planting progress this spring. “Corn can be planted at much lower


soil temperatures than the other row crops, so planting may commence as early as late February or early March if the weather is cooperative,” Larson said. “Timely and early planting is well known to be beneficial for high corn productivity.” Larson said early-planted corn ma-


tures in early summer when tempera- tures are more likely to be mild and the chance of rainfall is greater than it is later in the season. These factors help increase yields. He said most cornfields in Missis-


Events Subject To Change


Contact: Allen Muench 573.587.2813 or Jerry Davis 573.547.4556 4• MidAmerica Farmer Grower / April 14, 2017


sippi use some variation of the stale seedbed method of planting. “The primary tillage work is accom- plished in the fall, and the soil is


STARKVILLE, MISS.


all preparation paid off for many Mississippi corn producers who were able to take advantage of a


formed into raised beds,” Larson said. “Growers are prepared to plant as early as possible in the spring. Herbi- cides are applied to kill off winter veg- etation, and the only tillage needed may be to smooth the top of the plant- ing beds.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture


estimated 63 percent of the corn crop in Mississippi was planted by April 2. The five-year average is 37 percent planted by this date. “The challenge with planting early in


the Midsouth is much of our high an- nual rainfall occurs this time of year and keeps fields too wet to plant,” Lar- son said. “Our five-year planting progress is low because we’ve had four of the worst planting seasons in my two-decade career in the last four years.” Larson said the majority of the corn


already in the ground was planted the week of March 20. Southern Missis- sippi and the Delta had the most sig- nificant progress during that time, but producers in areas of north and north- east Mississippi have not planted many fields. “There’s still plenty of time to plant


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