Corn School: Tackling Field Variability at Harvest

As the 2024 Ontario corn crop races to the finish line with help from a late summer stretch of hot weather, growers are now seeing the challenges created by spring planting conditions and pest and disease pressures.

In some parts of the province, growers were able to get corn in the ground in late April, but wet conditions pushed a good portion of provincial planting into late May and well into June in some areas. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin and PRIDE Seeds agronomist Olivia Noorenberghe discuss the 2024 corn crop and how the lengthy planting window, and the widespread variability it’s created, will impact harvest.

Noorenberghe says it’s critical for growers to get out and scout fields to determine what agronomic, disease and pest challenges their crops have endured throughout the season and whether these troubles could further complicate harvest. On the disease font, she notes that tar spot has been making a late push through cornfields in the southwestern portion of the province and that could be troublesome for growers harvesting both silage and grain.

When it comes to silage, Noorenberghe says the disease can progress rapidly after initial infection and accelerate drydown, which can create challenges for harvesting the silage at the right moisture level, potentially impacting feed quality. The leaf disease also creates headaches for grain harvest, including plant standability issues and the need to prioritize harvest for fields with higher rates of infection.

In the video, Noorenberghe also looks at the impact of western bean cutworm and corn rootworm. She advises growers to document current field conditions, including pest and disease pressures to help guide hybrid selection and management strategies for the 2025 crop.