NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

April 27, 2000

Corn Survey Highlights 1999 Management Strategies

A survey of corn growers from North Dakota, southeastern South Dakota and west-central Minnesota shows that weed problems varied considerably in 1999. Likewise, producers relied on an array of herbicides to control weeds.

"Responses varied greatly as to what the top-three weed problems were for 1999, but about 25 percent of the farmers did harbor a grudge against foxtail (pigeongrass)," says Denise McWilliams, extension crop production specialist for North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota.

When deciding on the top three weed problems, the corn farmers responding to the survey varied greatly in their choices. Following foxtail, 14 percent of the respondents recognized Canada thistle as one of their top problems, along with wild proso millet (9 percent), black nightshade (7 percent), kochia (7 percent), common cocklebur (7 percent) and quackgrass (4 percent).

With respect to the 1999 production season, 86 percent of respondents said they did not have any herbicide-resistant weed problems in their corn fields. Those acknowledging weed resistance identified kochia as the main problem.

McWilliams says, "Fifty-three percent of the farmers in the survey reported using both a preemerge and a postemerge herbicide on their corn crop in 1999 while 14 percent used only a single postemerge and 8 percent used only one preemerge. Another 20 percent used more than one postemerge herbicide but only postemerge applications, and 5 percent used more than one preemerge."

Respondents reported using a wide variety of herbicides in 1999. The most popular products included Accent (50 percent), Banvel or Clarity (47 percent), Atrazine (41 percent), DoublePlay (31 percent), Distinct (24 percent) and Surpass (24 percent). McWilliams says that more than three-fourths (79 percent) of the respondents said they had not experienced any herbicide injury on their corn in 1999. Of those who said they had injury, only a few specified what chemical caused the problem: Distinct (5 percent), Accent (4 percent), Banvel/Clarity and Celebrity (3 percent each), Curtail (2 percent), and Accent Gold, Basis, Buctril and Epic (1 percent each).

Additional highlights from the 1999 survey:

• More than 82 percent of those surveyed planted in 30-inch rows while 9 percent planted in rows wider than 30 inches. Another 7 percent reported planting in row widths of between 20 to 23 inches, and 1 percent planted in row widths of 24 to 29 inch rows or less than 15 inches.
• The majority of respondents, 56 percent, reported practicing conventional tillage (two or more tillage passes). One-quarter practiced conservation tillage (one tillage pass), 15 percent did moldboard plowing and 4 percent were no-tillers.
• There was a wide variety of responses regarding corn plant density at planting, as determined by seeds per acre: 25,000 to 27,999 (39 percent); 22,000 to 24,999 (23 percent); 28,000 to 29,999 (20 percent); 30,000 to 32,499 (12 percent); 32,500 to 35,000 (4 percent); and 21,999 or less (2 percent).
• Regarding hybrid traits that are the most important, 91 percent of the survey's respondents cited yield as the best trait to look for in corn, and 26 percent bought stalk strength for a secondary trait. Besides considering these traits, the majority of the survey results showed that farmers look at plot results and whether the hybrid did well on their farm the previous year.
• When it comes to determining their fertilizer needs, 92 percent of the respondents said they used soil testing. More respondents said they apply their own fertilizer (53 percent), compared to those who utilize custom application services. The most common methods of fertilizer applications were preplant (69 percent), starter (57 percent), side-dressing (29 percent), fall applied (27 percent) and foliar (24 percent).
• When reviewing disease problems in 1999, 64 percent of respondents didn't identify any problems in their fields, but 26 percent saw some stalk rot and 16 percent found corn smut. Leaf diseases were a problem for 4 percent of respondents and 3 percent found ear or kernel rot. Viral diseases or other problems such as root rot were reported by only a few respondents (1 percent each).
• Insect pests bothered all but 57 percent of the respondents, and 44 percent mentioned European corn borer, while 15 percent saw wireworms, 7 percent identified rootworms and 6 percent found cutworms. Only a few respondents reported problems with grasshoppers, lesser cornstalk borer and grubs (2 percent each). Even with some insect problems identified, 71 percent of the respondents did not use any insecticide.

The 1999 corn survey was funded by the North Dakota Corn Growers Association and the North Dakota State Board of Agricultural Research and Education (SBARE). The survey was conducted during December 1999 and January 2000. Nearly 1,000 surveys were mailed out or made available during the Tri-State Corn Symposium held in mid-January in Fargo; 125 farmers responded to the survey, for a response rate of about 13 percent.

For more information about the survey, contact the North Dakota Corn Growers Association at (701) 293-7467 or Denise McWilliams at (701) 231-8160.

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Source: Denise A. McWilliams (701) 231-8160
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136