The initial frost damage assessment within days of the late May frost had many farmers breathing a sigh of relief, as damage seemed to be limited to just the first few leaves and regrowth was evident.
Within a week, however, more than a few farmers were beginning to get concerned about whether or not that inch of regrowth was really amounting to much. Their concern is very valid, says Peter Johnson, in this Corn School episode.
“The plants should be roaring back right now, but they’re not,” he says.
Why is that? Because these plants have really been set back by the frost — they’re alive, but they’ve been shocked by the extremely cold weather and they’re not going to recover. Plants that would have been counted as “live” in a replant assessment should now be marked as dead, if they’re stalled out.
For those with fields experiencing this cold-shock syndrome, Johnson refers farmers to GoCorn.net and the replant calculator there in order to help guide the very timely decision on whether or not to replant.
As we scout this field, Johnson also dispels the myth that a corn plant a leaf stage or two behind its row mates is a weed and a write-off. It’s time to leave that thinking behind in this scenario, says Johnson, and he demonstrates why in the video below.
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