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Agronomist Advises Conservative Approach to Growing Grains During Drought
This year’s drought is already having an impact on Maryland farmers. At best, it means having to change the way they do business, says Dr. Bob Kratochvil, Extension agronomic crop production specialist with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension.
Because fields don’t contain the subsoil moisture to help carry a crop through the season, Kratochvil recommends reducing plant populations of corn raised for grain to approximately 20,000 - 24,000 plants per acre. He also believes that the plant population goals for silage be reduced this year as well- to 28,000-30,000 plants per acre.
When it comes to nitrogen (N) applications, Kratochvil advocates a conservative approach- about 100 lb/a of N. "If we get the rainfall when we need it, the crop will still do well even at the reduced rate, and if we have a wet April and May, producers who backed off on early nitrogen applications will be able to apply the shortage when they sidedress," he says. "If we don't have a wet spring, at least the input costs will have been reduced."
For soybeans, Kratochvil feels pretty comfortable telling producers that a 20 percent reduction from the currently recommended seeding rates of 175,000 viable seeds/acre for full-season and 225,000 viable seeds/acre for double-crop beans will not cause reductions in yield. "Soybeans are fairly resilient in that they can adjust to a broad range of populations quite easily," he notes. "They also seem to withstand drought better than corn. If I were a farmer and had some fields that were particularly susceptible to drought, I would plant soybeans in those fields instead of corn."
When asked about small grains, Kratochvil advises being conservative regarding greenup applications of nitrogen, perhaps reducing the rate by 10 lb/a or so, and then waiting to see if it rains during March and prior to the next application. For farmers who don't apply nitrogen to small grain in split applications, he recommends waiting a little longer before applying any additional N to the crop, and in the absence of any substantial precipitation prior to April 1, not putting any additional N unless the crop is showing N deficiency stress. "You have to remember that the more nitrogen that is put on early, the more the crop will respond if we do get some rainfall," he explains. "If it is only enough to stimulate temporary growth, you will deplete the little available moisture very quickly."
Kratochvil suggests that producers who have not already killed cover crops do so now to preserve as much moisture in the soil as possible for corn or soybeans.
And finally, he says, farmers who have irrigation should know how good their water source is. Ground water recharge has not occurred this winter and many wells were dropping rapidly last summer. You don't want to find out you don't have any water when you turn the pumps on.
For more information contact:
Dr. Bob Kratochvil, 301-405-6241, rk32@umail.umd.edu
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