I have been dreading writing this article. I was hoping rain might fall, but the forecast is not positive for the next 10 days. It is becoming clear that corn farmers in the southern four tiers of counties in Wisconsin might have to make the best of a bad situation.

After pollination (July 10 to August 1), the key plant indicator to observe and base future management decisions upon is the success of pollination.Each ovule (potential kernel) has a silk attached to it. When a pollen grain falls on a silk, it germinates, produces a pollen tube that grows the length of the silk which fertilizes the ovule in 12 to 28 hours. If fertilization of the ovule is successful, within 1 to 3 days the silk will detach from the developing kernel. Silks will remain attached to unfertilized ovules and be receptive to pollen up to 7 days after emergence. Silks eventually turn brown and dry up after pollination is over.

Two techniques are commonly used to assess pollination success or failure.The most rapid technique to determine pollination success is the "shake test." Carefully unwrap the ear husk leaves and then gently shake the ear. The silks from fertilized ovules will drop off. The proportion (%) of silks dropping off the ear indicates the proportion of future kernels on an ear. Randomly sample several ears in a field to estimate the success of pollination.

The second technique is to wait until 10 days after fertilization of the ovules. The developing ovules (kernels) will appear as watery blisters (the "blister" R2 stage of kernel development).

Management Guidelines for Handling Cornfields with Poor Pollination

Typical management options and uses are available for corn that has successfully pollinated. If pollination is unsuccessful, we are usually trying to make the best of a bad situation.

If pollination is good, harvest in a normal fashion for either grain or forage use. If pollination is poor yet some kernels are developing, the plant can gain dry matter and farmers should wait with harvest. In Wisconsin, many farmers have the option of harvesting poorly pollinated fields for silage use. If there is no pollination, then the best quality forage will be found as close to flowering as possible. Quality decreases after flowering. The challenge is to make sure that no potential pollination occurs and that the forage moisture is correct for the storage structure.

Drought-stressed corn can be grazed or used for forage, either as green chop or silage. Because of the potential for nitrate toxicity, grazing or green chopping should be done only when emergency feed is needed. The decision to chop corn for silage should be made when:

You are sure pollination and fertilization of kernels will not or did not occur and that whole-plant moisture is in the proper range for the storage structure so that fermentation can occur without seepage or spoilage losses. If there is no grain now, florets on the ear were either not pollinated or have not started to grow due to moisture stress, and the plant will continue to be barren. If the plant is dead, harvest should occur when whole plant moisture is appropriate for preservation and storage.
If pollination and fertilization of kernels did occur but it was poor, do not chop until you are sure that there is no further potential to increase grain dry matter and whole plant moisture is in the proper range for the storage structure. These kernels may grow some, if the plant is not dead. If kernels are growing, dry matter is accumulating and yield and quality of the forage is improving.

Further Reading

Lauer, J.G. 2006.Concerns about drought as corn pollination begins. Agronomy Advice Field Crops 28.493-42. July 2006.