Some fields showing nutrient deficiencies

THIS YOUNG CORN, shows sign of root rot in a Webster County field. Kuhn said it’s an indication of not having the micronutrients available for the plant to combat soil infections. He said this was a field with heavy Goss’ wilt problems in 2011, with corn planted back into the field in 2012.
MOORLAND – With just two weeks of growth, corn fields within the Farm News coverage area are showing a lack of dark green coloring.
Bob Streit, an independent crop consultant from Ames, noted many fields already a yellow-tint at the V4 stage, with leaves revealing a striated light-green/dark-green streaking
” They are showing (nutrient) deficiencies,”?Streit said. “We are seeing these fields with yellowish tints as fields that Goss’ wilt is hitting hard. It’s a direct correlation.”
He said the best remedy against the wilt is applications of micronutrients that give the plants the chance to fight off the bacteria that causes Goss’ wilt.
“We think we understand that Goss’ as being two organisms working in tandem, not just one,”?Streit said.
He recommended getting micronutrients on fields immediately, especially if leaves are showing light-green/dark green streaking.
“It’ll make a 40 and 50 bushel an acre difference,”?Streit said, “because plants are susceptible to mid- and late-season diseases.”
Streit said farmers have long been told to feed their plants nitrogen, phosphorus and potash field, or NPK.
But, he added, “the plant is asking for everything, down to the 16th mineral, such as cobalt and molybdenum, and all we’re feeding it is NPK.”
Cobalt and molybdenum play crucial roles in plant uptake and processing of nitrogen.
“Then when you couple that with the coup de gras of applying herbicides that tie up minerals from the plant.”
Contact Larry Kershner at (515) 573-2141, ext. 453, or kersh@farm-news.com.