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Temperature swings could mean “beer can-sized” corn ears
An agronomist says even with extreme heat over the past two months, Michigan crops are trending near the five-year average for growing degree days.
Charles Scovill with Golden Harvest says so far, the state has had 12 days over 90 degrees.
“It’s been warm, we’ve had a lot of heat units, maybe not as far ahead as we thought we were but definitely far better shape than we were last year as far as getting this crop ready for harvestability, plus we planted earlier this year.”
Scovill says daytime and nighttime temperatures have also varied more than 40 degrees within a day which can cause blunt ears.
“That results in an ear that looks like a little beer can-sized ear or smaller that can be caused by that temperature swing.”
He expects corn silage harvest to start in the middle of September if current conditions persist.
Scovill provided an overview of the season for growers along with management advice during this week’s Golden Harvest Michigan Virtual Field Day.
