A Purdue Extension corn specialist says the combination of dry weather and extreme heat during critical weeks for kernel weight development is causing Indiana's once-thriving corn crop to deteriorate.
Bob Nielsen says not every field of corn is in dire straits and there will be fields that yield well. But he says there also will be fields with significant yield losses due to excessively dry soils and very hot temperatures.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Drought Monitor update of Sept. 5 showed that about one-third of Indiana was abnormally dry, while a small swath of the northwestern part of the state fell into moderate drought.
Nielsen says corn plants can die as late as two weeks before maturity if conditions are bad enough.
