Iowa’s wet spring and cool temperatures not only slowed planting progress but also slowed Growing Degree Day accumulations. These factors contributed toyellow corn plants across the state as well as within-row variability in plant to plant growth and development. Seedling diseases reduced stands.

We might expect all of those problems to surface considering the conditions the crop has experienced to date. We expect stand losses in low areas of fields in wet years due to prolonged standing water on planted or emerged corn (see link). However, one rarely seen problem has developed: corn stand losses on side hills.