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Late summer heat wave could increase harvest timing as crops near maturity

Purdue Extension’s corn specialist says this week’s expected triple digit temperatures could accelerate crop maturity. 

Dan Quinn says it could speed up harvest in parts of the Corn Belt.

“It’s tough on the corn, especially when you get into grain fill,” he says. “It could potentially impact how much that crop is able to fill. We have a lot of shallow root systems, even if there’s areas where that hasn’t happened yet and they do start to dry out a little bit, you might see those plants turn pretty quick.”

He tells Brownfield the rapid dry down creates concerns about the deterioration of stalk quality and standability. 

“Start getting out and watching those fields,” he says. “Look for stalk rots. You can do a push test and push plants over to see how easily they fall over. Those are the areas that will need to be harvested a little bit sooner than normal. That way you’re not waiting for it to dry down a little bit further and then you’re trying to pick it up off the ground.”

Quinn says identifying problem areas before harvest will help farmers prioritize harvest timing.

The National Weather Service says heat indexes are expected to climb above 100 degrees in parts of Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana through Thursday.

AUDIO: Dan Quinn, Purdue Extension