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Recent heat wave could mean yield loss for corn

Last week’s extreme heat wave across the Corn Belt may have caused some top-end yield loss for some crops.

Trey Stephens is an agronomist with Becks who covers Southeast Nebraska and says the corn crop likely suffered some damage. “Anything that is going to be planted earlier and hit pollination before that critical time, seem to far a little better.  Anything that was planted a little bit later or pollinating, or maybe a later maturity that was pollinating during that time, I think could have been affected.  We’ll see how it affects filling out the ear and if there is any aborted kernels or anything like that.”

Central Nebraska farmer Derrick Dibbern tells Brownfield timely rains over the weekend likely saved some plants from aborting kernels. “We definitely saw some pretty significant heat stress when it was over 100 degrees and the crop was shutting down.”

Stephens says the severity of the damage also depends on how much rain the crop received before and after the heat wave.