News

Sulfur deficiency in corn detected in dry areas

Sulfur deficiency in corn is seen in areas where dry weather is getting in the way of plant uptake.

Burrus agronomist Stephanie Porter tells Brownfield Ag News they are seeing signs of it in Illinois with striped corn, “In order for you to have sulfur to be available in the soil we need to have moisture for those microbes to break it down. And, then we also need roots to possibly grow to it and so we need to have good root growth.”

Porter says sulfur could still be in the soil but too little rain and a lot of residue could tie it up. She recommends a soil p-h test and a remedy, if needed, “I did have one field visit where there were a lot of different things going on and I did recommend a rescue where you CAN apply, maybe with a Y drop or something like that, some kind of sulfur that can be readily available to the plant.”

Several areas have gotten some heavy rains in the past few days and Porter says those deficient corn plants might green up as a result.

AUDIO: Interview with Stephanie Porter ~