Drought stress can cause significant corn yield reductions, particularly when it occurs after the V13 growth stage.

At V13 and beyond, drought stress can negatively impact silking, pollination, and kernel fill, with the greatest loss in yield associated with drought stress that occurs around the silking (R1) period. Drought stress causing four or more consecutive days of visible wilting during this period can lead to yield loss as high as 9 percent per day. Plants weakened by drought stress are also more susceptible to disease and insect damage, which can further compound yield losses.

What Options Do Corn Growers Have for Combating Drought Stress?

Although farmers can't control the weather, they do have options that can help them improve plant health and strengthen their crop's stress tolerance in the face of drought.

In this Kansas wheat trial, Titan XC provided a yield and ROI advantage when used with a banded dry fertilizer application.

Titan XC was applied at 1 pint per ton on MicroEssentials SZ (MESZ), which was placed in-furrow. Compared to the untreated MESZ, the Titan XC-treated MESZ raised wheat yields, with a 7 bu/a yield increase. With wheat prices estimated at $6.50/bu, the return on investment with Titan XC in this trial would be $43.62 per acre.

Soybean StartUp is a tank mix of Accomplish^® LM and Radiate^®, applied in furrow at planting. The goal is to get soybean plants off to a better, faster start and enhance productivity. 

In trial after trial, this program keeps giving a standout performance in the field.

The soybean plants in the pictures below were planted on May 28^th, 2015 in Greensburg, Kansas, by a grower who had trialed the Soybean StartUp program on half of his acres. The beans on the left were treated 2x2 with 10 gallons of 16-0-16-5 alone, while the beans on the right were treated 2x2 with 10 gallons of 16-0-16-5 and Soybean StartUp (1 quart of Accomplish LM with 4 ounces of Radiate in furrow). Pictures were taken mid-June.

In this video report from summer 2013, we visit corn fields at Nelson Farms in Almeda, Kansas to observe the effects of Accomplish LM in a starter program.

In the Nelson Farms trials, Accomplish LM was applied at one, two, or three quarts per acre with the grower’s standard practice (GSP) of 10-34-0 applied at eight gallons per acre in furrow.

Strip-till banding and root zone banding (RZB) allow growers to apply plant nutrition in a band in the tilled zone while leaving residue undisturbed for soil and moisture conservation purposes. Strip-till is common in Central and Western states—such as Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma—where the climate is more arid and there is less rainfall compared to the Central Corn Belt.