What should producers expect if they plant corn into soils that are too wet in order to get it planted on time, and what can they do to minimize any problems?



Corn plants can recover with minimal impact on yield if the plants stay alive and conditions return to normal fairly quickly (early during the growth period). Although root growth can compensate to some extent later in the season, a saturated profile early in the season can confine the root system to the top several inches of soil, setting up problems later in the season if the root system is inadequate to extract needed water from lower in the profile.

Saturated soils can also cause loss of nitrogen fertilizer by either denitrification (loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere) or leaching (movement of nitrogen beyond the rooting zone). For denitrification to occur, the soil doesn’t need to be completely saturated. Denitrification can also occur at 85-90% of the pore space filled with water.

Corn may respond to in-season nitrogen applications if a large portion of early-applied nitrogen is lost to these processes. Keep an eye out for nitrogen deficiency symptoms on fields that have been saturated for long periods. It may not be a bad idea to apply a strip or two of a high rate of nitrogen in those fields as soon as possible to serve as a fully-fertilized reference point.