Reasons and Solutions for Corn Turning Yellow and Not Growing

Corn is a very common crop, but sometimes corn turns yellow and stops growing. What should you do if corn turns yellow and stops growing? Let's take a look at the solutions together.

1. Topdressing Fertilizer

Nitrogen fertilizer needs to be added, but if phosphorus fertilizer is lacking, nitrogen fertilizer alone will not help either, so in this case you need to apply commonly available phosphorus fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer or compound fertilizer to the corn. The amount of fertilizer applied can follow the instructions on the fertilizer packaging, but when applying fertilizer you should also conserve soil moisture or irrigate the field at the same time; if the soil has no moisture, the corn cannot absorb the nutrients properly.

2. Pest Control

The main pests during the corn seedling stage include cotton bollworm, wireworm, aphids, armyworm, thrips, Swedish stem fly, cutworm, and the mealybug Trionymus sacchari. The mealybug Trionymus sacchari gathers as nymphs and female adults at the base of the corn seedling stems near the soil surface, on the roots and inside the leaf sheaths, sucking sap, causing the leaf sheaths of the affected corn to turn yellow and dry up first. Promptly spray 40% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 500-1000 times dilution, or other systemic insecticides at 500-1000 times dilution, on the stem base of corn seedlings or drench the roots; (you can also rotate crops or change the previous crop, because the mealybug Trionymus sacchari only harms grasses.) For other pests, ordinary high-efficiency, low-toxicity insecticides are sufficient.

3. Watering

Drought in the later stage of corn growth causes the crop to lack water, nutrients cannot be supplied, and thus the lower leaves turn yellow; if watering is insufficient before or after sowing corn, the seeds cannot get enough moisture, which affects normal germination and emergence, and a prolonged emergence time results in weak seedlings and yellowing during the seedling stage. In the later stage of corn growth, the lower leaves turn yellow first, gradually developing upward, and in severe cases the lower leaves die. However, the leaves turn yellow starting from the leaf tip, changing in an inverted “V” pattern as they gradually yellow. During the yellowing process, it starts from the leaf tip, then the leaf edges turn yellow and dry up, and in severe cases the entire leaf dies.

4. Drainage

When corn is flooded for a long time, generally more than 24 hours, the lower leaves will rapidly wither and die. Improper use of herbicides: a small number of farmers arbitrarily increase the herbicide dosage; blindly mix it with other pesticides; use too high a concentration; share sprayers; and the impact of counterfeit and inferior herbicides on subsequent crops, all of which can cause yellow corn seedlings.

The main solutions for corn turning yellow are as stated above. We hope these rescue measures can help you.