What Causes Corn Seedling Death? 8 Main Reasons You Should Know
Corn is one of the most important grain crops in Heilongjiang Province, and corn yield directly affects farmers' income. From sowing to the seedling stage, corn often suffers from rotten sprouts and dead seedlings due to improper cultivation, resulting in reduced yield. So what causes corn seedling death? Below, the TuLiuWang editor will walk you through the main causes of corn seedling death
1. Improper sowing depth
When the soil is dry, the soil temperature is relatively high and there is plenty of sunlight, if sowing is too shallow, the corn seeds cannot absorb enough water to meet the minimum water requirement for seed germination, which restricts seed germination and leads to slow emergence, scorched seeds and scorched sprouts, dry mold, or death right after emergence, resulting in severe seedling death.
If the field soil is too wet and sowing is too deep, aeration is poor, and the lack of oxygen for the seeds causes smothered seeds and dead sprouts; even the few seedlings that manage to emerge consume too many nutrients, making them highly prone to pests and diseases.
2. Sowing too early, low soil temperature
Sowing too early: although the field soil moisture is good, if it is followed by continuously low temperatures, the germination capacity of the seeds is inhibited, the activity of seed enzymes decreases, and germination is slow, which causes the seeds to become moldy and rot or the sprouts to rot. As a result, the seeds cannot emerge normally, emergence is uneven, or the seedlings come up yellow and are prone to disease and grow weakly. “Rushing ahead and starting early" must be decided according to the specific situation.
3. Poor soil structure, improper tillage and preparation
For spring-sown corn, the land preparation quality does not meet the six-character standard of “fine, level, loose, crumbly, clean, firm." Corn is especially sensitive to soil structure at the seedling stage. When land preparation quality is poor and the soil is too compacted, with poor aeration and insufficient oxygen, the corn coleoptile cannot break through the soil layer. When the compacted soil layer is several centimeters thick, the coleoptile can only emerge from cracks; because the underground stem elongates excessively and consumes too many nutrients and too much energy, the seedlings are not strong and are prone to disease and death.
4. Poor seed quality, low seed vigor
During seed development, the mother plant is affected by environmental conditions and maturity decreases, leading to reduced seed vigor; after harvest, if the seed moisture content or ambient temperature is too high, seed vigor declines, and the seedlings produced are not strong and have no resistance to damage. Poor seed quality, uneven seed size, and poor seed storage make the seeds prone to moisture, with a low germination rate; if low temperatures persist after sowing, the seeds in moist soil are easily rotted and fail to emerge. Too much sowing rate or too late thinning leads to crowded seedlings, insufficient light, reduced organic nutrition, and competition among plants, forming weak seedlings.
5. Improper sowing quantity
Too much sowing quantity or too late thinning leads to crowded seedlings, insufficient light, reduced organic nutrition, and competition among plants, forming weak seedlings and dead seedlings.
6. Damage from insect pests
After sowing, the seeds are bitten and eaten by underground pests (cutworms, white grubs, mole crickets, wireworms, etc.), causing seedling death; this situation is even more serious in soil with insufficient moisture.
7. Herbicide damage
When pesticides or herbicides are used above a certain concentration, they can cause abnormally colored leaf spots, and the young shoots and roots curl or thicken; corn seedlings are inhibited in growth due to herbicide damage.
8. Fertilizer damage
When too much nitrogen and potassium fertilizer is close to the seeds at sowing, it inhibits seed germination and causes the leaves to gradually turn yellow and die.
Alright, the above are the main causes of corn seedling death brought to you by the TuLiuWang editor. We hope it is helpful to everyone, and see you next time.