Effects of Continuous Drought After Corn Sowing and How to Deal With It
Corn can face various problems of greater or lesser severity around sowing time, for example, continuous drought after sowing. So, what effects does continuous drought after corn sowing have? What should be done about continuous drought after corn sowing?
1. Effects of continuous drought after corn sowing
1. Effect of drought on the growth period: drought at the corn seedling stage inhibits the corn growth rate and significantly delays the development period, while at the jointing stage it promotes early maturity of corn, causing the development period to be noticeably shortened.
2. Effect of drought on plant height: drought clearly inhibits corn plant height.
3. Effect of drought on corn leaves: drought causes leaves to dry, curl and wilt, reducing the green leaf area available for photosynthesis.
4. Effect of drought on ear traits: drought shortens corn ear length and reduces the number of kernels, ultimately leading to reduced corn yield.
5. When drought occurs at the corn funnel stage, female ear development is slow, forming half ears and degeneration of the upper part of the ear; in severe cases, female ear development is blocked and aborted, forming plants with empty ears.
6. When drought occurs before tasseling, stamen emergence is delayed, causing poor pollination and the formation of shriveled kernels.
7. If hot, dry weather occurs during the pollination period, especially continuous high temperatures above 35°C, pollen vitality declines, affecting pollination and forming sparse-kernel ears or empty ears. Externally, the silks keep extending out of the husk, forming long beards.
Corn that remains in a drought or semi-drought state has short, small plants, grows slowly or stops growing, and its leaves curl, wrinkle, turn yellow and may even die. If the drought is relieved and the plants resume growth, they may stay green, form multiple small ineffective ears on the nodes above and below the ear, and are likely to attract corn borers that damage the stalks and tender ears.
8. If corn at the grain-filling stage suffers drought, the kernels are not plump and the ears are soft, and on some cobs the kernels are arranged in a ladder-like pattern from large to small.
2. What should be done about continuous drought after corn sowing?
1. Irrigation and watering. Some people also ask, besides irrigation and watering, is there any other good solution? Indeed, none of us has a good solution for drought, and it cannot be prevented in advance, unlike insect pests or diseases, which can still be controlled by spraying after they occur. However, the following points are provided for everyone to consider!
1. Choose drought-resistant varieties
If it is a spring corn area, this method is already too late, because drought-resistant varieties must be selected at sowing time. In summer corn planting areas, sowing is about to begin, and drought-resistant varieties can be chosen, which can increase drought resistance and lodging resistance.
2. Irrigation and watering
Where irrigation conditions are available, water as soon as possible, whether from machine wells, riversides and so on. If there are no irrigation conditions and no water source can be found, see the following 2 points.
3. Spray water (fertilizer) outside the roots
If irrigation cannot be done for the time being, artificial spraying can be carried out, mainly spraying the corn root area. At the same time, Xinjue Hankefeng drought-resistant and water-retaining fertilizer can be added during spraying, so that the plants can absorb water and also absorb the nutrients needed for growth.
4. Artificial supplementary pollination
Under continuous drought, pollination of corn is greatly affected. At this time, artificial supplementary pollination can be used, and methods such as driving pollen with bamboo poles or collecting pollen and smearing it can be adopted to increase pollination opportunities and raise corn yield.
Continuous drought in corn has an enormous impact on corn, not only affecting corn quality and yield, but in severe cases even leading to total crop failure. Of course, continuous drought is a natural disaster, and farmers facing drought can follow the suggestions above. After all, high yield is our ultimate goal.