What to Do About Corn Lodging? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Remedial Methods

Corn is a tall-stalk crop. Although its roots go fairly deep, even a slight external force can make corn lodge. Once lodged, it is generally very difficult to prop back up, and it directly affects yield. Therefore, lodging must be avoided, and after lodging occurs, prompt and correct action is needed. Try your best to recover the losses. Below, let us look at the causes of lodging and methods for prevention and improvement.

1. Flood lodging

Lodging caused by floods is nothing unusual. Some fields located among valleys, in low-lying areas, or close to rivers are easily washed flat after summer floods. This is generally because the soil around the root zone is soaked by water, causing the entire plant to topple and the roots to be washed out of the soil. In such cases, you can lift the plants back up in the direction opposite to how they fell, then re-mound soil around them. After draining the water promptly, loosen the soil again to let moisture dissipate as quickly as possible, but you must lift the plants back up on the same day they were washed down.

2. Impact of strong winds

If the cause is extreme weather, such as a windy day, it is generally possible that the stalks have lodged, meaning the roots and the base of the stalks are not broken, but the upper stalks are deformed and cannot right themselves for the time being. In this case, you should be able to prop them up slightly, let them support each other, or set up supports. They will resume growth after a short time. If they have been blown and broken, they generally need to be pulled out; those that break after grain filling can be kept.

3. Lodging from heavy rain

Because heavy rain presses down on the plants and washes away the surface soil, plants that are top-heavy easily bend at the stalk, but they generally do not lodge from the root. As long as you shake off the rainwater and lift them up, then mound some soil around the base, they can recover within a few days once the weather clears. Shake off the water early; go out as soon as the rain stops, otherwise, if the water sits for too long, the situation worsens. Use a bamboo pole to gently shake off the water without damaging the leaves.

4. Strengthen management

After dealing with lodging, you need to apply additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to help growth recover. In addition, lodging makes plants prone to disease, so pay attention to preventing and controlling northern corn leaf blight and southern corn leaf blight; use a 50% carbendazim 500-fold solution for spraying. Use it once a week, and check the results after several consecutive applications. Corn borers bore into the stalks, which easily causes stalk breakage and lodging, so focus on controlling them.

Corn lodging occurs frequently in general. The causes may differ, but the result is always that improvement and rescue are needed. Sometimes strengthening growth in advance is also the best prevention.