Is it feasible to grow corn without applying growth regulators? Here, Science for Agriculture can't help but ask: in the era before growth regulators existed, did our crops simply not grow? Obviously not! Not spraying growth regulators in a corn field does not mean the corn will lose yield, but there is one thing we have to face: without growth regulators, the risk of corn yield loss is rising!

In corn fields a few years ago, most farmers actually had no habit of applying growth regulators, nor any awareness of doing so, because corn still has fairly strong lodging resistance. Generally, corn lodging occurs only at the stage when it is about to mature, and after lodging, if it is propped back up, the yield loss is not too great.

Therefore, in terms of awareness, many farmers do not feel that corn growth regulation is absolutely necessary. And looking at this issue from a practical standpoint, that is indeed the case. Even without growth regulation, corn plants may be relatively thinner, but they will also be taller, and in this way, their photosynthetic utilization is not necessarily less than after growth regulation.

And more importantly, if no extreme stormy weather occurs within that year, the yield loss caused by corn lodging is still relatively small. It may even not affect yield at all!

But as mentioned earlier, all of this is based on ideal weather. In reality, the weather can change in an instant and will not follow our wishes. That is to say, once extreme weather occurs, the probability of corn lodging will greatly increase! There is also another major factor: without growth regulation, corn will grow excessively during the jointing stage. Excessive supply of nutrients to vegetative growth causes insufficient reproductive growth later, leading to problems such as bald tips on corn ears and a relatively high ear position.

In addition, let's talk about another point: for some farmland where the amount of nitrogen fertilizer is not quite sufficient, the corn in such fields grows relatively weakly, and the plants are indeed not that tall. That is to say, such corn fields actually do not need growth regulation. After all, the growth is already not very good, and if growth regulation is carried out again, it will instead cause the corn to grow even worse.

Growth regulation is only one measure in agricultural production. It is highly selective, but it is not mandatory. At the same time, it must be adapted to local conditions, and growth regulation measures should be selectively adopted according to the growth status of the corn in the field.

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