It’s that time, when all the seeds are planted and the corn is in the V3 stage (V3 means about 3 leaves on the plant) to start scouting for possible disease, weeds, pests, stand counts, and root health.
Yesterday was really windy and hot, I almost got blown away a few times while out in the open fields, and I think I probably walked 5 miles within 3 fields. When you scout a field, you need to walk around and through it, picking 5-6 different areas of the field to take a stand count, and while walking, look for different weeds and the overall health of the plants. Yesterday probably wasn’t the best day to do this type of work, but the soil was dry enough to walk on as rain is looming in the next few days.
Overall, the corn looked really healthy. The roots were in good condition, the stand counts were in the range we planted them in, I didn’t notice any disease, though I am no pro at this scouting thing yet, and weeds were at a minimum in most areas. I did notice buttonweed as being a predominant weed in some fields and some mystery weeds I have yet to determine what they are. If you recognize them, please do tell.
On my trips from farm to farm, I like to photograph old barns with distinct shapes and attributes that I consider unique as they deteriorate. Some of these old and abandoned farmsteads are beautiful, set among the trees and long grass, and some are just really sad. They are mostly signs of the hard times of the 1980s for farmers, and the mass exodus to more urban areas for economic survival.
Here are some mystery weeds I found.
I think this one is Rhubarb! What?!?!
This one was very prevalent. Almost looks like a tomato plant.
While scouting I found a nest in the middle if the field. These are killdeer eggs, a bird with long legs and squawks, “killdeer, killdeer.”
Northern leaf blight is a disease common in this area. It is some sort of leaf blight at least and is common on fields that have corn residue from the year before. It hinders growth.
Too bad my phone focused on the dirt rather than the leaf.