Rings Around the Corn Collars
Say "V6" and most people think you’re talking engines. However, there’s an agronomic V6 (V7, V8 and so forth) that retailers and growers need to evaluate.
Knowing how to count corn collars at this point in the season is a valuable skill because it can help you make accurate decisions on timing postemergence herbicide applications, says Farm Journal Associate Field Agronomist Missy Bauer. Most postemergence corn herbicides can be applied to corn at various growth stages, but almost all product labels indicate a maximum stage beyond which broadcast applications should not be made. Plus, by knowing various corn growth stages you could have a head start on identifying and addressing any disease or pest problem that typically occurs during those specific stages. This information is going to be particularly useful this year, given how uneven the 2017 corn crop is in some geographies.
While there are several methods to determine corn growth stages, the leaf collar method is the one used most extensively in the U.S. With this method, you look for leaf collars on the plant. These are light, greenish bands that separate the leaf blades from the leaf sheaths. Bauer did a brief video a few years ago to demonstrate the straightforward process of counting corn collars. You can see it on YouTube by copying the following link and pasting it in your browser.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Missy+Bauer+counting+collars
