New Baden, IL, 2018: Corn emerges.

Cold, wet conditions coupled with occasional snows in April equaled a late start to the 2018 corn season in IL. By the end of the month corn planting was only 32% complete, compared to 59% at the same time in 2017. Conditions improved during the month of May, allowing those who fell behind to catch up. By mid-month, 90% of the corn had been planted, compared to just 74% the previous year.

Mid-season through harvest had its ups and downs – periods of slightly cooler or warmer weather and dry and wet stints – but for the most part was manageable. As always, the summer months gave rise to disease and insect pressures.

By September, grain-fill was complete and many farms were prepping for harvest. At the mid-month mark, corn harvest was underway with 12% complete, and the overall outlook for most of the crop was favorable. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, corn condition was 18% fair, 45% good and 31% excellent as of September 17.

Many yield monitors displayed positive numbers in 2018, but what about next season?

While it’s hard to say exactly what the 2019 season will bring for Illinois, one thing is sure: Mother Nature is unpredictable. The best bet to protect and grow corn yields in 2019, besides choosing corn hybrids suited to your farm, is to make sure you control tough weeds. Starting clean and staying clean throughout the season maximizes corn’s ability to turn nutrients, sunlight and water into grain.

To start clean and stay clean in 2019, we recommend Acuron® corn herbicide. Acuron combines 4 active ingredients, 3 effective sites of action (SOAs), and benoxacor, a corn safener,  in one convenient premix. In addition to being safe, Acuron provides reliable control of 70+ tough weeds, regardless of weather conditions, soil type, application preference, tillage system or field geography. Acuron also provides flexible application from 28 days pre-plant up to 12-inch corn.

Its atrazine-free counterpart, Acuron Flexi, has 3 active ingredients, 2 effective SOAs and provides the same reliable safety and performance with an increased application window – from 28 days pre-plant up to 30-inch corn.

Both Acuron brands can be applied in 1 or 2-pass systems. In a 2-pass system, Halex® GT herbicide plus either an atrazine or dicamba product may be used as the post application. Applying Halex GT post-emergence following Acuron or Acuron Flexi adds another site of action.

New Baden, IL, 2018: Corn emerges in a clean Acuron-treated field.

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