Seeing more of this then ever before. The mesocotyl dampens off or gets restricted and then the nodal roots can’t develop. The mesocotyl is the plants life line or umbilical cord to the life of the baby plant. Once the plant develops the permanent root system the umbilical cord can be cut with no issues. But we are seeing this happen to early. We want the mesocotyl to be firm and white until V5-V6 when the permanent root system takes over. Diseases can impact the health on wet cool years but on dry years it can also be from fertility bands at or below the soil line. Slight burn from ammonium on dry years excelerates the issue. This is often called rootless corn syndrome. You will see a difference from hybrid to hybrid with this issue. But be checking your corn if your in a dry area until at least V5. It is hard to see unlesss corn is at least V3 (corn starts to look buggy whipped) unless you are digging up the root system.

Posted by Jason Schley at 2023-06-01 15:37:46 UTC