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Agriculture and Weather (Corn) | 
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Weather plays a significant role in the growth of the world's major crops.
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Weather brings many positive elements to the growth of corn, such as rain and sunlight, but corn can suffer from many weather related inflictions. ...drought conditions and low sunlight can bring about a strain on the plant...
It appears that all types of weather can have negative affects on the successful growth of corn. For example, drought conditions and low sunlight can bring about a strain on the plant which can compromise stalk quality. Stalk quality is extremely important in the successful yield of corn, and such harmful effects can cause field losses.
Also, the time at which bad weather hits a cornfield is also crucial. For example, the period of growth the plant is in when frost may prevail, affects the severity of the damage it can cause. If frost hits the plant in its early growth period it can cause significant leaf tissue damage, which can make it very hard to harvest the crop at a later stage. Brittle Snap poses its greatest threat during the early and middle periods of growth...
One of the main weather related injuries in corn is the Brittle Snap Injury (also known as 'green snap'). This injury occurs when cornstalks are broken by violent winds. Brittle Snap poses its greatest threat during the early and middle periods of growth, when the plant is not at its full strength potential. When the crop is fully grown the risk of the injury lessens.
Thunderstorms carrying strong winds are common in the early morning period because of the moisture and cool temperatures. The risk of Brittle Snap is heightened during this period because the stalks are not as bendable at this time of day and are more likely to break. Also, a lack of rain will cause dry soils that can hold the stalks tighter within the ground, giving the stalks little room for manoeuvre. So, if strong winds hit the cornstalks in these conditions, the threat of breakages is very much increased. Once the plants have been snapped, recovery is impossible and the plants become un-harvestable. Stalk rots have been known to greatly reduce corn yields.
Other weather related injuries in corn are 'stalk rots'. These are caused by high temperatures creating moisture pressures on the cornstalks. There are many different types of stalk rots, for example: Anthracnose, Gibberella, Diplodia. These rots kill the plant before it reaches maturity and the ears of corn are successfully grown. Stalk rots have been known to greatly reduce corn yields.
These weather related corn crop injuries can be very tedious to deal with. Weather is often unpredictable and its effect on such crops cannot be avoided unless the crops are grown under completely controlled and monitored conditions. But even then, disease and injury will find a way to prevail. Weather can be both good and bad in the development of crops and is a vital factor in the ability of mankind to feed itself. The more that technology can be employed to both better predict the weather and develop hardier types of plants - then the better are our chances of survival. | |||||
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