CORN (MAIZE) PRODUCTION WITH iMETOS DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

With the use of iMETOS DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMs you can monitor all relevant weather conditions and soil parameters and take your agricultural work efficiency to a higher level.
Combine monitored and forecasted data to get a powerful tool, which will help you optimize your production and produce more corn with less.

With the help of climatic and soil monitoring and forecasting you can:

• SEEDING MANAGEMENT: Monitor soil temperature to when to sow your crop at the optimum time. Ideal soil temperature for corn germination is 8°C or above, if temperatures are below 5°C seeds will take much longer to germinate.
• WEATHER MONITORING: Monitor in-field weather conditions to avoid germination problems when sowing season is approaching. Frost can impact corn development if the growing point is exposed, which usually around the 6 leaf collar stage. Set an SMS alarm to notify you, when frost conditions are approaching your fields. Have documented low temperatures at your field for insurance purposes.
• FERTILITY MANAGEMENT: Optimize fertilization time and amounts. Knowing the amount of soil moisture and precipitation can help fine tune the management plan – don’t under or over fertilize, based on the actual and forecasted moisture condition.
• PLANT PROTECTION MANAGEMENT: With the use of decision support models for disease management in corn and a spray forecast window you can optimize the timing of your plant protection activities. This will reduce yield losses by timing the spray based on disease pressure and to the synchrony of the growth stage.
  Also, if spraying is followed immediately by a rainfall of 20-30 mm, there is a good chance that the treatment will be washed off, and a potential reapplication is required. This is why the spray forecast decision support window is a valuable tool for efficient management.
• IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT: Monitor your site-specific soil moisture levels, in real-time, to know when your corn crop is approaching water stress in the root zone (refill point) and apply the right amount of water to avoid reduced yields and quality losses.

In the moderate climates, corn (maize) is one of the most productive field crops. Due to high intensity and shorten crop rotations for corn, European Corn Borer and Western Corn Rootworm are becoming an increasing problem in many regions. Beside pests fungal diseases are also common and dangerous in corn production. For all corn produced for human consumption or animal nutrition, Fusarium is a concern. Fusarium ssp. (fungal disease) can cause severe problems in moist years due to the toxins it creates.
FieldClimate.com shows the severity for infections with common fungal disease such as Grey Leaf Spot. Under favorable weather conditions, which are dependent on temperature, relative humidity and leaf moisture, this disease can become yield threating. If severity is high you may need to apply a fungicide spray protection. Due to the length of the infection process; symptoms may not be seen for some weeks after infection, depending on weather conditions and hybrid susceptibility. We model Grey Leaf Spot disease in FieldClimate when temperatures are between 22°C and 30°C, and a relative humidity of more or equal of 90%. The risk will range from 0 (no risk) to 100% (very high risk).

Click on the graph for a larger picture.

With our new CropVIEW camera device you can have a remote view of your corn field, directly from your computer or smart phone, and view at any time the growth stage of the crop, potential disease locations or emergence issues.

This is just a quick look at some of the field specific solutions offered through the iMETOS DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM for corn.