Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 9:10 AM
252-3

Corn Plant Response to Defoliation.

D. R. Hicks, Univ of Minnesota, Dept of Agronomy, 1991 Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108 and R. L. Nielsen, Purdue University, 915 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054.

Leaf blade removal of corn plants may occur at any time during the
growing season because of any of several calamities - insects, animal
feeding, wind, sandblasting, or hail.  Leaves may also become
nonfunctional due to disease infections and either extreme low or high
temperatures.  Hail injury is the most common causal factor in leaf
removal.  This paper will review the effect of leaf defoliation at
various growth stages on plant recovery potential, grain yield, and
plant maturity.