Corn Harvest

I suspect that this week we will have a small amount of corn reaching the black layer stage which is physiological maturity.  Once the corn black layers, it has reached it's highest potential for yield.  Keep in mind that mature corn can still have green leaves, although a good sign of maturity is when the husks on the ears are drying down and certainly when the ears drop.  Once it matures, the question is, do you harvest and dry it down, or do you let it dry in the field.  There are lots of things to consider in deciding when to start harvesting.  Price of drying is one.  Workload is another.  If you have a lot to harvest, you might want to get started.  Another factor is disease pressure.  This article talks about identification of stalk rots.  I suspect Goss's Wilt could also affect stalk quality.  You might want to check with your seed corn agronomist to get some idea of stalk rot susceptibility in your varieties.