In celebration of corn day, Fertiláqua gives tips to increase crop yields

On April 24th, International Corn Day is celebrated. The date honors one of the country's most important cultures, and one of the most consumed foods in the world.

Until March this year, according to information from the National Supply Company (Conab), Brazil exported 294,5 thousand tons of corn. Even though this is a significant number, the volume is 28% lower compared to that exported in the same period last year.

Based on this information, Fertiláqua has separated four tips for successful corn production. The objective is to avoid product loss and increase the producer's profitability.

For Eduardo Cancellier, market development coordinator at Fertiláqua, the crucial points for achieving high yields in corn farming, without neglecting sustainability, are:

Aggressive root system development 

Use effective biostimulants, whether in soil (sprayed over the entire area or in a planting furrow) or in seed treatment, to stimulate the plant to establish an aggressive root system, with deeper and more branched roots. This is an important factor in making plants more resistant to dry spells, as they seek water in depth. Deep and branched roots are also essential for high efficiency in the use of soil nutrients, as they greatly increase the volume of soil explored. The greater number of root cells increases the efficiency of nutrient extraction, especially the less mobile nutrients such as P and Zn.

Plantability 

Be careful when adjusting the machine and, especially, the planting speed. This is a proven effective and free tool for increasing productivity. Lower planting speed contributes to better plant distribution, which leads to better use of light, water and nutrients.

Nutritional and physiological management 

Corn defines its productive potential, around the V4 stage, by differentiating the number of rows of grains on the cob. Therefore, it is essential that at this stage the plant presents high growth vigor with low levels of plant stress. Both complementary nitrogen fertilization and the application of anti-stress products such as amino acids and foliar micronutrients, especially Zn, Mn, Cu and Mo, can give excellent results. At this stage, there will be a definition of greater productive potential due to the high availability of nutrients, more vigorous establishment in terms of a robust root system, leaf area for photosynthesis and also the development of stalk, the main nutrient reserve organ of corn.

Fungicides and inducers 

To avoid losing the productive potential built up until now, attention must be paid to health. The adoption of different strategies is the most recommended. It begins with choosing the hybrid with the greatest tolerance for the most common diseases in your region. The use of fungicides on corn is highly recommended. Along with the use of fungicides, the use of resistance inducers has proven to be very effective in reducing the severity of several diseases. This mechanism uses the activation and intensification of a natural disease tolerance mechanism, acting in a similar way to a vaccine for the plant.