Year 2 of Battle for the Belt kicked-off with corn and soybean planting on March 25 at the Western Agricultural Research Station in Clark County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ukx_RvOrI&list=PLYlh_BdeqniJ4J-htcJ9Z5MjULk3E8Eqk&index=1
Planting conditions were good with adequate soil moisture; however, soil temperature was in the low 40s at a two-inch depth. Planting will continue at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Wood County and Wooster Campus in Wayne County when soil moisture conditions allow.
The Battle for the Belt project seeks to answer several questions related to corn and soybean planting date management in Ohio:
- Which crop has the smallest yield penalty for delayed planting?
- Can we adjust management practices to mitigate losses due to late planting?
- How are insects, diseases, weeds, and other factors affected by planting date?
For both soybean and corn, earlier planting is promoted to maximize yield. However, Ohio has a trend towards a lower number of suitable fieldwork days during planting season. With non-favorable weather, the planting date window is often short and disconnected. Farmers often ‘debate’ which crop should be planted first – corn or soybean. The ‘Battle for the Belt’ project is a field research and extension effort to help address the question, what crop should be planted first – corn or soybean?
This is the second year for the project. Project updates from last year are available on the OSU Agronomy YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@OSUAgronomicCrops). The full playlist can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYlh_BdeqniI7zaFVi1VPCpZ26EQ_YTAT. It includes 33 videos with over six hours of content, addressing a wide range of aspects of this project.
To stay up-to-date with updates, make sure to subscribe to the CORN newsletter (https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/corn-out), subscribe to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@OSUAgronomicCrops), or follow us on Twitter (@stepupsoy, @OrtezCornCrops).