As of September 16, corn across northern and eastcentral Indiana needs to be fully dented to be reasonably safe from a normally occurring killing fall frost. Southeast Indiana corn needs to be at least in the mid-dent stage (majority of kernels dented). For more information, please review my previous P&C Newsletter articles (p&c9641.htm, p&c9643.htm, or p&c9644.htm).
Table 1. Estimates of youngest safe grain fill stage relative to fall frost risk in Indiana. Estimates valid for crop development as of September 16, 1996 and median fall frost dates. | |||
Indiana Crop Reporting District | Median frost date
(50 % probability) |
Estimated GDD remaining from Sep. 16 to fall frost |
Approximate youngest safe grain fill stage |
Northwest | October 6 | 252 | Fully dented |
Northcentral | October 6 | 243 | Fully dented |
Northeast | October 6 | 244 | Fully dented |
Westcentral | October 13 | 340 | Majority dented |
Central | October 13 | 329 | Majority dented |
Eastcentral | October 6 | 246 | Fully dented |
Southwest | October 20 | 450 | A few dented |
Southcentral | October 13 | 365 | Majority dented |
Southeast | October 13 | 370 | Majority dented |
Click for a description of corn grain fill stages. |
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The Corn Growers Guidebook , a WWW resource for corn management systems in Indiana and the eastern CornBelt.
Purdue University Agronomy Extension WWW Home Page.
Purdue Agronomy On-Line! , Purdue's Agronomy Department WWW Home Page.