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- Connection between defoliation and corn yield studied
Schultz Bruce, Blanchard, Tobie M., Gould, Frances I.
Boyd Padgett, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, is overseeing a study of the correlation between defoliation of corn plants and yield.
Corn leaves are being removed at various growth stages, Padgett said, and the amount of leaves removed will be compared to yields.
The project is being conducted at two AgCenter facilities, the Dean Lee Research Station near Alexandria and the Ben Hur Research Station in Baton Rouge.
He said defoliation can occur because of disease or because of physical damage caused by adverse weather or insects. A damaged leaf that is not functioning in the photosynthesis process and doesn’t fall off the plant could cause a yield drag, he said. The project is in its second year.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture