Guidelines for Preventive Management Bob Nielsen, Extension Agronomist, and Deb Colville, Graduate Research Assistant Department of Agronomy, Purdue University Stalk lodging, by definition, is the breakage of the stalk below the ear. Severely lodged corn leads to increased harvest losses, increased harvest time, increased drying cost, and may result in volunteer corn the following year. In addition to outright yield losses, grain quality may also decline as a result of stalk lodging. There are three main causes of late-season stalk lodging in corn.
Severe weather is a major cause.
Another major cause is the European corn borer, particularly the second generation, which tunnels into the stalk or ear shank and can cause stalk breakage or ear droppage. The third major cause of stalk lodging, also important from a management standpoint, is stalk rot. Stalk rot decreases the corn plant's ability to resist external stress by weakening the stalk tissue and results in a plant more susceptible to stalk breakage. The incidence and severity of stalk rot in any given field depends on the susceptibility of the corn hybrid, the presence and virulence of the stalk rot organisms, and an environment conducive to formation of the disease. These three conditions, the host, the pathogen, and the environment, must be present simultaneously in order for the stalk rot to develop.