Hail damages cornfields

“Last Friday, the day after storm hit, I traveled the area in Richland Parish impacted by the storm,” LSU AgCenter County Agent Keith Collins said. “Hail and wind damage was very evident from Oak Ridge moving southeast through Holly Ridge and the Poverty Point Lake area.”

Some wheat was blown down but the largest impact on crops was hail damage to corn, Collins said, with stems broken by hail one to two inches above the ground. Most corn Collins inspected was at the three to four leaf stage and he feels it should be able to recover.

“The growing point on 3-4 leaf corn is still underground, giving it protection from plant death,” Collins said. “Although this corn should recover and start producing new leaves, it will be delayed exposing it to more risks due to high temperatures that are more likely to occur as summer progresses during pollination as well as delayed harvest.”

He added that other fields were ragged with shredded leaves with isolated plants broken just above ground. Collins said the exact impact on yield cannot be predicted now with much depending on this summer’s temperatures, rainfall and harvest conditions.