South Dakota State University has published a new "Best Management Practices for Corn Production in South Dakota.

A limited number of printed copies are available at no cost from county Extension offices. Or download the entire document or the 16 chapters as individual files from an SDSU Web site, plantsci.sdstate.edu/index_files/agbiopubs.htm.

Professor David Clay, research associate Kurtis Reitsma, and professor Sharon Clay edited the publication. Nearly 30 collaborating corn producers, agronomists, and other agricultural professionals wrote and reviewed the manual. It includes information about corn growth and development, hybrid selection, corn planting, seasonal hazards, tillage, crop rotations, and cover crops. Other topics are irrigation, soil fertility, corn insect pests, corn diseases, weeds and herbicide injury, corn harvest, and corn drying and storage. Information on recordkeeping, useful calculations of yields and storage requirements, the corn calendar, troubleshooting, and helpful Web sites rounds out the publication.

The peer-reviewed document includes 66 informational tables and more than 100 color illustrations.

The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service and SDSU's Department of Plant Science provided financial support for the guide. The South Dakota Corn Utilization Council and the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station were among the groups that provided additional developmental support.

Source: SDSU AgBio Communications