The Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia
Research Report Number 707
October 2006
2006 Corn Performance Tests
Edited by
Anton E. Coy, J. LaDon Day, and Paul A. Rose
The Season
The 2006 corn season in Georgia can best be described as dry and hot. March was
warm and planting got off to a good start. The first week of April was cool. Spotty rainfall
during April and May resulted in drought conditions in much of the state. Early and mid
May were cool but late May and early June were hot and dry. By mid June less than half
of the crop was rated good. Tropical storm Alberto brought some relief to southern
Georgia. Much of the non-irrigated crop was severely damaged by drought unless it
caught a timely rain sometime in June. Hot late June and July conditions and short water
supply made it difficult for irrigation systems to keep up. Late July and August rains were
often too late to improve the crop. In some areas harvest was delayed by August rains
and some thunderstorms caused wind damage. Harvest proceeded at a normal pace in
most of the state.
Rainfall during the season averaged from 1½ inches below to 14 inches below long
term averages at the corn variety test locations as listed below.
Growing Season Rainfall1, 2006
Month
Blairsville
Calhoun2
Griffin
Midville
Plains
Tifton
-------------------------------------- inches -------------------------------------------February
2.06
2.87
4.26
3.33
5.83
4.04
March
2.48
3.36
2.04
0.78
1.93
0.30
April
4.02
3.86
1.66
1.96
2.90
1.68
May
June
4.41
6.33
2.52
2.90
1.71
3.01
1.62
5.85
2.87
1.68
2.70
4.17
July
3.15
2.74
2.44
1.12
5.22
2.88
August
3.98
2.39
3.35
2.00
9.98
2.85
September
3.67
4.03
2.90
1.58
2.48
2.03
Total (8 mo)
30.10
24.67
21.37
18.24
32.89
20.65
Normal (8 mo)*
38.78
38.04
35.42
32.79
34.48
34.01
1. Data submitted by Dr. G. Hoogenboom, Georgia Station, Griffin, GA.
2. Floyd County location.
* Based on 42-year average.
Maturity and harvest proceeded on par with the 5-year average. Of the 280,000 planted
acres, 230,000 were harvested for grain at an estimated 109 bushel/acre for a 25.1 million
bushel crop or about 16 percent decrease from 2005.
Anton E. Coy is a senior agricultural specialist in the Crop and Soil Sciences Department at the Tifton Campus, Tifton,
Georgia 31793-0748. J. LaDon Day is program coordinator of the statewide variety testing program and Paul A. Rose
is a research professional II in the Crop and Soil Sciences Department, Griffin Campus, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797.