Items by John Grove
Boron Deficiency – Associated with Tassel Wrapping in Corn?
By John Grove
Published on Aug. 15, 2025
My friend and former UK colleague, Dr. Greg Schwab, recently posted an interesting item on LinkedIn. He writes that corn tassel wrap, and associated poor pollination, could be due to boron (B) deficiency. I think he might be right.
Early Planted Soybean Does Benefit from Good Soil Fertility
By John Grove
Published on Mar. 30, 2025
I’ve been reading in both popular and scientific press that for soybean fields with low fertility, early planting substitutes for addition of needed soil-based nutrition (Allen, 2025, Loman et al., 2024).
Follow the Basics to Maintain Yields and Manage Costs
By Edwin Ritchey and John Grove
Published on Feb. 24, 2025
An economist was overheard saying that there were 5 ways to increase profits in any production system: cut costs, cut costs, cut costs, cut costs, and increase yields. This was somewhat a joke but has a solid underlying basis. Let’s delve a little deeper into this strategy with some specific examples and practices to follow.
Too Wet to Soil Sample but Ideal to Check for Soil Compaction
By Edwin Ritchey and John Grove
Published on Feb. 21, 2025
We know producers are ready for the soil to dry out so they can start topdressing wheat with their first shot of nitrogen. This also makes us think about soil compaction, which is simply compressing a given volume of soil into a smaller volume. Compaction can occur in different places in the field and can be due to different reasons.
