This corn plant at the V4 to V5 stage has no nodal roots due to
low ground moisture, but it developed seminal roots farther
down. Proper planter calibration can minimize problems Each
spring at planting time, farmers find themselves faced with a
type of Goldilocks syndrome: soil conditions that are too cold,
too wet and hardly ever "just right." This year, conditions
might be too dry, which can contribute to rootless corn
syndrome, or floppy corn. Bob Nielsen, Extension corn specialist
at Purdue University, saw the rootless corn phenomenon in fields
across much of drought-hit Indiana in 2012. Iowa, Illinois and
Nebraska farmers also saw the problem. The syndrome typically
occurs in young corn plants as a result of limited to no nodal
root development, he says. "The nodal roots may have stopped
developing because the upper soil conditions were too dry,"
Neilson says. "Young roots that emerge from the crown area of
the plant will die if their root tips dry out prior to
successful root establishment in moist soi