Making Decisions With Hail-Damaged Row Crops

By Sara Bauder

A recent hail event that swept across the eastern part of South Dakota left a severe hail path length of about 225 miles stretching from Lake Oahe to west-central Minnesota (weather.gov). Late-season hail damage leaves growers wondering what to do next.

• Allow seven to 10 days for plants recover to assess injury as long as some pods or ears are still in-tact.
• Check with your crop insurance agent before making any decisions regarding hail-damaged fields.
• Think twice before applying any fungicides to protect hail-damaged crops. Fungicides are designed to protect against fungal plant diseases. Wounds in growing plants are prone to bacterial infection, which fungicides do not protect against.
• Check your previously used pesticide labels. Before determining alternative uses for hail-damaged fields, harvest and forage utilization intervals must be checked on all applied pesticides. In addition, check rotation intervals before planting another crop; for a quick look-up on herbicide rotation restrictions, view our publication, Herbicide Rotation Restrictions.