Louisiana Crops Newsletter, February, 2020
By Dan Fromme
LSU AgCenter corn specialist
Corn growth and development respond to temperature, not day length. This means the calendar date is not as important as soil and air temperature when considering when to plant corn. Good germination and emergence are expected when the soil temperature at a 2-inch depth is 55 degrees Fahrenheit by 9 a.m. for three consecutive days. This normally occurs in late February and March in Louisiana. In most years, the optimal planting window for the southern half of Louisiana ranges from Feb. 25 to March 23, and for the northern half of Louisiana, the optimal planting window ranges from March 24 to April 22.