What are the effects of deer browsing on yields of corn and soybeans?
Damage by deer to agricultural crops such as corn and soybeans can be a problem in certain regions of Missouri. The level of damage depends on many of the factors mentioned above. For instance, whether browsing occurs only on a few plants in small portions of a field or on large numbers of plants across a field often depends on field size, the site characteristics of the area around the field, the availability of other preferred foods in the area and the characteristics of the local deer population. Research has been conducted in the Midwest on the effects of deer damage on corn yields. Studies have simulated damage during five stages of corn growth: sixth leaf, twelfth leaf, silking-tasseling, blister-milk and mature. Results indicate that deer damage to corn plants peaks during the silking-tasseling stage of growth. Cornfields are more susceptible to deer damage during this growth stage because deer-use is potentially high and the plants are physiologically more susceptible to physic
