in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 24, 2009 IN-CW052609 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY Farmers made excellent progress planting corn and soybeans, taking advantage of the favorable weather conditions, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Planting of corn is running about 15 days later than last year and 19 days behind the average pace while planting of soybeans is about 6 days later than last year and 16 days behind the 5-year average. Many producers were using rotary hoes to break up the crusted topsoil in previously planted corn and soybean fields. The first cutting of hay began during the week. Tobacco was being set in southern counties. FIELD CROPS REPORT There were 4.9 days suitable for field work during the week. Fifty-five percent of the intended corn acreage has been planted compared with 76 percent last year and 89 percent for the 5-year average. By area, 71 percent has been planted in the north, 48 percent in the central region, and 36 percent in the south. Twenty-one percent of the corn crop has emerged compared with 51 percent last year and 72 percent for the 5-year average. Twenty-five percent of the intended soybean acreage has been planted compared with 36 percent last year and 64 percent for the 5-year average. Four percent of the soybean acreage has emerged compared with 9 percent last year and 36 percent for the 5-year average. Seventy-three percent of the winter wheat is headed compared with 57 percent last year and 75 percent for the 5-year average. Winter wheat condition is rated 77 percent good to excellent compared with 73 percent last year at this time. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Pasture condition is rated 77 percent good to excellent. Livestock are reported to be in mostly good condition. Muddy conditions in feedlots and pastures have finally started to subside. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Planted 55 24 76 89 Corn Emerged 21 8 51 72 Soybeans Planted 25 6 36 64 Soybeans Emerged 4 NA 9 36 Winter Wheat Headed 73 39 57 75 Crop Condition Table ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ----------------------------------------------------------- Percent Pasture 1 3 19 52 25 Winter Wheat 1 3 19 57 20 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table ---------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ---------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 0 0 0 Short 2 0 1 Adequate 66 27 58 Surplus 32 73 41 Subsoil Very Short 0 0 0 Short 1 1 1 Adequate 68 43 60 Surplus 31 56 39 Days Suitable 4.9 1.7 3.0 Contact Information --Greg Preston, Director --Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Agricultural Comments And News WET WEATHER, SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT NITROGEN LOSS? The wet weather continues and many may be concerned about the risk of nitrogen loss. Some areas of the state have seen sizable rainfall amounts that can increase the risk of leaching or denitrification, but the question is should you be concerned about nitrogen loss? At this point in the season, we would not be overly concerned if you applied anhydrous ammonia as your nitrogen source. As mentioned in a previous CORN article (at http://corn.osu.edu/story.php?setissueID =33&storyID=120), anhydrous ammonia is efficient because it is fairly resistant to microbial oxidation due to its fumigant properties; it eliminates the bacteria responsible for nitrification, which is the conversion of ammonium to nitrate, near the band of application. Thus, that material can be in the field for a week or two prior to conversion to nitrate. Additionally, the speed of microbial oxidation is a function of soil temperature. At this point in the growing season, soil temperatures are relatively cool, especially this year. We have computed the growing degree days for soil temperatures between April 1 and May 17 for the last 27 years, and we found that currently we quite a bit behind compared to the long-term average. This is especially true for western and northeastern Ohio. For fields that may have received dry urea fertilizer, we would be a little more concerned, but only if the field was waterlogged for at least a day. Those few fields that may have received a sizable amount of urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN - liquid 28) would be at a little more risk of loss due to the application of nitrate especially if waterlogged for a day or more. Fortunately, soil temperatures are in our favor as the rainy days were associated with cold fronts. This should minimize the risk of denitrification which is our greatest risk of nitrogen loss early in the season (except on very coarse textured or sandy soils that leach nitrate easily). Our recommendation is evaluate your crops over the next couple of weeks as soil and air temperatures increase and look for any visual symptoms of nitrogen deficiency (general chlorosis or yellowing). If you are still concerned, you can use the tool we developed a few years ago for evaluating the risk of nitrogen loss (at http://corn.osu.edu/story.php? setissueID=239&storyID=1493). Dr. Robert Mullen, Extension Specialist, and Keith Diedrick, Ohio State University, Dept. of Natural Resources, 1680 Madison Ave, Wooster, OH 44691. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOULD SEEDING RATES BE CHANGED FOR LATE CORN PLANTINGS? Past university research indicates that optimal plant populations for early (mid to late April) and late planted (late May to early June) corn are similar. Based on results of these studies, most extension agronomists recommend that final plant populations should not be changed as planting date is delayed. One of the questions I’ve been asked recently is whether seeding rates should be increased for late planted corn. I’m not aware of studies in the Corn Belt that show consistent yield benefits from increasing plant population in late plantings. If planting is delayed until early June, some Ohio data suggests that certain hybrids are more susceptible to stalk lodging at high populations. In a recent OSU study, effects of early (late April) and late (early to mid June planting dates) plantings on corn response to population (24, 30, 36, and 42000 plants/A) were investigated at three locations. Results suggested that final stands of 30,000 to 36,000/A were required for optimal yield for the late April plantings. However, for the early to mid June planting dates, the results indicated little benefit from increasing seeding rate and a significant yield loss at plant populations above 30,000 plants/A. For corn planted late, grain yields, averaged across the three locations, were 159, 161, 133, and 138 bu/A at 24, 30, 36, and 42,000 plants/A, respectively. The lack of response to plant population was related to stalk lodging which ranged from 59% at 24,000 plants/A to 97% at 42,000 plants/A. In delayed planting situations, use the optimal seeding rates for the yield potential of each field. Recommended seeding rates for early planting dates are often 10% higher than the desired harvest population. However, soil temperatures are usually warmer in late planted fields, and as a result germination and emergence should be more rapid and uniform. So, as planting is delayed, seeding rates may be lowered (decreased to 3 to 5% higher than the desired harvest population) in anticipation of a higher percentage of seed emerging. REFERENCES Nafziger, E.D. 1994. Corn planting date and plant population. J. Prod. Agric. 7:59-62. Nielsen, R.L. and P.R. Thomison. 2002 .Late Planted Corn & Seeding Rates. OSU Crop Observation and Reporting Network Newsletter. May 13 - 20, 2002 C.O.R.N. 2002-13 http://corn.osu.edu/archive/2002/may/ 02-13.html [URL verified 5/15/08]. Dr. Peter Thomison, Extension Specialist, Ohio State University, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, 202 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The INDIANA CROP & WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite 110, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. For information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER: Send address change to the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite 110, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday May 24, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|------------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN| Total|Days |Temp ----------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) Chalmers_5W 86 38 63 -2 0.16 1 Francesville 84 36 63 +1 0.00 0 Valparaiso_AP_I 84 37 63 +3 0.00 0 Wanatah 86 34 63 +3 0.00 0 67 Winamac 84 36 63 +1 0.06 1 North Central(2) Plymouth 86 36 63 -1 0.05 1 South_Bend 83 34 64 +4 0.01 1 Young_America 85 37 66 +4 0.00 0 Northeast (3) Fort_Wayne 85 35 63 +2 0.00 0 Kendallville 85 37 64 +4 0.00 0 West Central(4) Greencastle 84 33 60 -5 0.03 1 Perrysville 87 38 65 +2 0.00 0 66 Spencer_Ag 86 36 62 -2 0.00 0 Terre_Haute_AFB 87 37 64 +0 0.00 0 W_Lafayette_6NW 87 36 65 +4 0.00 0 70 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 85 40 65 +1 0.00 0 Greenfield 86 37 63 -2 0.00 0 Indianapolis_AP 86 42 66 +3 0.00 0 Indianapolis_SE 84 34 64 -1 0.00 0 Tipton_Ag 86 35 62 +1 0.00 0 71 East Central(6) Farmland 86 33 62 +2 0.00 0 66 New_Castle 85 36 62 +0 0.00 0 Southwest (7) Evansville 88 42 67 +0 0.00 0 Freelandville 86 42 65 -1 0.00 0 Shoals_8S 86 34 62 -3 0.00 0 Stendal 87 41 67 +2 0.00 0 Vincennes_5NE 89 39 66 +2 0.00 0 68 South Central(8) Leavenworth 84 40 64 -1 0.26 2 Oolitic 86 36 62 -2 0.00 0 66 Tell_City 86 45 66 -1 0.00 0 Southeast (9) Brookville 89 37 64 +2 0.00 0 Greensburg 87 38 66 +3 0.00 0 Seymour 85 39 63 -2 0.00 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday May 24, 2009 ------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2009 thru Station | May 24, 2009 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 9.60 +2.92 23 324 -64 Francesville | 7.76 +1.40 21 301 -34 Valparaiso_AP_I | 7.78 +0.87 21 329 +15 Wanatah | 8.53 +1.92 22 267 -4 Winamac | 7.81 +1.45 25 325 -10 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 7.56 +0.78 28 293 -60 South_Bend | 6.55 +0.29 22 347 +52 Young_America | 9.48 +3.13 20 362 +32 Northeast (3) | Fort_Wayne | 7.62 +1.60 23 366 +55 Kendallville | 6.01 -0.13 24 349 +52 West Central(4) | Greencastle |14.27 +6.87 25 368 -60 Perrysville |12.10 +5.11 22 422 +49 Spencer_Ag |12.69 +4.91 26 399 +21 Terre_Haute_AFB |10.60 +3.18 22 511 +86 W_Lafayette_6NW |10.96 +4.20 24 384 +48 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |11.00 +4.18 25 466 +52 Greenfield |13.15 +5.73 25 373 +1 Indianapolis_AP |11.92 +5.10 21 503 +89 Indianapolis_SE |11.95 +4.70 24 390 -5 Tipton_Ag |11.83 +4.95 26 335 +34 East Central(6) | Farmland | 9.77 +3.31 24 352 +61 New_Castle |10.23 +2.72 22 335 +36 Southwest (7) | Evansville |10.24 +2.48 25 625 +67 Freelandville |13.01 +5.18 25 486 +35 Shoals_8S |12.51 +4.28 23 428 -9 Stendal |12.68 +4.19 24 624 +125 Vincennes_5NE |12.36 +4.53 25 511 +60 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |10.16 +1.80 30 517 +74 Oolitic |11.85 +4.08 26 435 +40 Tell_City |10.88 +2.30 23 569 +54 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 8.44 +0.94 24 458 +116 Greensburg | 9.80 +1.96 23 489 +105 Seymour |11.28 +3.82 24 427 +18 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2009: Agricultural Weather Information Service, Inc. All rights reserved. DFN = Departure From Normal GDD = Growing Degree Days. Precipitation (Rainfall or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precip of .01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. For more weather inrformation, visit www.awis.com or call 1-888-798-9955.