in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date July 26, 2009 IN-CW072709 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY Many areas of the state received some needed rain showers during the week which helped to keep crops in mostly good condition, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. However, cooler than normal temperatures has slowed growth and development of the major field crops. Other activities included: scouting fields, baling hay, spraying herbicides, mowing roadsides, attending county fairs, and taking care of livestock. FIELD CROPS REPORT There were 4.7 days suitable for field work during the week. Fifty-three percent of the corn crop has silked compared with 64 percent last year and 84 percent for the 5-year average. Two percent of the corn is in dough compared to 1 percent last year and 16 percent for the 5-year average. Corn condition is rated 63 percent good to excellent compared with 71 percent last year at this time. Fifty-one percent of the soybean acreage is blooming compared with 50 percent last year and 71 percent for the 5-year average. Seven percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared to 7 percent last year and 27 percent for the 5-year average. Soybean condition is rated 64 percent good to excellent compared with 65 percent last year at this time. Ninety-nine percent of the wheat acreage has been harvested compared with 97 percent last year and 99 percent for the 5-year average. In general, the only wheat left to harvest is in the northern most counties. The second cutting of Alfalfa hay is 83 percent complete compared with 78 percent last year and 87 percent for the 5-year average. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Pasture condition is unchanged from last week with a rating of 70 percent good to excellent compared with 66 percent last year at this time. Livestock benefitted from the cool temperatures and favorable pasture conditions. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Silked 53 28 64 84 Corn in Dough 2 NA 1 16 Soybeans Blooming 51 33 50 71 Soybeans Setting Pods 7 NA 7 27 Winter Wheat Harvested 99 96 97 99 Alfalfa - 2nd Cutting 83 69 78 87 Crop Condition Table ---------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ---------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 1 8 28 52 11 Soybean 2 8 26 54 10 Pasture 1 5 24 48 22 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table ---------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ---------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 2 2 2 Short 18 22 23 Adequate 62 62 72 Surplus 18 14 3 Subsoil Very Short 2 2 2 Short 21 17 16 Adequate 63 69 74 Surplus 14 12 8 Days Suitable 4.7 5.3 6.0 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 WESTERN BEAN CUTWORM CREATING MANY QUESTIONS * Indiana's moth captures continue. * Egg mass scouting has proved frustrating for some. * Pre-tassel corn is the preferred corn growth state for egg-laying. * Hatched larvae can be found in many areas on the plant. Moth captures of western bean cutworm in pheromone traps continue to accumulate in many northwestern and north central counties. However, field visits by pest managers in these heavy moth flight areas are not yielding the egg mass counts expected, some finding very few. Because egg mass scouting is necessary for this pest to evaluate fields for treatments, many questions are being asked. Admittedly our experience with this pest is limited, so we have been asking many questions of colleagues in the Western Corn Belt. First, let us make you aware of an excellent western bean cutworm primer from a short course that was conducted on February 28, 2007, supported by the North Central IPM Center. Four comprehensive slide shows with audio from entomology specialists throughout the Midwest are available for viewing at . All of the presentations will take over two hours to view, but to do so will answer many of your questions and make you the expert in your area! Answering, in detail, the many insightful questions from folks scouting fields would take more room than this newsletter allows. Certainly the most asked question of the moment is why egg masses are not being found even though moths captures in the vicinity are over 200-300. The simple answer is that female moths are very finicky where they lay their eggs, remember it is male moths that are being drawn and captured in pheromone traps. Though moths will lay their eggs on most stages of corn, their preference is for pre-tassel (VT) corn. This assures that pollen will be available as a food source for the hatching larvae in about a week. For unknown reasons, female moths can have a strong affinity to certain hybrids (e.g., color, architecture, etc) over others, even within the same field. Too, our moth numbers, though the most ever in Indiana, still pales in comparison to typical captures for high-risk areas in Nebraska and Iowa (although presently their numbers are lower this year). Finding larvae after they hatch and disperse from their egg cluster is time consuming. In whorl stage corn, which isn’t a favorite egg-laying site, larvae can be found inside the whorl attempting to feed on leaf tissue. In this scenario, larvae are vulnerable to heavy rains and predators. In pre-tasseling/tasseling corn, larvae can be found in leaf axils, corn silks, or even the tassel itself. Larvae better survive on a mixed diet of pollen, anthers, and corn leaves. Unlike corn earworm, western bean cutworm will generally feed on these other plant materials before entering into the ear via the silk channel. Larval damage to the ear is difficult to assess. For each larva/ear, there is an estimated 4 bushel per acre loss. This equates to 5% egg masses being found while scouting fields, which is the treatment threshold we are recommending. Often molds, within the ear, accompany the kernel damage done by this pest. For high value corn crops, where grain quality is carefully scrutinized, damage above and beyond the actual kernel loss should be considered in treatment decisions. We still advocate scouting for this pest’s egg masses, as explained above, many corn varieties will be avoided for egg laying. We appreciate your calls and sharing your field observations (765-494-8761) as we deal with this relatively new pest. Still it looks as though Indiana is the hot-spot in the Midwest for this ear feeder in 2009 - aren’t we lucky! Happy scouting! John Obermeyer and Christian Krupke, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COOL TEMPERATURES: GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS FOR CORN -Published 21 July 2009 URL: http://www.kingcorn.org/news/articles.09/Good NewsBad News-0721.html The recent spate of unusually cool temperatures has been welcomed by county fairgoers, but some of the guys sitting around the back table at the Chat 'n Chew Cafe are wondering whether it is good news or bad news for a corn crop that has already experienced its fair share of stress this year. In all honesty, we can only speculate on the answer because it is so unusual for such temperatures to occur in mid-July that there is very little precedence to go by. Potentially Good News * Considering that the much of state's late-planted corn crop is just now moving into the critical pollination stage, cooler temperatures are preferable to stressfully hot temperatures. * Ditto for earlier-planted corn that is now in the early stages of grain fill. * The rate of development of certain leaf diseases, like gray leaf spot, may slow down. Potentially Bad News * Cool temperatures equal fewer heat units (GDD) per day. That translates into slower corn development and will further delay the progress of much of the state's crop that was planted weeks later than normal to begin with and whose silking progress statewide was already 2 weeks behind the 5-year average. * Unusually cool temperatures prior to silk emergence may result in the occurrence of the "silk balling" phenomenon, whereby silk elongation is interrupted or altered, resulting in a mass of scrambled silks near the tip of the cob that never fully emerge from the husk. The consequence of such scrambled silks is poor kernel set. Related References Nielsen, RL (Bob). 2000. Scrambled Silks, Anyone? Corny News Network, Purdue Univ. Online at http://www.kingcorn.org/news/articles.00/ SilkBalling-0718.html [URL accessed 7/21/09]. R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Agronomy Dept., Purdue Univ. West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 July 26, 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 83 51 66 -9 0.40 3 Francesville 81 50 66 -8 0.86 5 Valparaiso_AP_I 84 50 69 -5 0.51 2 Wanatah 84 46 67 -6 0.70 2 74 Winamac 83 51 67 -6 0.55 4 72 North Central (2) Plymouth 83 52 68 -7 1.14 5 South_Bend 83 51 69 -5 0.61 3 Young_America 81 53 68 -6 0.53 4 Northeast (3) Fort_Wayne 81 54 69 -6 0.45 4 Kendallville 82 55 70 -4 0.39 5 West Central (4) Greencastle 81 50 65 -11 0.67 5 Perrysville 85 51 68 -7 0.74 2 70 Spencer_Ag 82 53 67 -8 1.54 4 Terre_Haute_AFB 83 52 68 -8 0.84 4 W_Lafayette_6NW 84 50 67 -7 0.45 3 76 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 83 56 69 -7 1.00 6 Greenfield 82 55 68 -8 1.51 4 Indianapolis_AP 82 57 70 -7 1.40 6 Indianapolis_SE 82 53 67 -9 1.20 6 Tipton_Ag 82 50 66 -7 0.58 6 77 East Central (6) Farmland 83 52 67 -6 1.19 7 71 New_Castle 79 52 65 -9 1.83 5 Southwest (7) Evansville 86 56 72 -8 1.13 3 Freelandville 83 56 69 -8 1.96 4 Shoals_8S 84 52 68 -9 2.70 4 Stendal 86 57 72 -6 3.13 4 Vincennes_5NE 87 56 70 -7 2.86 5 South Central (8) Leavenworth 82 54 69 -7 3.55 7 Oolitic 82 54 68 -8 3.87 5 69 Tell_City 84 59 71 -7 3.42 4 Southeast (9) Brookville 84 55 69 -7 2.84 5 Greensburg 82 55 69 -5 1.79 4 Seymour 82 52 67 -8 2.90 4 ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday July 26, 2009 ------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2009 thru Station | July 26, 2009 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 15.95 +1.40 49 1510 -251 Francesville | 17.16 +2.51 46 1463 -151 Valparaiso_AP_I | 13.40 -2.04 45 1522 -56 Wanatah | 15.47 +0.51 48 1377 -130 Winamac | 12.35 -2.30 45 1498 -116 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 14.75 -0.61 57 1411 -272 South_Bend | 15.43 +1.06 45 1519 -42 Young_America | 16.53 +2.43 40 1561 -88 Northeast (3) | Fort_Wayne | 14.57 +1.26 48 1616 -23 Kendallville | 15.15 +1.08 54 1618 +77 West Central(4) | Greencastle | 26.33 +9.75 52 1521 -349 Perrysville | 22.41 +6.52 51 1748 -2 Spencer_Ag | 26.78 +9.79 55 1690 -62 Terre_Haute_AFB | 19.77 +3.67 48 1905 +37 W_Lafayette_6NW | 19.03 +4.42 51 1656 +6 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 21.42 +6.46 50 1854 +5 Greenfield | 24.32 +7.97 52 1649 -113 Indianapolis_AP | 25.20 +10.24 51 1910 +61 Indianapolis_SE | 26.38 +10.86 54 1640 -188 Tipton_Ag | 21.14 +6.40 54 1552 -44 East Central(6) | Farmland | 15.57 +0.91 49 1568 +16 New_Castle | 18.02 +1.95 48 1512 -74 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 20.27 +4.59 48 2232 +56 Freelandville | 25.94 +9.73 48 1920 -13 Shoals_8S | 25.69 +8.17 48 1748 -110 Stendal | 27.06 +9.68 47 2190 +157 Vincennes_5NE | 26.51 +10.30 52 2011 +78 South Central(8)| Leavenworth | 22.81 +5.12 65 1924 +71 Oolitic | 24.43 +7.84 57 1750 -18 Tell_City | 21.75 +4.15 47 2083 +23 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 17.39 +1.45 48 1811 +148 Greensburg | 22.03 +5.96 54 1888 +159 Seymour | 20.61 +4.60 48 1725 -58 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.