in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date September 6, 2009 IN-CW090609 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY Cooler than normal temperatures were experienced again during the week as the corn and soybean crops slowly advance toward maturity, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Temperatures across the state ranged from 4° to 10° below normal. Sudden death syndrome (SDS) and white mold have damaged some soybean fields around the state. Harvest of corn silage and seed corn was in full swing. Many farmers took a day off to attend the Farm Progress Show. FIELD CROPS REPORT There were 6.5 days suitable for field work during the week. Corn condition is rated 63 percent good to excellent compared with 57 percent last year at this time. Forty-one percent of the corn is in dent stage compared to 58 percent last year and 77 percent for the 5-year average. Three percent of the corn crop is mature compared to 7 percent last year and 22 percent for the 5-year average. Soybean condition is rated 63 percent good to excellent compared with 46 percent last year at this time. Ninety-five percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared to 96 percent last year and 99 percent for the 5-year average. Six percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 16 percent last year and 23 percent for the 5-year average. The third cutting of alfalfa hay is 83 percent complete compared with 91 percent for both last year and the 5-year average. Tobacco harvest is 25 percent complete compared with 13 percent last year and 25 percent for the 5-year average. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Pasture condition is rated 64 percent good to excellent compared with 28 percent last year at this time. Pastures are exceptionally good for this time of year. Livestock remain in mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn in Dough 89 79 93 97 Corn in Dent 41 23 58 77 Corn Mature 3 NA 7 22 Soybeans Setting Pods 95 88 96 99 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 6 2 16 23 Alfalfa - 3rd Cutting 83 66 91 91 Tobacco Harvested 25 NA 13 25 Crop Condition Table ---------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ---------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 3 8 26 50 13 Soybean 3 9 25 51 12 Pasture 2 8 26 50 14 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table ---------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ---------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 4 2 22 Short 25 15 44 Adequate 67 72 34 Surplus 4 11 0 Subsoil Very Short 4 2 16 Short 22 18 40 Adequate 68 69 43 Surplus 6 11 1 Days Suitable 6.5 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 COOL DAYS, COLD NIGHTS, SLOW CORN, WHAT’S NEXT? - 1 Sep 2009 URL:http://www.kingcorn.org/news/articles.09/Crop Progress-0901.html The good news is that most of Indiana's late-planted corn crop escaped serious heat or drought stress during the critical pollination period and, to date, much of the important grain filling period. The discouraging news is that the unusually cool 2009 growing season continues to put the brakes on the development of the crop. According to the most recent weekly USDA crop progress report, the majority of the state's crop has progressed through the dough stage of development (R4) and is moving toward the dent stage (R5), but now lags nearly 3 weeks behind the 5-year average progress. If the current rate of crop progress continues for the remainder of the season, quite a bit of the state's crop will mature in October rather than September. Recent night-time low temperatures in the low to mid-40's F have certainly increased growers' concerns about the prospects for successfully maturing this crop and whether these unusually cool temperatures will impact grain yield. Unfortunately, the effects of such an unusually cool grain filling period on corn maturity dates and yield in the central Corn Belt are not well known, partly because the historical occurrence of such unusually cool grain filling periods is so infrequent. In an earlier article I referenced the similarity between this season's slow pace of crop development with three earlier years of 1992, 2002, and 2008 (Fig's 1 and 2, which can be viewed at: www.agry .purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.09/CropProgress-0901.html). Though crop progress in those three growing seasons were similarly delayed, the end result for grain yields varied dramatically. In my judgement, the 2009 growing season is more similar to the 1992 and 2008 growing seasons than to the disastrous 2002 growing season. Drought stress accompanied the delayed crop development in 2002 and contributed strongly to the large decrease from trend yield that year. Indiana's corn crop has not experienced such widespread drought stress in 2009. The USDA-NASS certainly believes that yields will be good this year, according to their first yield estimate released 12 Aug that pegs Indiana's 2009 corn crop at 163 bu/ac or 5.6% above trend yield. Nevertheless, the recent weeks of cool weather accentuated with the recent nights of temperatures in the low to mid-40's F have fueled vigorous debates amongst the regulars down at the Chat 'n Chew Cafe about how the crop will respond. Moderate temperatures and adequate kernel set success and kernel weight development. However, it is true that temperatures as low as 50F or lower can be detrimental to the photosynthetic processes. Canadian researchers Ying et al. (2000) documented that photosynthetic rates in corn decreased by 18 to 30% the day following a cold temperature stress of about 40F during grain filling. The more important question is whether multiple days of cold temperature stress during grain filling can cause longer-term reductions in photosynthetic rates that may actually lead to a premature senescence and development of kernel black layer. There is limited research that addresses this question. Observations over the years, though, lead me to believe that there comes a point late in grain fill where extended periods of cool temperatures cause the plant to slowly shut down even though no actual frost injury has occurred. These observations are in agreement with those of Daynard (1972) who suggested that extended periods of cool temperatures, not frost, were a more probably cause of what he characterized as "premature" black layer development. He noted that kernel black formation occurred shortly after cold spells when the average daily MAXIMUM temperatures were 54F or cooler. The good news, to date, is that we have yet to experience such low daily MAXIMUM temperatures. Our own research from 1992 offers us a hint of what to expect on the calendar timing of kernel black layer formation (i.e., physiological maturity) relative to the silking date (Fig. 4, which can be viewed at: www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.09/CropProgress-0901 .html). The data shown in Fig. 4 are from two adapted hybrids grown at two locations (westcentral IN and southwest OH) in 1992 and represent a subset of data collected from 1991 through 1994 in our studies on the effect of delayed planting on thermal requirements of corn (Nielsen et al., 2002). For planting dates where silking occurred towards late July, kernel black layer formation occurred by 21 September. Where silking occurred in early August, kernel black layer occurred by 11 October. Where silking occurred about mid-August, kernel black layer formation occurred by 27 October, but occurred 10 to 14 days AFTER a killing freeze event. All of the earlier silking dates (late July and early August) successfully reached kernel black layer prior to a killing freeze. Given the similarities between 1992 and 2009, I suggest that these data represent something of a crystal ball for us to gaze into for this year's crop. So, what can we say about the fall freeze risk to this year's crop? We know that USDA-NASS estimated that 76% of Indiana's corn crop had silked by 2 Aug. Our previous research suggests that most of that should black layer no later than early October. Another 13% of the crop had silked by 9 Aug and that may black layer by approximately 11 Oct. Much of the remainder of the state's crop (8 to 11%) had silked by 16 Aug or later. That portion of the crop may not mature until late October to early November AND will likely experience a killing fall freeze PRIOR to normal kernel black layer formation. Assuming that the tail end of this year's crop will at least make it to the half-milkline stage of development prior to a killing freeze, the potential yield loss for an individual field due to premature plant death would be no more than 12% (Afuakwa & Crookston, 1984). Afuakwa, J. J. and R. K Crookston. 1984. Using the kernel milk line to visually monitor grain maturity in maize. Crop Sci. 24:687-691. Daynard, T.B. 1972. Relationships among black layer formation, grain moisture percentage, and heat unit accumulation in corn. Agron. J. 64:716-719. Nielsen, R.L. (Bob). 2008. Grain Fill Stages in Corn. Corny News Network, Purdue Univ. [online] http://www.kingcorn.org/news/timeless /GrainFill.html [URL accessed 8/31/09]. Nielsen, R.L. (Bob). 2009. A Tale of Three Cropping Seasons. Corny News Network, Purdue Univ. [online] http://www.kingcorn.org/news/articles .09/CropProgress-0803.html [URL accessed 9/1/09]. Nielsen, R.L. (Bob). 2009. Effects of Stress During Grain Filling in Corn. Corny News Network, Purdue Univ. [online] http://www.kingcorn .org/news/timeless/GrainFill Stress.html [URL accessed 9/1/09]. Nielsen, R.L., P.R. Thomison, G.A. Brown, A.L. Halter, J. Wells, & K.L. Wuethrich. 2002. Delayed Planting Effects on Flowering and Grain Maturation of Dent Corn. Agron. J. 94:549-558. USDA-NASS. 2009. Crop Production. USDA National Ag. Statistics Service. [online] http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/CropProd //2000s/2009/CropProd-08-12-2009.pdf [URL accessed 9/1/09]. USDA-NASS. 2009. Crop Progress. USDA National Ag. Statistics Service. [online] http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do? documentID=1048 [URL accessed 8/31/09]. Ying, J., E.A. Lee, and M. Tollenaar. 2000. Response of maize leaf photosynthesis to low temperature during the grain-filling period. Field Crops Research 68:87-96. Written by R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Agronomy Dept., Purdue Univ. West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054 Email address: rnielsen at purdue.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 September 6, 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 80 42 61 -9 0.02 1 Francesville 78 41 61 -7 0.01 1 Valparaiso_AP_I 80 43 63 -6 0.12 1 Wanatah 79 39 59 -9 0.02 1 67 Winamac 79 45 62 -6 0.00 0 North Central(2) Plymouth 79 43 61 -8 0.00 0 South_Bend 78 43 62 -6 0.00 0 Young_America 79 44 62 -7 0.00 0 Northeast (3) Fort_Wayne 80 45 63 -7 0.00 0 Kendallville 79 48 64 -4 0.00 0 West Central(4) Greencastle 79 45 62 -10 0.00 0 Perrysville 82 44 63 -7 0.00 0 67 Spencer_Ag 81 48 64 -6 0.14 1 Terre_Haute_AFB 81 46 65 -6 0.00 0 W_Lafayette_6NW 81 43 62 -7 0.00 0 73 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 81 51 66 -5 0.00 0 Greenfield 80 48 64 -7 0.00 0 Indianapolis_AP 82 52 68 -4 0.01 1 Indianapolis_SE 80 49 64 -7 0.00 0 Tipton_Ag 81 44 62 -6 0.00 0 75 East Central(6) Farmland 82 41 63 -6 0.00 0 70 New_Castle 79 45 62 -7 0.00 0 Southwest (7) Evansville 84 51 69 -4 2.19 2 Freelandville 81 52 67 -5 0.29 2 Shoals_8S 82 45 64 -8 0.17 1 Stendal 83 50 68 -5 0.99 1 Vincennes_5NE 83 49 67 -5 0.77 1 76 South Central(8) Leavenworth 82 51 66 -5 0.45 2 Oolitic 83 48 66 -5 0.03 1 70 Tell_City 86 53 68 -5 1.50 2 Southeast (9) Brookville 81 48 65 -5 0.00 0 Greensburg 81 48 66 -5 0.00 0 Seymour 82 48 65 -6 0.00 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday, September 6, 2009 ------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2009 thru Station | September 6, 2009 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) Chalmers_5W 19.68 -0.14 63 2267 -403 Francesville 21.25 +1.42 58 2221 -241 Valparaiso_AP_I 17.31 -3.38 60 2335 -105 Wanatah 20.65 +0.54 64 2111 -224 Winamac 17.65 -2.18 66 2299 -163 North Central(2) Plymouth 19.89 -0.12 77 2210 -373 South_Bend 23.51 +4.13 59 2326 -102 Young_America 18.95 -0.07 47 2324 -210 Northeast (3) Fort_Wayne 20.23 +2.40 59 2436 -101 Kendallville 18.09 -0.32 68 2478 +93 West Central(4) Greencastle 29.70 +7.40 66 2282 -570 Perrysville 29.56 +8.37 62 2585 -74 Spencer_Ag 30.46 +7.67 66 2552 -137 Terre_Haute_AFB 22.59 +1.53 55 2804 -31 W_Lafayette_6NW 24.59 +4.83 61 2454 -68 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 27.07 +7.17 61 2784 -29 Greenfield 30.94 +9.08 64 2484 -214 Indianapolis_AP 30.26 +10.36 60 2878 +65 Indianapolis_SE 33.01 +12.53 64 2485 -315 Tipton_Ag 25.14 +5.07 65 2339 -111 East Central(6) Farmland 16.94 -2.53 59 2386 -7 New_Castle 22.61 +1.59 62 2280 -171 Southwest (7) Evansville 25.79 +5.78 61 3275 +15 Freelandville 29.64 +8.79 61 2858 -70 Shoals_8S 29.79 +7.14 57 2596 -240 Stendal 31.40 +8.91 57 3200 +124 Vincennes_5NE 28.96 +8.11 63 2976 +48 South Central(8) Leavenworth 29.36 +6.18 81 2864 +43 Oolitic 26.76 +4.92 69 2630 -83 Tell_City 25.97 +2.97 56 3085 -47 Southeast (9) Brookville 23.98 +2.77 61 2685 +108 Greensburg 30.80 +9.47 66 2807 +177 Seymour 27.85 +6.99 56 2596 -114 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.