mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 7, 2010 Week Ending Date September 5, 2010 Issue MI-CW3610 Agricultural Summary Wet and Cooler Weather Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 5, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 1.73 inches to 3.26 inches in the Upper Peninsula and 0.49 inches to 2.29 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 0 to 2 degrees below normal in the Upper Peninsula, and 1 degree above normal to 1 degree below normal in the Lower Peninsula. Rain finally graced much of the state last week, and was a welcome relief; however, some crops were too mature to benefit from the rains. There were some reports of wind damage due to some strong thunderstorms, but no reported crop damage. Harvesting continued, and wheat ground was being prepared along with equipment for the fall harvest. "The recent rain came a little late for doing much to kick up the corn yield, but it may help a few of the bean plants fill out more and develop bigger pods to aid both yield and grain quality," stated one reporter in the south central Lower Peninsula. Field Crops Report Field Crops Cooler temperatures and rain, along with some high winds, brought relief to field crops in the mid to later part of the week. Several reporters indicated two inches of rain as most of the state benefited from a healthy rainfall. While mild erosion was reported, there was no damage to crops. Rain actually did more to soften the soil for harvest and wheat drilling. Sugarbeets sprung back to life while it continued to mature. Harvest continued in a very limited amount as it was still too warm to store excess beets. The precipitation will help harvest go more smoothly. Most of the corn will not benefit as much from the rain due to crop maturity. Some high moisture corn was harvested as the crop continued to dry down nicely. Silage harvest made great progress at the beginning of the week, but some fields originally intended for silage may be taken for grain now. Soybeans were advancing and drying down well as they benefited from the rainfall more than other field crops. The moisture will potentially help fill existing pods. Dry beans were turning quickly and continued to be harvested. Some fall weed control was completed as farmers prepared for fall grain harvest. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Growing degree days continued to be about two weeks ahead of normal across the state. Dry conditions have begun to affect apple fruit size in the southeast. Early varieties of apples, which include Gala, Honeycrisp, and McIntosh, continued to be harvested across the state. Apples continued to color well in the southeast. The hot dry conditions have caused apples to mature quickly. Black rot symptoms have been seen in many apple blocks in the southeast. Late season peaches continued to be harvested across the state. Peach harvest has ended in the west central. Harvest of European plums continued in the southwest and Grand Rapids areas. Harvest has ended in the southeast. Strawberry growth continued to be affected by limited rainfall and potato leafhoppers. Leaf drop continued on cherry trees from leaf spot disease. Pear harvest continued across the state; it ended in the southeast except for winter pears. Late variety blueberries continued to be harvested across the state. Harvest of grapes has begun. Harvest of fall raspberries continued. Vegetables Last week's rain should aid in corn tip fill issues. Crops harvested included: pumpkins, gourds, hard squash, carrots, onions, winter squash, cabbage, yellow squash, celery, zucchini for fresh and processing, cucumbers for pickles, sweet corn, potatoes, snap beans, peppers, watermelon, tomatoes for fresh and processing, eggplant, radishes, leeks, and lettuce. Gummy leaf stem blight may be a problem this year in summer vine crops and can affect fruit in storage. Powdery mildew was widespread but downy mildew on cucumbers was confirmed in 25 counties. Fall vine crops were harvested under sporadic pressure from Phytophthora disease. Pepper pickers, in the Macomb region, were carefully harvesting and keeping an eye out for fruit infested with corn borer. Tomato harvest continued but bacterial spot and speck and foliar blight pressure continued and may be attributed to heat stress in Macomb County. Insect activity included: striped cucumber beetles, European corn borer, and corn earnworm. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/05/10 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 21 27 49 3 Subsoil : 21 33 45 1 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/05/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 9 27 48 15 Corn : 3 7 19 45 26 Dry beans : 6 12 29 36 17 Pasture : 3 11 37 34 15 Soybeans : 2 6 24 45 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/05/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, second cutting : 96 93 89 98 All hay, third cutting : 60 57 52 66 All hay, fourth cutting : 17 11 9 10 Apples, harvested : 21 14 10 6 Corn, dough : 97 94 74 89 Corn, dent : 85 74 20 59 Corn, mature : 37 16 0 11 Corn, harvested : 1 0 0 0 Corn silage, harvested : 57 31 2 22 Dry beans, turning leaves : 93 64 41 73 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 75 32 16 39 Dry beans, harvested : 24 2 0 7 Peaches, harvested : 89 88 64 70 Potatoes, harvested : 16 9 25 24 Soybeans, turning leaves : 51 21 5 31 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 15 2 0 6 Sugarbeets, harvested : 7 3 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Contact Information U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Field Office P.O. Box 26248 Lansing, MI 48909-6248 517-324-5300; or 800-453-7501 Fax 517-324-5299 email: nass-mi@nass.usda.gov Web Page: http:/www.nass.usda.gov/mi Weather Information Table Michigan Weather Summary for Week Ending 09/05/10 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2010 :2009 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 79 37 2,063 1,540 1.71 1.72 4.14 20.22 Marquette : 80 40 2,005 1,423 1.27 1.33 3.90 19.98 Stephenson : 84 35 2,326 1,761 2.04 2.08 2.63 19.95 Western UP : 84 33 -2 2,061 1,492 1,721 1.73 1.75 4.18 20.02 17.08 3.58 : Cornell : 88 44 2,220 1,616 1.58 1.58 1.67 18.00 Sault St Marie : 83 46 2,095 1,439 2.88 3.05 5.43 15.96 Eastern UP : 88 39 0 2,031 1,425 1,515 3.26 3.38 5.11 19.76 16.00 3.55 : Beulah : 88 49 2,451 1,812 1.57 1.70 2.66 16.92 Lake City : 88 44 2,300 1,734 2.03 2.10 3.18 21.60 Old Mission : 88 49 2,354 1,708 1.18 1.34 3.78 17.11 Pellston : 88 43 2,218 1,618 1.96 2.11 4.74 18.72 Northwest : 88 43 0 2,288 1,671 1,946 1.38 1.50 3.07 16.78 15.05 3.66 : Alpena : 90 43 2,273 1,730 0.31 0.37 1.79 17.45 Houghton Lake : 87 46 2,421 1,758 1.02 1.22 2.35 17.24 Rogers City : 91 45 2,150 1,697 0.55 0.67 3.27 21.14 Northeast : 91 43 0 2,311 1,718 1,885 0.71 0.83 2.53 19.16 15.11 3.47 : Fremont : 87 42 2,603 1,972 2.39 2.44 3.76 13.73 Hart : 85 41 2,509 1,862 1.86 1.91 4.61 18.55 Muskegon : 89 54 2,857 2,139 3.95 3.96 5.50 18.73 West Central : 89 41 1 2,606 1,959 2,120 2.29 2.38 4.36 17.03 15.44 3.19 : Alma : 92 43 2,678 2,034 1.63 1.64 3.44 21.04 Big Rapids : 92 41 2,507 1,873 1.42 1.48 3.97 19.80 Central : 92 41 0 2,586 1,947 2,190 1.25 1.33 3.28 17.59 16.35 3.09 : Bad Axe : 93 51 2,557 1,898 1.43 1.58 1.69 18.89 Pigeon : 92 51 2,507 1,866 0.73 0.75 1.06 14.65 Saginaw : 92 44 2,807 2,086 0.75 0.77 2.97 15.54 Standish : 92 46 2,462 1,856 1.08 1.12 2.98 21.11 East Central : 93 44 1 2,546 1,924 2,189 1.10 1.14 2.19 17.33 14.56 2.70 : Fennville : 90 54 2,677 2,060 0.55 0.55 1.61 24.53 Grand Rapids : 91 46 2,942 2,289 0.58 0.62 1.89 22.64 Holland : 93 49 2,916 2,383 1.07 1.07 2.78 30.88 South Bend, IN : 91 47 2,982 2,424 0.98 1.01 1.53 20.98 Watervliet : 90 47 2,839 2,229 0.95 1.02 1.95 20.20 Southwest : 93 42 0 2,825 2,245 2,379 0.92 0.97 2.03 22.04 16.71 3.26 : Belding : 89 39 2,603 1,994 0.81 0.82 2.13 17.47 Coldwater : 90 45 2,847 2,300 1.19 1.19 1.61 17.99 Lansing : 91 45 2,858 2,168 1.15 1.15 1.52 15.09 South Central : 92 39 -1 2,733 2,134 2,342 1.13 1.13 1.94 19.24 16.72 2.79 : Detroit : 92 47 3,061 2,458 0.16 0.16 0.71 19.35 Flint : 93 46 2,826 2,117 1.15 1.16 1.28 14.60 Romeo : 91 44 2,708 2,125 0.20 0.20 0.63 13.63 Tipton : 91 42 2,766 2,179 0.73 0.73 1.67 21.96 Toledo, OH : 92 44 3,042 2,469 0.38 0.38 2.54 21.51 Southeast : 93 40 0 2,816 2,270 2,338 0.49 0.49 1.24 18.78 16.03 2.43 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Meteorologist, Department of Geography, and Crop Advisory Team ALERTS. 2/ Growing degree days (GDD) is the sum of daily mean temperatures minus 50 per day, 86 maximum and 50 minimum. The GDD is accumulative from April 1.