in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date July 21, 2002 Issue IN-CW2902 Agricultural Summary Hot, humid weather returned during the week placing stress on corn and soybean crops in most areas of the state, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Some areas received rain, but it was very spotty and scattered. Farmers are concerned about their crops from the recent heat and lack of precipitation. Rain is needed in most areas of the state as corn enters the critical stage of pollination and soybeans reach the podding stage. The most critical areas for soil moisture deficiency is reported in the north central, northeast and east central regions of the state. Field Crops Report There were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition declined and is rated 36 percent good to excellent compared with 48 percent last week and 72 percent last year at this time. Twenty-eight percent of the corn acreage has silked compared with 81 percent last year and 62 percent for the 5-year average. Soybean condition also declined and is rated 39 percent good to excellent compared with 51 percent last week and 67 percent a year earlier. Thirty-seven percent of the soybean acreage is blooming compared with 77 percent last year and 68 percent for the 5-year average. Nine percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 28 percent last year and 20 percent for the average. Winter wheat harvest is 99 percent complete compared with 99 percent last year and 95 percent for the 5-year average. By area, 98 percent of the wheat acreage is harvested in the north and nearly all of the wheat is harvested in the central and southern regions of the state. Other activities during the week included harvesting mint, baling hay and straw, spraying for weed control, mowing roadsides, scouting fields, cleaning grain bins, attending county fairs and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 1 percent excellent, 24 percent good, 44 percent fair, 21 percent poor and 10 percent very poor. Pastures are deteriorating rapidly in many areas of the state. Second cutting of alfalfa hay is 74 percent complete compared with 90 percent last year and 78 percent for the average. Feeding of hay is necessary on some farms. Livestock are under stress from the hot weather. Crop Progress Table -------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Silked 28 9 81 62 Soybeans Blooming 37 22 77 68 Soybeans Podding 9 3 28 20 Winter Wheat Harvested 99 91 99 95 Alfalfa Second Cutting 74 52 90 78 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 9 18 37 32 4 Soybean 7 17 37 35 4 Pasture 10 21 44 24 1 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 28 18 8 Short 44 41 23 Adequate 27 40 55 Surplus 1 1 14 Subsoil Very Short 20 11 9 Short 39 36 25 Adequate 40 51 58 Surplus 1 2 8 Days Suitable 6.5 6.1 5.4 Contact information --Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician --Bud Bever, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm Other Agricultural Comments And News STRESSED CORN, POLLINATION, AND ROOTWORM BEETLES * Large numbers of rootworm beetles being reported in corn * Stressed corn and spotty pollination are making treatment decisions difficult * Length of silks and amount of pollen yet to fall is the key to fertilization Several calls have been received this week concerning the large numbers of western corn rootworm beetles in cornfields. Many plants within these fields are being discovered with damaged roots from larval damage. This combined with present dry conditions and soil that was compacted this spring is resulting in severely stressed plants. Treatment decisions have been very difficult as the beetles flock to the actively pollinating plants occurring in spots within a field. When fields are pollinating evenly, control may be necessary if the silks are clipped off to within 1\2 inch or less of the tip of the ear before 50% pollination is completed. Don't judge the need for treatment on beetle numbers SILK DAMAGE ONLY. Producers have noted the beetles all over the plants, not necessarily feeding on the silks. Many beetles are in the corn whorls before tassels emerge, they are doing some insignificant but "showy" leaf feeding. .As the tassels emerge, beetles may be seen feeding on the anthers and pollen. Pollen is their favorite food. Just as back in 1988, tremendous beetle numbers are being reported, but silks have very little damage. Plants under drought stress will often have the pollen shed and silking out of synchrony. Controlling beetles will only protect the silks yet viable to receive pollen, make certain that over half of the pollen hasn't already been shed. Consider: * Pollen is the rootworm beetles favorite food * More than enough pollen is shed to fertilize ears and feed beetles * Silks a 1/2 inch or longer can successfully receive pollen * Silks can receive the pollen anywhere, not just the tip The tough, but realistic, question is if the field is worth another $15.00 investment (7-8 bushels of corn)? For recommended control materials refer to Extension Publication E-219-W, Corn Insect Control Recommendations -2002 (Revised 1/2002). Download a copy at, . John Obermeyer, Rich Edwards, and Larry Bledsoe, Department of Entomology, Purdue University. SOYBEAN SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME * The time is approaching for SDS to appear Sudden death syndrome (SDS) was widespread in Indiana during 1998 and 2000, and common across central Indiana last year. A soilborne fungus, Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines, causes SDS, so soybean fields where the disease occurred in recent years are at risk this year. It is difficult to predict whether SDS will in fact be a widespread problem this year. One factor that works against an epidemic is the late planting of most of the Indiana's soybean crop. In the outbreaks of the past few years, severe SDS was associated with early planting. However, the unusually cool spring this year may have counteracted that generality to some extent. SDS normally first appears in late July to early August. Heavy rain during early reproductive stages of soybeans seems to be critical for development of foliar symptoms of SDS. Leaf tissue between the major veins turns yellow, then brown. Soon, the leaflets die, shrivel, and often drop off, leaving the petioles (leaf stalks) attached. Brown stem rot may cause similar foliar symptoms, but the leaflets tend to remain attached to the petioles. To help distinguish between these diseases, split the lower stem and taproot. Plants with SDS will have a dark cortex, but white pith. With brown stem rot, the pith is often dark, but the cortex is normal. A soybean specimen was received this week in the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, from southern Indiana. It had lower stem symptoms suggestive of both SDS and brown stem rot. None of these plants showed interveinal necrosis on upper leaves, but the plants were only in the V6 to V7 stage of growth. Now is the time to start scouting fields for SDS and brown stem rot. Gregory Shaner, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday July 21, 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|-----------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |93 58 77 +3 0.83 1 Valparaiso_AP_I |90 59 77 +5 0.35 1 Wanatah |93 56 76 +5 1.26 3 84 Wheatfield |91 56 77 +4 0.29 1 Winamac |90 60 77 +5 0.76 1 83 North Central(2)| Plymouth |91 56 76 +3 0.17 2 South_Bend |90 61 78 +6 0.00 0 Young_America |91 57 76 +3 0.00 0 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |91 54 75 +4 0.00 0 83 Fort_Wayne |90 59 77 +4 0.35 1 West Central (4)| Greencastle |89 57 74 -3 0.18 2 Perrysville |91 56 77 +3 0.21 2 81 Spencer_Ag |90 60 76 +2 1.48 3 Terre_Haute_AFB |90 60 77 +2 1.84 3 W_Lafayette_6NW |92 58 76 +3 0.05 1 83 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |91 63 78 +3 0.20 3 Greenfield |90 60 76 +1 4.45 3 Indianapolis_AP |90 61 77 +2 0.45 2 Indianapolis_SE |90 57 76 +1 1.32 3 Tipton_Ag |90 57 75 +2 0.40 1 81 East Central (6)| Farmland |90 60 77 +4 0.49 3 New_Castle |87 58 73 -1 0.50 2 Southwest (7) | Evansville |92 65 80 +2 0.12 3 Freelandville |91 65 78 +2 0.43 2 Shoals |94 63 78 +3 0.06 1 Stendal |94 66 80 +3 0.11 2 Vincennes_5NE |93 63 79 +4 0.54 3 81 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |91 62 77 +2 0.23 2 Oolitic |91 61 77 +3 0.02 1 78 Tell_City |92 66 80 +3 0.48 2 Southeast (9) | Brookville |94 62 78 +4 0.09 2 Milan_5NE |88 59 74 -2 0.43 3 Scottsburg |90 60 76 -1 0.20 3 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | July 21, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |12.58 -1.32 44 1672 +31 Valparaiso_AP_I |13.42 -1.41 40 1648 +185 Wanatah |14.05 -0.26 45 1569 +172 Wheatfield |12.41 -1.62 35 1607 +169 Winamac |12.62 -1.43 43 1598 +99 North Central(2)| Plymouth |13.68 -1.05 45 1519 -44 South_Bend |11.62 -2.15 41 1594 +148 Young_America |13.32 -0.18 39 1682 +153 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |11.55 -2.31 41 1482 +103 Fort_Wayne |13.70 +0.94 39 1655 +136 West Central (4)| Greencastle |21.07 +5.34 42 1613 -127 Perrysville |17.70 +2.51 43 1742 +112 Spencer_Ag |22.98 +6.80 47 1713 +86 Terre_Haute_AFB |27.07 +11.77 45 1901 +163 W_Lafayette_6NW |18.03 +4.07 49 1718 +185 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |18.19 +3.97 47 1845 +124 Greenfield |25.78 +10.33 49 1738 +101 Indianapolis_AP |17.33 +3.11 41 1904 +183 Indianapolis_SE |20.96 +6.25 42 1734 +36 Tipton_Ag |14.77 +0.73 40 1596 +115 East Central (6)| Farmland |14.19 +0.13 47 1664 +227 New_Castle |17.76 +2.39 37 1447 -24 Southwest (7) | Evansville |17.65 +2.62 38 2221 +186 Freelandville |19.92 +4.41 36 1988 +185 Shoals |19.63 +2.91 36 1885 +157 Stendal |20.37 +3.68 37 2067 +169 Vincennes_5NE |20.05 +4.54 39 2042 +239 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |18.42 +1.53 35 1973 +247 Oolitic |22.72 +6.88 44 1817 +174 Tell_City |18.30 +1.45 28 2306 +386 Southeast (9) | Brookville |18.18 +3.01 38 1841 +298 Milan_5NE |23.99 +8.82 47 1574 +31 Scottsburg |20.28 +4.64 42 1850 +64 ------------------------------------------------------------- DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). 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. Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All rights reserved. The above weather information is provided by AWIS, Inc. For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page at www.awis.com or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955. The INDIANA CROP WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Second Class postage paid at Lafayette IN. For information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER: Send address change to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Source: Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service