in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 18, 2002 Issue IN-CW3302 Agricultural Summary Major crops received some much needed precipitation during the week in some areas of the state. Rain was spotty with portions of the state receiving little or no showers, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. The rain will help pod fill in soybeans and grain fill in corn. Cooler temperatures continued, which helped relieve stress on crops and livestock. There is much variability in some counties as far as crop conditions. Stalks are turning brown in many corn fields. Soybean plants are turning yellow in portions of fields. Reporters indicate many farmers will not get third or fourth cuttings of hay this year. The most critical areas for soil moisture deficiency are in the northeast, east central, southwest, south central and southeast regions of the state. Field Crops Report There were 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 27 percent good to excellent compared with 28 percent last week and 66 percent last year at this time. Virtually all of the corn acreage silked. Fifty-six percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage compared with 91 percent last year and 79 percent for the average. Sixteen percent of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage compared with 47 percent last year and 31 percent for the average. Soybean condition is rated 34 percent good to excellent compared with 33 percent last week and 64 percent a year earlier. Ninety-five percent of the soybean acreage is blooming compared with 100 percent last year and 99 percent for the 5-year average. Sixty-nine percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 96 percent last year and 87 percent for the average. Other activities during the week included scouting fields, spraying, cutting and baling hay, moving grain to market, cutting silage, repairing equipment, mowing roadsides, cleaning grain bins, hauling manure, attending the state fair and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 6 percent good, 30 percent fair, 33 percent poor and 31 percent very poor. Pastures continued drying up and are in poor condition in most areas of the state. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is 42 percent complete compared with 82 percent last year and 62 percent for the average. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Many livestock producers are feeding hay. Crop Progress Table -------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn in Dough 56 35 91 79 Corn in Dent 16 9 47 31 Soybeans Blooming 95 87 100 99 Soybeans Podding 69 52 96 87 Alfalfa Third Cutting 42 24 82 62 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 16 22 35 25 2 Soybean 10 18 38 31 3 Pasture 31 33 30 6 0 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 39 44 13 Short 42 43 37 Adequate 18 13 48 Surplus 1 0 2 Subsoil Very Short 35 35 14 Short 42 43 37 Adequate 23 22 48 Surplus 0 0 1 Days Suitable 6.1 6.9 6.2 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 DROUGHTY SOYBEANS STILL HAVE A CHANCE Soybeans are entering an important growth phase. Plants are now filling pods with seeds. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of the soybean fields aren't getting the moisture necessary to progress normally. It depends on where you're located in the state as to the condition of the crop. The soybean crop in east central Indiana is very dry and under tremendous stress. The plants are still very, very short, the plant canopy has not closed, and, due to the drought stress, there is quite a bit of floral -- and some pod -- abortion in those fields. On the other hand, west central Indiana has received good rainfall during July and the soybeans look very good at this time. We are in desperate need of 2 to 3 inches of rain within the next week for the soybeans to resume normal growth. Soybeans, like corn, need an inch of rain per week during critical growing phases. It's not too late to turn this crop around. There is still time for the beans to flower and set pods, but we need the rains rather quickly for that to occur. If we do have adequate rain for normal growth to resume, we're going to need the rain to carry through to at least the second week of September. We normally say August, but with the late planting of this year's crop we need rain through the first two weeks of September to give us a reasonable yield. Yield is determined by the number of pods for a given area, the number of seeds in those pods and the weight of the seed within the pod. Stresses at reproductive stages 3 and 4 can reduce the number of pods. Stresses at reproductive stages 5 and 6 can reduce the number of seeds within the pod and also the size of the seed. If any of these yield components are reduced, it'll have a negative impact on the final yield. Dry conditions are hurting soybeans in another way. Spider mites are thriving on hot, parched crops. Farmers should monitor their fields for outbreaks. Nutrient deficiency also is a problem; some have reported a lot of fields that tend to be yellowing. Under those conditions look for two things. First of all, look for the possibility of soybean cyst nematode that may be restricting the root system, particularly if the deficiency symptoms appear to be a potassium deficiency. The other element that's causing the yellowing is manganese deficiency. It tends to be more severe on our sandier, well-drained soils. If deficiency symptoms appear, about the only solution is an application of one pound of elemental manganese per acre, as a foliar application. Ellsworth Christmas, Agronomy Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1150. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday August 18, 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 |89 61 74 +3 0.73 4 Valparaiso_AP_I |91 58 75 +5 0.58 4 Wanatah |92 56 74 +4 0.47 4 80 Wheatfield |89 57 74 +4 0.44 4 Winamac |87 61 74 +5 0.74 4 77 North Central(2)| Plymouth |90 59 73 +2 0.41 4 South_Bend |91 58 76 +5 1.06 4 Young_America |87 63 75 +4 0.61 3 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |87 62 75 +6 0.75 4 76 Fort_Wayne |90 65 76 +5 0.57 3 West Central (4)| Greencastle |90 66 76 +2 1.01 3 Perrysville |88 63 75 +3 0.76 5 78 Spencer_Ag |90 66 76 +5 0.85 2 Terre_Haute_AFB |89 65 77 +4 0.50 2 W_Lafayette_6NW |88 63 75 +5 0.34 3 78 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |88 68 78 +5 0.20 2 Greenfield |89 68 77 +5 0.53 3 Indianapolis_AP |90 67 79 +6 0.27 3 Indianapolis_SE |90 68 78 +5 0.15 2 Tipton_Ag |88 65 76 +6 0.25 2 80 East Central (6)| Farmland |90 65 77 +8 0.04 2 77 New_Castle |88 63 75 +4 0.50 5 Southwest (7) | Evansville |92 68 79 +4 0.38 2 Freelandville |91 69 78 +5 0.40 5 Shoals |93 67 77 +4 0.66 4 Stendal |93 69 78 +4 1.34 2 Vincennes_5NE |94 68 78 +5 0.81 6 79 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |89 67 78 +5 0.87 5 Oolitic |93 67 78 +6 0.65 4 78 Tell_City |91 68 80 +4 1.48 4 Southeast (9) | Brookville |94 68 80 +9 1.55 4 Milan_5NE |91 67 79 +7 0.74 4 Scottsburg |91 65 78 +5 1.21 4 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | August 18, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |15.48 -2.06 56 2363 +73 Valparaiso_AP_I |15.77 -2.43 52 2361 +277 Wanatah |16.53 -1.22 57 2255 +261 Wheatfield |18.17 +0.88 45 2291 +246 Winamac |17.57 +0.05 53 2300 +190 North Central(2)| Plymouth |16.35 -1.53 58 2197 -11 South_Bend |14.41 -2.67 52 2326 +254 Young_America |17.49 +0.72 49 2400 +236 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |15.14 -1.84 52 2177 +202 Fort_Wayne |16.22 +0.38 47 2383 +218 West Central (4)| Greencastle |24.59 +4.66 51 2323 -115 Perrysville |21.45 +2.47 53 2463 +183 Spencer_Ag |25.94 +5.51 54 2466 +168 Terre_Haute_AFB |29.16 +10.15 52 2673 +244 W_Lafayette_6NW |21.13 +3.57 59 2432 +273 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |19.30 +1.41 54 2638 +230 Greenfield |26.67 +6.95 56 2493 +188 Indianapolis_AP |18.19 +0.30 49 2727 +319 Indianapolis_SE |21.75 +3.16 47 2490 +99 Tipton_Ag |16.53 -1.31 49 2306 +209 East Central (6)| Farmland |15.93 -1.45 52 2396 +351 New_Castle |18.54 -0.49 45 2128 +34 Southwest (7) | Evansville |19.11 +0.91 42 3073 +270 Freelandville |21.05 +2.10 44 2802 +292 Shoals |20.72 +0.16 42 2689 +266 Stendal |22.14 +1.87 43 2911 +274 Vincennes_5NE |21.88 +2.93 51 2863 +353 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |20.79 -0.22 44 2773 +359 Oolitic |23.64 +3.90 52 2623 +307 Tell_City |20.29 -0.43 34 3179 +504 Southeast (9) | Brookville |19.91 +0.77 45 2672 +476 Milan_5NE |25.12 +5.98 54 2345 +149 Scottsburg |22.62 +3.16 50 2640 +146 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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