in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 25, 2002 Issue IN-CW3402 Agricultural Summary Most areas of the state received rain with isolated areas receiving heavy amounts causing some flooding and ponding in fields, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Heaviest rain was in the west central region of the state. Major crops continued to advance toward maturity. Plants in many corn fields are turning brown and yellowing of soybean plants is taking place in some fields. Scouting of fields and spraying for insects continued in some areas. The most critical areas for soil moisture deficiency are in the east central, southwest, south central and southeast regions of the state. Field Crops Report There were 5.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 29 percent good to excellent compared with 27 percent last week and 72 percent last year at this time. Seventy-five percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage compared with 96 percent last year and 92 percent for the average. Twenty-seven percent of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage compared with 68 percent last year and 51 percent for the average. By area, 24 percent of the corn acreage is in the dent stage in the north, 25 percent in the central regions and 37 percent in the south. Soybean condition is rated 38 percent good to excellent compared with 34 percent last week and 67 percent a year earlier. Eighty-five percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 99 percent last year and 95 percent for the 5-year average. Four percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 7 percent last year and 6 percent for the average. Other activities during the week included scouting fields, cutting and baling hay, moving grain to market, cutting silage, preparing equipment, mowing roadsides, cleaning grain bins, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 10 percent good, 29 percent fair, 33 percent poor and 28 percent very poor. Pastures have improved aided by the recent showers. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is 54 percent complete compared with 91 percent last year and 74 percent for the average. Tobacco harvest is 10 percent complete compared with 23 percent last year and 19 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 75 56 96 92 Corn in Dent 27 16 68 51 Corn Mature 1 NA 11 6 Soybeans Podding 85 69 99 95 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 4 NA 7 6 Alfalfa Third Cutting 54 42 91 74 Tobacco Harvested 10 NA 23 19 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 16 22 33 27 2 Soybean 11 18 33 35 3 Pasture 28 33 29 10 0 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 29 39 4 Short 38 42 19 Adequate 31 18 71 Surplus 2 1 6 Subsoil Very Short 32 35 11 Short 40 42 27 Adequate 27 23 59 Surplus 1 0 3 Days Suitable 5.6 6.1 4.7 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 CONTROLLING WCR BEETLES IN SOYBEAN FIELDS WHERE FIRST-YEAR CORN ROOTWORM PROBLEMS EXIST * "Dead beetles don't lay eggs" * WCR beetle suppression in soybean to prevent egg laying is possible, - timely and diligent scouting is necessary * Costs are probably more than using soil insecticide next spring * Check soybean fields for WCR beetles!! Where problems with western corn rootworm (WCR) in first-year corn (corn/soybean rotation) have shown up, some have asked about controlling the rootworm adults in this year's soybean fields. The idea behind this strategy is to control the adults in soybean before they have laid sufficient eggs to create a rootworm larval problem in next year's corn. Although this strategy sounds good, and in theory is possible, it requires a knowledge of beetle biology and a very high level of management. You don't just spray fields and forget them when it comes to adult control! Fields need to be scouted before to determine beetle presence and after treatment to determine if a second treatment is needed. Even 100% attention to detail will not guarantee that failures will not occur. Of course, one can argue that this is also the case with soil insecticides. However, soil insecticides are more consistent in their control based on timing and the level of management that is required. The idea of controlling adults to prevent egg laying and subsequent larval damage is not new, the management of rootworm adults in continuous corn using this strategy has been around since the 1970's. Many midwestern states researched this strategy with varying degrees of success. The primary problem was the timing of the application and the amount of field monitoring that was required to ensure that the rootworm beetles were adequately controlled, and, if an economic reinfestation occurred, that these new beetles were quickly controlled. Also, follow-up was needed the next year to make sure that rootworm larvae were not present in high enough numbers to result in economic root damage. If a critical larval population was detected the next year, a cultivation application to rescue the field was required. At this time, it is not possible to utilize this strategy at the same level in soybean since we do not have beetle threshold information. We have research underway that will hopefully provide these numbers. However, since these numbers are not presently available, we are reluctant to recommend this as a control strategy. It could be that without these thresholds many fields will be sprayed and no economic return will be realized. Another possible concern is that preliminary results from a new study indicate that more WCR eggs are laid in soybeans earlier than first believed. Should this be the case, adult control to prevent egg laying may be next to impossible. How about the economics of adult suppression in soybean versus larval control in corn? As previously mentioned, it will likely take two foliar insecticide applications to prevent enough egg laying in soybean to cause economic damage to next year's corn. Therefore, when comparing foliar insecticide and application inputs, it is about the same cost if not more, as granular insecticides at planting. Knowing that precise scouting and insecticide timing are critical over the rootworm beetle's egg laying period (mid-July through August), it seems that money is best put toward larval control in the spring. Refer to last week's Pest & Crop article "Monitoring and Decision Rules for Western Corn Rootworm Beetles in Soybean," for monitoring adults to determine the need for a rootworm insecticide in next year's corn. John Obermeyer, Rich Edwards, and Larry Bledsoe, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, IN 47907-1150. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday August 25, 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 52 72 +2 1.73 4 Valparaiso_AP_I |86 51 71 +2 0.76 6 Wanatah |87 46 70 +1 0.67 6 75 Wheatfield |86 50 70 +2 1.45 3 Winamac |86 52 72 +3 1.21 3 74 North Central(2)| Plymouth |86 52 70 -2 1.45 3 South_Bend |86 52 71 +2 0.63 6 Young_America |87 54 72 +3 2.79 5 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |85 51 70 +2 1.60 4 76 Fort_Wayne |85 53 72 +2 2.15 5 West Central (4)| Greencastle |89 60 74 +2 0.72 3 Perrysville |87 56 73 +3 5.74 3 77 Spencer_Ag |91 63 76 +5 1.04 3 Terre_Haute_AFB |90 60 75 +3 0.95 2 W_Lafayette_6NW |89 53 73 +3 2.94 4 75 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |91 63 76 +4 1.74 5 Greenfield |91 62 75 +4 1.29 4 Indianapolis_AP |93 65 77 +5 1.10 3 Indianapolis_SE |92 63 74 +3 1.10 3 Tipton_Ag |88 57 72 +4 2.77 5 79 East Central (6)| Farmland |91 54 73 +5 1.79 5 74 New_Castle |88 59 72 +3 2.27 4 Southwest (7) | Evansville |95 68 81 +6 0.25 1 Freelandville |91 67 77 +5 1.08 2 Shoals |92 66 77 +5 0.58 2 Stendal |94 68 79 +5 1.04 3 Vincennes_5NE |93 67 78 +6 1.72 4 74 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |94 67 78 +6 0.31 2 Oolitic |92 61 76 +5 0.51 2 78 Tell_City |95 70 81 +7 0.33 2 Southeast (9) | Brookville |94 62 77 +7 0.30 3 Milan_5NE |93 62 76 +5 1.09 4 Scottsburg |94 62 77 +5 0.64 2 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | August 25, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |17.21 -1.23 60 2521 +84 Valparaiso_AP_I |16.53 -2.53 58 2511 +288 Wanatah |17.20 -1.39 63 2396 +268 Wheatfield |19.62 +1.49 48 2433 +253 Winamac |18.78 +0.39 56 2455 +208 North Central(2)| Plymouth |17.80 -0.83 61 2339 -15 South_Bend |15.04 -2.88 58 2477 +265 Young_America |20.28 +2.70 54 2558 +251 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |16.74 -1.01 56 2322 +213 Fort_Wayne |18.37 +1.76 52 2537 +227 West Central (4)| Greencastle |25.31 +4.49 54 2491 -107 Perrysville |27.19 +7.37 56 2628 +201 Spencer_Ag |26.98 +5.64 57 2648 +198 Terre_Haute_AFB |30.11 +10.37 54 2852 +266 W_Lafayette_6NW |24.07 +5.67 63 2592 +292 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |21.04 +2.38 59 2820 +255 Greenfield |27.96 +7.42 60 2667 +210 Indianapolis_AP |19.29 +0.63 52 2919 +354 Indianapolis_SE |22.85 +3.52 50 2663 +114 Tipton_Ag |19.30 +0.60 54 2466 +232 East Central (6)| Farmland |17.72 -0.43 57 2559 +378 New_Castle |20.81 +1.00 49 2285 +52 Southwest (7) | Evansville |19.36 +0.52 43 3289 +309 Freelandville |22.13 +2.48 46 2996 +324 Shoals |21.30 -0.03 44 2878 +295 Stendal |23.18 +2.07 46 3115 +308 Vincennes_5NE |23.60 +3.95 55 3058 +386 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |21.10 -0.77 46 2973 +401 Oolitic |24.15 +3.58 54 2809 +338 Tell_City |20.62 -0.94 36 3398 +547 Southeast (9) | Brookville |20.21 +0.25 48 2865 +520 Milan_5NE |26.21 +6.25 58 2529 +184 Scottsburg |23.26 +3.01 52 2834 +177 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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