in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date September 29, 2002 Issue IN-CW3902 Agricultural Summary Much needed rain temporarily halted field activities during the week in some areas of the state, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. The precipitation helped relieve dry soil conditions, especially in the southern regions. Corn and soybean harvest continued to make good progress in early maturing fields. Corn harvest is 4 days behind average. Soybean harvest is 7 days behind average. Lodging of corn plants is becoming a major concern for many farmers. Chopping corn for silage and harvest of seed corn continued. Tillage of soils and seeding of winter wheat continued in some fields. Field Crops Report There were 5.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 27 percent good to excellent compared with 28 percent last week and 76 percent last year at this time. Virtually all of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage. Seventy-four percent of the corn crop is mature compared with 89 percent last year and 84 percent for the 5-year average. By region, 70 percent of the corn acreage is mature (safe from frost) in the north, 73 percent in the central regions and 83 percent in the south. Fourteen percent of the corn acreage is harvested compared with 20 percent last year and 18 percent for the 5-year average. Moisture content of harvested corn is averaging 22 percent. Soybean condition is rated 31 percent good to excellent compared with 31 percent last week and 72 percent a year earlier. Eighty-two percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 89 percent last year and 92 percent for the average. By area, 82 percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves in the north, 81 percent in the central regions and 85 percent in the south. Fifty-two percent of the soybean acreage is mature compared with 66 percent last year and 71 percent for the average. Ten percent of the soybean acreage is harvested compared with 16 percent last year and 22 percent for the average. Moisture content of harvested soybeans is averaging about 13 percent. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 8 percent good, 25 percent fair, 29 percent poor and 38 percent very poor. Eight percent of the winter wheat acreage is seeded compared with 9 percent last year and 10 percent for the average. Tobacco harvest is 88 percent complete compared with 95 percent last year and 86 percent for the average. Livestock remain in mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table -------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Mature 74 53 89 84 Corn Harvested 14 8 20 18 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 82 63 89 92 Soybeans Mature 52 26 66 71 Soybeans Harvested 10 3 16 22 Winter Wheat Planted 8 3 9 10 Winter Wheat Emerged 1 0 1 1 Tobacco Harvested 88 77 95 86 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 19 23 31 24 3 Soybean 14 20 35 28 3 Pasture 38 29 25 8 0 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 14 27 2 Short 29 37 12 Adequate 50 35 81 Surplus 7 1 5 Subsoil Very Short 27 38 6 Short 43 42 24 Adequate 29 20 65 Surplus 1 0 5 Days Suitable 5.2 5.2 5.8 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 PREHARVEST ASSESSMENT OF INDIANA CORN CROP * There is concern about ear rot and mycotoxins There is great concern about this year's corn crop. We have experienced delayed planting and endured many days with temperatures above 90 degrees and rainfall below normal. I am starting to hear reports of aflatoxin contamination occurring in some areas of Illinois. So what is the situation in Indiana? Every year I assess the corn crop in two ways, road trips and a statewide survey. Looking at the corn near West Lafayette, I have found no need for concern about mycotoxins. Last week, I made road trips to as far south as Posey County and to as far east as Adams County. On my trip south, I stopped at a number of fields between Terre Haute and just south of Sullivan. I found no more than normal amounts, which is very little, of ear/kernel rots that are frequently associated with mycotoxins. In the area around Vincennes, I found fields with severe drought stress that had ears infected with the aflatoxin-producing fungus, Aspergillus flavus . The affected corn crop appeared scorched and the ears were only about 3 inches long. Finding Aspergillus ear rot in this area is no surprise, because the sandy soils increase the potential for drought stress, one factor making the plants more susceptible to the disease. In fields starting north of Princeton, going east of Princeton, south to Poseyville and to just north of Mt.Vernon, I was not able to find any evidence of Aspergillus flavus infections or evidence of higher than normal ear/kernel rot. A second road trip began in Carroll County north of Delphi, passing to the south of Logansport and Peru, north of Marion, across northern Blackford County, up into Bluffton in Wells County, and then back to West Lafayette along Highway 26 from Portland. The corn was still green along this route and much farther from maturity than that in southern Indiana. We did not detect much ear/kernel rot. Many fields in Wells, Adams, and Jay Counties had extremely stunted plants. To my surprise, we could not find any evidence of Aspergillus flavus. My current assessment of the Indiana corn crop is that yields will be down because of small ears and poor pollination, but I do not anticipate widespread ear rot and mycotoxin problems. I would advise grain producers and scouts to survey their fields for ear rots, especially those fields planted in light to sandy soils. If the weather continues to be dry, the corn will mature and dry down, halting any increase in ear rot damage. However, if the weather turns to a period of extensive rain, we could see an increase in ear rots and possibly mycotoxin contamination. My advice would be to harvest the corn crop as soon as possible and dry it to safe moisture for storage. Over the next month, we will be conducting our annual survey in collaboration with Indiana Agricultural Statistics. The data from this survey should tell us more about the ear rot and mycotoxin situation in Indiana. Charles Woloshuk, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday September 29, 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 |79 39 59 -4 0.18 2 Valparaiso_AP_I |78 42 60 -2 0.09 1 Wanatah |78 37 58 -3 0.07 1 68 Wheatfield |77 39 58 -3 0.00 0 Winamac |76 41 60 -2 0.28 1 63 North Central(2)| Plymouth |76 40 59 -3 0.03 1 South_Bend |76 42 61 +0 0.03 1 Young_America |79 40 61 -2 0.65 2 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |75 38 58 -3 0.82 1 59 Fort_Wayne |76 40 60 -3 0.74 3 West Central (4)| Greencastle |78 39 59 -6 0.96 4 Perrysville |78 39 60 -3 0.06 2 68 Spencer_Ag |77 42 61 -2 1.05 2 Terre_Haute_AFB |79 39 62 -2 0.73 2 W_Lafayette_6NW |79 38 59 -3 0.15 2 65 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |77 48 63 -1 0.86 3 Greenfield |77 42 61 -3 1.21 1 Indianapolis_AP |78 45 63 +0 0.90 3 Indianapolis_SE |76 39 61 -3 1.03 2 Tipton_Ag |77 40 59 -2 0.94 3 69 East Central (6)| Farmland |77 38 59 -2 1.21 2 60 New_Castle |75 42 59 -2 1.23 2 Southwest (7) | Evansville |82 45 66 +0 2.06 1 Freelandville |79 46 63 -2 1.23 1 Shoals |81 44 63 -2 1.81 2 Stendal |80 47 64 +0 1.98 1 Vincennes_5NE |80 45 63 -2 1.25 1 65 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |77 45 62 -2 4.90 3 Oolitic |78 43 62 -1 1.58 1 66 Tell_City |81 46 64 -2 4.62 2 Southeast (9) | Brookville |79 43 62 +0 3.25 2 Milan_5NE |74 43 61 +0 2.90 3 Scottsburg |77 41 62 -3 5.05 2 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | September 29, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 18.53 -3.50 69 3172 +153 Valparaiso_AP_I | 18.03 -5.90 66 3180 +423 Wanatah | 18.54 -4.58 71 2999 +367 Wheatfield | 21.92 -0.50 55 3050 +360 Winamac | 20.79 -1.51 64 3104 +334 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 19.27 -3.53 69 2974 +60 South_Bend | 16.09 -6.06 64 3155 +423 Young_America | 22.47 +0.88 59 3208 +342 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 19.81 -1.86 64 2934 +327 Fort_Wayne | 20.91 +1.09 59 3189 +325 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 30.37 +5.34 63 3120 -112 Perrysville | 28.26 +4.78 62 3276 +270 Spencer_Ag | 32.02 +6.88 64 3357 +325 Terre_Haute_AFB | 33.83 +10.17 63 3573 +366 W_Lafayette_6NW | 26.05 +4.03 72 3229 +378 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 24.37 +2.29 67 3579 +400 Greenfield | 32.19 +8.05 67 3374 +315 Indianapolis_AP | 22.99 +0.91 60 3710 +531 Indianapolis_SE | 27.72 +5.18 57 3370 +197 Tipton_Ag | 22.75 +0.34 63 3097 +333 East Central (6)| Farmland | 20.68 -1.12 63 3190 +491 New_Castle | 23.85 +0.77 56 2909 +143 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 24.59 +2.30 49 4163 +479 Freelandville | 28.11 +4.90 52 3781 +468 Shoals | 26.45 +1.40 51 3658 +444 Stendal | 28.34 +3.40 51 3954 +481 Vincennes_5NE | 32.30 +9.09 62 3871 +558 South Central(8)| Leavenworth | 28.25 +2.95 55 3746 +555 Oolitic | 28.63 +4.68 62 3570 +501 Tell_City | 27.83 +2.30 45 4255 +694 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 24.65 +1.42 57 3647 +733 Milan_5NE | 31.60 +8.37 68 3271 +357 Scottsburg | 29.73 +5.84 59 3574 +273 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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