in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 6, 2002 Issue IN-CW4002 Agricultural Summary Farmers had ideal conditions to harvest corn and soybeans during most of the week, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Rain late in the week halted field activities in some areas, but many farmers were harvesting corn and soybeans again during the weekend. The best progress for corn harvest is in the southwestern region of the state. The best progress for soybean harvest is in the central district. Both corn and soybean harvest are about 5 days behind average. Harvest of seed corn continued. Tillage of soils, spreading fertilizer and seeding of winter wheat made good progress last week. Field Crops Report There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 27 percent good to excellent compared with 27 percent last week and 78 percent last year at this time. Eighty-five percent of the corn crop is mature compared with 93 percent last year and 95 percent for the 5-year average. By region, 81 percent of the corn acreage is mature (safe from frost) in the north, 86 percent in the central regions and 89 percent in the south. Twenty-one percent of the corn acreage is harvested compared with 30 percent last year and 27 percent for the 5-year average. Moisture content of harvested corn is averaging 22 percent. Soybean condition is rated 32 percent good to excellent compared with 31 percent last week and 75 percent a year earlier. Ninety-two percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 97 percent last year and 98 percent for the average. By area, 94 percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves in the north, 92 percent in the central regions and 91 percent in the south. Seventy-six percent of the soybean acreage is mature compared with 85 percent last year and 87 percent for the average. Thirty percent of the soybean acreage is harvested compared with 40 percent last year and 44 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, 30 percent fair, 33 percent poor and 29 percent very poor. Twenty- seven percent of the winter wheat acreage is seeded compared with 24 percent last year and 26 percent for the average. Tobacco harvest is 93 percent complete compared with 98 percent last year and 92 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 85 74 93 95 Corn Harvested 21 14 30 27 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 92 82 97 98 Soybeans Mature 76 52 85 87 Soybeans Harvested 30 10 40 44 Winter Wheat Planted 27 8 24 26 Winter Wheat Emerged 5 1 4 5 Tobacco Harvested 93 88 98 92 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 18 24 31 25 2 Soybean 14 19 35 29 3 Pasture 29 33 30 8 0 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 10 14 2 Short 30 29 15 Adequate 56 50 74 Surplus 4 7 9 Subsoil Very Short 24 27 7 Short 42 43 24 Adequate 34 29 66 Surplus 0 1 3 Days Suitable 5.4 5.2 6.0 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 WHEAT WILL MAKE A 'STAND' IN CONDITIONS OTHER CROPS ABHOR WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Wheat can withstand conditions other commodity crops find intolerable, including moisture deficiencies and late planting. What it can't stand are pests and saturated soils. Farmers planting soft red winter wheat in Indiana this fall should avoid placing their crops at risk of Hessian fly damage. They also should stay away from poor-draining fields and carefully monitor wheat crops for disease-carrying aphids, said Ellsworth Christmas, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service wheat specialist. "We recommend farmers wait to plant wheat until after the Hessian fly-free date, which comes in late September in far northern Indiana counties and Oct. 9 or 10 in Posey County in extreme southern Indiana," Christmas said. "They also should be concerned about aphids. Last fall was warm, and although wheat was planted after the fly-free date, there was a lot of aphid activity after the wheat emerged. As a result, we had a serious barley yellow dwarf problem." The Hessian fly can cause plant stunting, winter-kill and reduced yields. Barley yellow dwarf, a virus, leads to plant discoloration and abnormal growth. Wheat would rather receive too little water than too much. Wet soils predispose wheat to heaving, where plants are pushed out of the ground when variations in temperature first freeze and then thaw out the soil, Christmas said. "Wheat does not like a wet soil," he said. "It will winter-kill in low areas in the field, particularly if you have too much standing water. "The other problem you might have with these same soils is heaving in the spring. So site selection is very important. Select a well-drained site that is where wheat will perform best. If the soil is a bit on the droughty side, even better, because it will perform better than most other crops under those kinds of conditions." Stand establishment is crucial before the onset of winter, Christmas said. While it is not imperative that wheat be planted in the traditional September-October period, germination is essential for vernalization. "For best results, we like to see wheat planted as soon after the fly-free date as possible," he said. "But you can plant wheat quite late and still have a successful crop. "This past year there were a lot of fields planted in early-to mid-November, with good success, mainly because we had an open fall it was warm and wheat was able to grow and get well established. From the standpoint of the plant itself, all it needs to do is germinate in the fall. It does not have to become a full-grown plant before it goes into the winter months." Christmas offered other tips for wheat growers: * Choose wheat varieties with a comprehensive disease resistance package, with yield potential a secondary concern. Purdue Extension Bulletin B814 can help with the selection process. The publication, "Performance of Public and Private Small Grains in Indiana, 2002," can be downloaded online. * Plant wheat with a no-till drill into soybean residue, if following a soybean crop. If planting wheat after corn, chopping the stalks before seeding acres might be necessary. * Consider applying a burndown herbicide to control winter annual weeds in soybean fields being planted to wheat. * Determine soil pH. Wheat prefers a non-acid soil, with a pH of at least 6.0 and, preferably, 6.5. Also, apply phosphorus and nitrogen, as needed. * Refrain from planting wheat in the same field two consecutive years. Second-year wheat crops are susceptible to take-all, a fungus that causes extensive root rot and premature plant death. * Decide yield goal and calculate the seeding rate accordingly. * "If your yield goal is in the 75-80 bushel range, I would plant 35 seeds per square foot, and probably plant them at a depth approaching 1.5 inches," Christmas said. "An inch and a quarter is an excellent depth, but you shouldn't plant any more shallow than 1 inch." Indiana farmers produced 17.2 million bushels of soft red winter wheat this past summer, down 32 percent from 2001. Average yield was 52 bushels per acre. Soft red winter wheat is used in cookies, cakes and similar products. Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu Source: Ellsworth Christmas, (765) 494-6373, echristmas@purdue.edu Related Web site: Purdue University Agronomy Extension Small Grains Management Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu; http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/ Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday October 6, 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 42 70 +11 0.19 1 Valparaiso_AP_I |86 46 69 +12 0.82 2 Wanatah |87 46 68 +12 0.74 2 75 Wheatfield |86 47 69 +13 1.40 1 Winamac |85 44 68 +12 0.35 3 64 North Central(2)| Plymouth |85 44 68 +10 0.49 2 South_Bend |85 47 69 +12 0.82 2 Young_America |87 45 70 +13 0.47 1 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |83 41 67 +11 0.25 1 65 Fort_Wayne |84 42 69 +11 0.47 1 West Central (4)| Greencastle |85 46 69 +9 0.53 1 Perrysville |88 46 71 +12 0.68 2 72 Spencer_Ag |86 46 70 +12 0.60 2 Terre_Haute_AFB |87 44 70 +11 0.29 1 W_Lafayette_6NW |88 45 70 +13 0.30 1 69 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |85 46 70 +11 0.61 1 Greenfield |85 46 70 +11 0.54 1 Indianapolis_AP |85 48 70 +11 0.68 1 Indianapolis_SE |85 42 69 +10 0.57 1 Tipton_Ag |85 45 69 +12 0.49 1 74 East Central (6)| Farmland |85 42 69 +13 0.55 2 65 New_Castle |83 45 68 +11 0.57 1 Southwest (7) | Evansville |88 46 72 +11 0.77 2 Freelandville |86 46 71 +10 0.56 1 Shoals |87 46 70 +10 0.62 1 Stendal |86 48 71 +11 0.85 1 Vincennes_5NE |88 45 72 +12 0.69 1 69 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |83 47 69 +10 0.74 4 Oolitic |84 44 68 +9 0.82 1 70 Tell_City |88 49 71 +9 0.38 1 Southeast (9) | Brookville |86 43 69 +12 0.43 2 Milan_5NE |84 46 69 +11 0.59 2 Scottsburg |89 47 70 +10 0.70 1 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | October 6, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |18.72 -3.90 70 3311 +222 Valparaiso_AP_I |18.85 -5.88 68 3314 +493 Wanatah |19.28 -4.57 73 3125 +436 Wheatfield |23.32 +0.23 56 3186 +440 Winamac |21.14 -1.80 67 3235 +405 North Central(2)| Plymouth |19.76 -3.80 71 3102 +124 South_Bend |16.91 -5.97 66 3287 +496 Young_America |22.94 +0.69 60 3349 +420 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |20.06 -2.26 65 3054 +391 Fort_Wayne |21.38 +1.00 60 3320 +392 West Central (4)| Greencastle |30.90 +5.15 64 3251 -58 Perrysville |28.94 +4.85 64 3422 +346 Spencer_Ag |32.62 +6.85 66 3497 +397 Terre_Haute_AFB |34.12 +9.81 64 3715 +431 W_Lafayette_6NW |26.35 +3.70 73 3373 +457 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |24.98 +2.30 68 3720 +466 Greenfield |32.73 +7.96 68 3512 +382 Indianapolis_AP |23.67 +0.99 61 3855 +601 Indianapolis_SE |28.29 +5.15 58 3506 +257 Tipton_Ag |23.24 +0.15 64 3233 +408 East Central (6)| Farmland |21.23 -1.16 65 3325 +568 New_Castle |24.42 +0.71 57 3033 +207 Southwest (7) | Evansville |25.36 +2.44 51 4320 +546 Freelandville |28.67 +4.80 53 3926 +533 Shoals |27.07 +1.32 52 3799 +508 Stendal |29.19 +3.60 52 4104 +550 Vincennes_5NE |32.99 +9.12 63 4025 +632 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |28.99 +3.06 59 3884 +617 Oolitic |29.45 +4.80 63 3694 +555 Tell_City |28.21 +2.02 46 4402 +750 Southeast (9) | Brookville |25.08 +1.22 59 3785 +805 Milan_5NE |32.19 +8.33 70 3406 +426 Scottsburg |30.43 +5.87 60 3714 +335 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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