in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date June 6, 2004 Issue IN-CW2304 Agricultural Summary Field activities gained momentum during the week as soils began to dry out, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Farmers resumed planting of soybeans along with spraying of chemicals. Side dressing of corn and baling of hay also made good progress during the week. Ponding and flooding in river bottom fields has damaged crops, especially in the southern regions of the state. Wheat fields have turned color in many of the southern regions. Weeds remain a problem in many fields. Farmers were spraying for armyworm in some fields during the week. Field Crops Report There were 3.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 80 percent good to excellent compared with 53 percent last year at this time. Ninety-eight percent of the corn acreage has emerged compared with 79 percent last year and 87 percent for the average. Eighty-nine percent of the intended soybean acreage is planted compared with 74 percent last year and 85 percent for the average. Eighty-three percent of the soybean acreage has emerged compared with 50 percent last year and 70 percent for the average. By area, 95 percent of the soybean acreage is planted in the north, 94 percent in the central region and 71 percent in the south. Soybean condition is rated 72 percent good to excellent compared with 52 percent last year at this time Ninety-nine percent of the winter wheat is headed compared with 97 percent last year and 98 percent for the average. Winter wheat condition is rated 70 percent good to excellent compared with 71 percent last year at this time. Setting of tobacco plants is 35 percent complete compared with 30 percent last year and 49 percent for average. First cutting of alfalfa hay is 55 percent complete compared with 49 percent last year and 56 percent for the average. Major activities during the week were spraying herbicides, scouting fields, mowing roads, repairing equipment, moving grain to market, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 20 percent excellent, 65 percent good, 12 percent fair, 2 percent poor and 1 percent very poor. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table ----------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Emerged 98 96 79 87 Soybeans Planted 89 84 74 85 Soybeans Emerged 83 75 50 70 Winter Wheat Headed 99 97 97 98 Alfalfa First Cutting 55 25 49 56 Tobacco Plants Set 35 18 30 49 Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ------------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 2 4 14 58 22 Soybean 2 5 21 56 16 Winter Wheat 2004 2 6 22 52 18 Pasture 1 2 12 65 20 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Very Short 0 0 0 Short 2 1 2 Adequate 67 47 71 Surplus 31 52 27 Subsoil Very Short 1 1 0 Short 4 5 6 Adequate 71 65 71 Surplus 24 29 23 Days Suitable 3.6 2.1 3.9 Contact information --Greg Preston, Director --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 CORN HYBRID MATURITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR DELAYED PLANTINGS OR REPLANTINGS IN SOUTHERN INDIANA What began as a growing season with great promise has turned into a literal quagmire for some corn growers in Indiana, particularly throughout the southern areas of the state. Frequent rainfall throughout May prevented timely planting for some or contributed to extended periods of soggy soils following planting that resulted in seeds rotting in the seedbed. For others, recent torrential rains and subsequent ponding or flooding of fields threaten the survival of emerged crops and may force replanting of fields that ultimately suffer significant stand loss. Whenever corn planting is delayed or corn replanting occurs at a late date, growers often question whether they should switch to early maturity hybrids with shorter growing season requirements in order to minimize the risk of fall freeze injury to immature corn grain or to guard against excessive grain moisture at harvest. Peter Thomison (Ohio State Univ.) and I published a guide (Purdue Extension Pub. AY-312-W) that goes into greater detail than I will address in this article, but let me summarize that information specifically for southern Indiana corn growers faced with difficult planting decisions. Corn development is strongly influenced by temperature throughout the growing season. Warmer temperatures translate to faster development, while cooler temperatures slow down development. The accumulation of temperature or heat can be measured in terms of daily "heat units" or "growing degree days" (GDDs) summed from the day of corn planting. In addition to the commonly used "days" maturity rating scheme, seed companies often also define hybrid maturities in terms of the number of heat units required to reach maturity. The good news about delayed planting of corn is that the crop adjusts by maturing in fewer heat units than when planted in normal time periods. Consequently, adapted hybrid maturities can be planted later than many growers expect with little risk of the crop failing to mature prior to a killing fall freeze. Based on field research conducted in Indiana and Ohio, the following suggestions can be made for southern Indiana growers faced with late planting or replanting of corn. Rather than GDD values, the hybrid maturities are listed in terms of "comparative relative maturity" values that most closely correspond to hybrid maturity definitions used by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. While a switch to significantly earlier hybrid maturities is not physiologically warranted for a couple more weeks, southern Indiana growers may nonetheless want to consider switching to earlier maturities to reduce their potential grain drying costs in the fall. Long-term plot data from Pioneer Hi-Bred International (Iragavarapu, 2003) indicates that the yield potential for late, medium, and early maturity hybrids becomes very similar as planting is delayed beyond June 10 in the central U.S. Corn Belt. Grain moisture differences at harvest, on the other hand, remain similar among the hybrid maturities, if not more dramatic, as planting is delayed. Final Note of Caution: Growers who elect to switch to earlier maturity hybrids for mid - to late June plantings in southern Indiana must also remember to select hybrids with acceptable disease tolerance because of the greater risk of leaf diseases with late-planted corn (Vincelli, 2003). This is especially true if you are considering maturities unusually early, and therefore agronomically unadapted, for your location. TABLE 1. Approximate "safe" relative hybrid maturities for delayed plantings throughout southern Indiana. Latest "safe" hybrid maturity for planting no later than Area of Indiana June 7 June 14 June 21 Hybrid CRM ratings Southwest 118+ 118+ 117 Southcentral 115+ 113 108 Southeast 115+ 113 108 The definitions of hybrid CRM (comparative relative maturity) values listed above correspond most closely with those used by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Hybrid maturity recommendations for delayed planting in other areas of Indiana and Ohio can be found in Purdue Univ. publication AY-312-W. RELATED REFERENCES Iragavarapu, Raj. 2003. Basing Hybrid Maturity Switches on Long-term Data. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Available online at http://www.pioneer.com/growingpoint/agronomy/crop_insight/1012.jsp. (URL verified 6/1/04). Note that online access to this document requires free registration via Pioneers GrowingPoint" Web site. Nielsen, R.L. (Bob) and Peter Thomison. 2003. Delayed Planting & Hybrid Maturity Decisions. Purdue Univ. Cooperative Extension Publication AY-312-W. Available online at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ ext/pubs/AY-312- W.pdf. (URL verified 6/1/04). Nielsen, R.L. (Bob). 2003. Estimating Yield and Dollar Returns From Corn Replanting. Purdue Univ. Cooperative Extension Publication AY-264-W. Available online at http: //www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/pubs/ AY-264- W.pdf. (URL verified 6/1/04). Vincelli, Paul. 2003. Risk of Leaf Disease in Late-Planted Corn. Kentucky Pest News. Univ. of Kentucky. Available online at http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/kpn/kpn_03/pi030519.htm. (URL verified 6/1/04). R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University. Email address: rnielsen@purdue.edu. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday June 6, 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|------------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days |Temp ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |82 47 65 -4 2.69 4 67 Valparaiso_AP_I |76 46 63 -4 1.45 3 Wanatah |78 43 62 -4 1.42 4 66 Wheatfield |78 44 63 -3 2.89 2 Winamac |78 47 64 -3 1.93 3 69 North Central(2)| Plymouth |78 47 63 -5 2.30 3 South_Bend |77 48 64 -3 1.75 2 Young_America |80 48 65 -3 0.72 3 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |77 49 64 -3 1.63 3 69 Fort_Wayne |76 48 64 -4 2.65 4 West Central (4)| Greencastle |80 47 64 -6 2.68 2 Perrysville |87 44 67 -2 1.59 3 72 Spencer_Ag |82 52 66 -2 2.05 2 Terre_Haute_AFB |86 52 67 -3 1.66 2 W_Lafayette_6NW |81 45 65 -3 0.84 3 72 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |77 53 66 -4 1.67 2 Greenfield |78 52 66 -3 1.20 1 Indianapolis_AP |79 52 67 -3 3.21 3 Indianapolis_SE |77 49 66 -4 1.40 1 Tipton_Ag |80 49 65 -2 1.09 3 70 East Central (6)| Farmland |77 48 64 -3 1.07 3 66 New_Castle |74 48 62 -5 2.29 1 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 6 58 71 -2 0.86 1 Freelandville |85 55 68 -3 0.36 1 Shoals |82 53 68 -2 0.63 2 Stendal |84 56 69 -2 1.48 3 Vincennes_5NE |84 55 68 -2 0.67 3 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |79 56 68 -1 1.17 2 Oolitic |83 54 67 -1 0.93 1 73 Tell_City |84 59 72 +2 0.89 1 Southeast (9) | Brookville |80 51 66 -1 0.89 1 Milan_5NE |78 52 66 -2 1.31 2 Scottsburg |79 52 67 -3 1.23 2 --------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday June 6, 2004 ----------------|-------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2004 thru Station | June 6, 2004 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 8.43 +0.11 22 702 +73 Valparaiso_AP_I | 6.43 -2.24 23 632 +104 Wanatah | 6.48 -1.71 27 575 +97 Wheatfield |14.92 +6.91 35 625 +119 Winamac | 7.16 -0.88 26 663 +106 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 8.28 -0.20 26 621 +37 South_Bend | 6.55 -1.26 27 683 +177 Young_America | 5.75 -2.21 22 749 +194 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 7.47 -0.47 28 644 +170 Fort_Wayne | 7.92 +0.38 27 701 +167 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 9.89 +0.69 27 746 +63 Perrysville | 8.50 -0.27 23 842 +230 Spencer_Ag |10.55 +0.91 28 798 +185 Terre_Haute_AFB | 7.36 -1.72 21 911 +235 W_Lafayette_6NW | 6.60 -1.73 20 756 +194 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 7.19 -1.19 26 825 +159 Greenfield | 7.14 -1.83 24 774 +160 Indianapolis_AP | 9.30 +0.92 26 882 +216 Indianapolis_SE | 7.64 -1.18 23 793 +150 Tipton_Ag | 5.25 -3.15 22 718 +196 East Central (6)| Farmland | 8.02 -0.17 30 723 +220 New_Castle | 7.81 -1.49 22 626 +108 Southwest (7) | Evansville |11.70 +2.19 23 1047 +201 Freelandville | 8.90 -0.82 25 899 +188 Shoals |12.52 +2.30 29 910 +227 Stendal |13.07 +2.54 25 983 +212 Vincennes_5NE |10.71 +0.99 30 961 +250 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |16.02 +5.80 29 904 +216 Oolitic |11.11 +1.47 29 825 +193 Tell_City |14.28 +3.87 28 1065 +278 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 8.95 -0.29 25 796 +231 Milan_5NE |11.45 +2.21 36 806 +241 Scottsburg |18.94 +9.56 30 880 +168 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2004: 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 Indiana Agricultural Statistics, 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 Indiana Agricultural Statistics, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Source: Indiana Agricultural Statistics