in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date July 11, 2004 Issue IN-CW2804 Agricultural Summary Favorable growing conditions prevailed during most of the week for major crops, according to Indiana Agricultural Statistics. Scattered showers along with thunderstorms slowed field activities in some areas. However, soils are becoming dry in portions of the state. Many fields of corn have entered into the pollination stage and early planted soybean fields are setting pods. Planting of double crop soybeans along with baling of hay and straw continued. Many farmers were signing up planted acreage at their local FSA office. Irrigation systems were active. Field Crops Report There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 75 percent good to excellent compared with 52 percent last year at this time. Sixty-one percent of the corn acreage has silked compared to 10 percent last year and 24 percent for the average. Three percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage. Forty-three percent of the soybean acreage is blooming compared with 18 percent last year and 34 percent for the 5-year average. Eight percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 1 percent last year and 5 percent for the average. Soybean condition is rated 69 percent good to excellent compared with 51 percent last year at this time. Ninety-six percent of the winter wheat acreage is harvested compared with 59 percent last year and 80 percent for the average. By area, 89 percent of the wheat is harvested in the north, 99 percent in the central region and 99 percent in the south. Second cutting of alfalfa hay is 45 percent complete compared with 29 percent last year and 51 percent for the average. Other activities during the week were cleaning up and repairing equipment, scouting fields, mowing roads and pastures, moving grain to market, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 13 percent excellent, 63 percent good, 19 percent fair, 4 percent poor and 1 percent very poor. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table Crop Progress Table ----------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Silked 61 32 10 24 Corn in Dough 3 0 0 0 Soybeans Blooming 43 26 18 34 Soybeans Podding 8 NA 1 5 Alfalfa Second Cutting 45 21 29 51 Winter Wheat Harvested 96 78 59 80 Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ------------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 3 5 17 52 23 Soybean 3 6 22 51 18 Pasture 1 4 19 63 13 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 1 1 0 Short 16 20 5 Adequate 75 73 42 Surplus 8 6 53 Subsoil Very Short 0 0 2 Short 13 12 6 Adequate 80 80 56 Surplus 7 8 36 Days Suitable 5.4 6.2 2.2 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 RUST ON CORN * Rust is off to an early start this year. I first saw some common rust (Puccinia sorghi) in both seed corn and commercial hybrid corn a couple of weeks ago, but there were very few pustules. Weather over the past couple of weeks has probably been favorable for continued development of rust (temperatures often in the range of 61 to 77º and at least 6 hours of dew each night). From phone calls I have received others are seeing rust as well, and there is concern that there may be damage on some hybrids. Common rust is a serious threat in seed corn production and on sweet corn. Producers of these crops routinely use foliar fungicides to keep it in check. In contrast, rust is usually not a concern on hybrid field corn. Genetic resistance protects most field corn hybrids from the disease. Common rust can be recognized by the small, elliptical, cinnamon-brown pustules that erupt on both surfaces of the leaf blade. To a casual observer, small, circular spots that arise from many causes may look like rust. These spots may be early infections of several different leaf blight fungi or the result of injury. Close inspection of these spots will reveal whether they are rust or not. A rust pustule is a mass of cinnamon-brown spores, which form a powdery mass on the surface of the pustule. Pustules may be somewhat longer than 1/16 inch. The fungus produces spores just beneath the leaf epidermis, and as their numbers multiply, they erupt through the epidermis. A torn flap of epidermis will often partially cover the pustule. The protruding mass of spores can just be discerned with the naked eye, but can be seen more clearly with a hand lens. Rust is a polycyclic disease. The fungus does not survive the winters in the Corn Belt. It can only grow and produce spores on living plants of corn or teosinte (a close relative of corn). Spores produced in tropical or subtropical areas, where corn remains green throughout the winter, are carried north on the wind each spring and infect corn in temperate regions. The initial level of infection produced by these introduced spores is never enough to cause damage. However, each infection produces a pustule in about 7 to 10 days, and each pustule then produces several hundred spores each day. Wind disperses these spores; spores that land on healthy corn leaf tissue cause more infections, and the cycle repeats. Rust is capable of extremely rapid, exponential increase in the field. This year, rust has perhaps appeared a bit earlier than normal (as it did in 2000). This, coupled with mild temperatures and dew at night, may allow more rust than usual to develop early in the season. The partial resistance to rust in most hybrids allows some pustules to form, i.e., the resistance is not "complete". However, these pustules take longer to mature, are smaller, and produce fewer spores compared to a susceptible hybrid. The tissue surrounding the pustules may be distinctly pale-green or yellow. This resistance reduces the reproductive potential of the fungus, and rust will normally not become severe enough by the time the crop matures to cause significant damage. Mature leaves are often more resistant than young leaves. When rust starts developing before all leaves are developed and mature, even a hybrid that is normally resistant may develop enough rust to reduce yield. In addition to checking the number and appearance of pustules in a field, a grower should also determine the resistance rating of the hybrid. This information may be available on the seed company's Web site or in a catalog. If not, a grower should contact the seed dealer for this information. Fungicides are an option for control of rust on hybrid field corn, but the cost should be considered carefully. The biggest uncertainties surrounding a decision to use a fungicide are the degree of resistance in the hybrid and the favorability of future weather for continued spread of rust. Weather forecasts for the next 10 days suggest that conditions will be generally favorable for rust, so if rust is established in a field and appears to be spreading, a fungicide should be considered. There do not appear to be any well-worked out thresholds for deciding how much rust should be on a crop before a fungicide is justified. An article in the Pest Management and Crop Development Bulletin of the University of Illinois, dated 30 June 2000 , states that the whole-plant severity of rust should reach 15% within 2 weeks after silking to justify a fungicide, but the basis for this recommendation is not given. Seed corn producers use a much lower threshold just a few pustules per plant because inbreds are often much more susceptible than hybrids. What does a severity of "15 %" mean?? Rust severity is a function of how many pustules occupy a unit area of leaf. A leaf covered with the maximum density of pustules has a severity of 100 %. However, even on the most susceptible varieties and under the most favorable conditions, pustules can occupy only about 35 % of the leaf area (the internal growth of the fungus extends beyond the region of sporulation and competition between pustules limits their number). This level of rust about 35 % true leaf cover is set at 100 % and lesser amounts are rated accordingly. A severity of 15 % over an entire plant is a lot of pustules, and my own feeling (without any real hard evidence from hybrid corn to back it up) is that this threshold may be too high. Several fungicides are registered for use on corn. These include protectants such as mancozeb, maneb, and chlorothalonil (Bravo, Echo, Equus); and systemics such as propiconazole (Tilt, Propimax), azoxystrobin (Quadris), and a combination product of propiconazole and trifloxystrobin (Stratego). In a test we conducted on seed corn in 2000, only Quadris and an experimental fungicide chemically related to azoxystrobin showed curative activity against rust pustules that had already erupted. Stratego was not evaluated in that test, but because it also contains a strobilurin fungicide, it may also have some curative activity. The other fungicides probably only protect against new infections. With any of these fungicides, it's important to apply them before rust pustules are too numerous. In that same seed corn trial in 2000, when an early application of Tilt (essentially no effect on rust) was followed by an application of Quadris at silking, by which time rust severity on the ear leaf was about 25 %, the final severity of rust was only slightly less than severity on untreated corn and the yield was abysmal (7.8 bu/A). The same rate of Quadris applied at V11, when there were only a few pustules on the ear leaf, held rust severity to 5 % and the yield was 44 bu/A. Gregory Shaner, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, Purdue University. Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday July 11, 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 | 87 56 73 -2 1.73 4 71 Valparaiso_AP_I | 85 54 71 -2 0.83 5 Wanatah | 86 55 70 -3 0.20 3 77 Wheatfield | 86 55 71 -3 1.62 3 Winamac | 85 57 72 -2 2.33 4 76 North Central (2| Plymouth | 87 58 72 -3 1.37 3 South_Bend | 87 56 72 -2 0.32 5 Young_America | 86 56 73 -2 3.76 4 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 85 57 72 +0 0.56 5 75 Fort_Wayne | 87 56 73 -2 1.15 3 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 88 55 73 -3 0.48 3 Perrysville | 88 56 74 -2 0.91 2 78 Spencer_Ag | 89 59 74 -1 3.43 6 Terre_Haute_AFB | 90 57 75 -1 1.51 4 W_Lafayette_6NW | 86 53 72 -2 1.18 2 80 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 87 57 74 -2 1.05 5 Greenfield | 87 57 73 -2 1.29 7 Indianapolis_AP | 88 57 75 -1 2.36 4 Indianapolis_SE | 87 57 74 -2 1.87 4 Tipton_Ag | 85 52 71 -3 0.48 4 79 East Central (6)| Farmland | 87 58 74 +2 0.64 2 72 New_Castle | 85 55 71 -3 0.48 4 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 91 62 78 -1 1.65 4 Freelandville | 90 62 76 +0 2.06 4 Shoals | 89 59 76 +1 1.90 4 Stendal | 91 62 78 +1 0.96 4 Vincennes_5NE | 90 61 76 -1 2.20 6 South Central (8| Leavenworth | 89 60 76 +1 1.75 5 Oolitic | 87 58 74 +0 2.00 5 77 Tell_City | 91 61 78 +1 2.78 3 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 91 60 76 +3 0.29 3 Milan_5NE | 89 59 75 +2 1.25 5 Scottsburg | 88 58 75 -1 1.85 5 --------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday July 11, 2004 ----------------|-------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2004 thru Station | July 11, 2004 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 19.04 +6.42 37 1424 +6 Valparaiso_AP_I | 11.63 -1.91 39 1326 +71 Wanatah | 10.80 -2.16 42 1249 +56 Wheatfield | 22.07 +9.29 47 1306 +76 Winamac | 14.02 +1.17 45 1370 +79 North Central (2| Plymouth | 13.71 +0.29 42 1306 -40 South_Bend | 13.13 +0.56 44 1389 +151 Young_America | 16.07 +3.76 38 1471 +159 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 13.81 +1.15 48 1318 +142 Fort_Wayne | 14.75 +3.09 44 1430 +128 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 14.76 +0.71 43 1467 -38 Perrysville | 14.49 +0.72 35 1630 +226 Spencer_Ag | 18.11 +3.56 47 1588 +188 Terre_Haute_AFB | 12.05 -1.61 37 1735 +233 W_Lafayette_6NW | 18.29 +5.61 30 1481 +165 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 12.63 -0.11 42 1627 +141 Greenfield | 14.91 +1.20 44 1548 +137 Indianapolis_AP | 16.70 +3.96 41 1714 +228 Indianapolis_SE | 13.90 +0.81 37 1565 +103 Tipton_Ag | 13.49 +0.83 41 1415 +145 East Central (6)| Farmland | 13.91 +1.04 44 1460 +231 New_Castle | 16.02 +2.03 35 1290 +31 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 15.44 +1.78 36 1968 +197 Freelandville | 13.13 -0.99 38 1739 +178 Shoals | 17.82 +2.69 41 1741 +247 Stendal | 15.77 +0.49 38 1865 +214 Vincennes_5NE | 15.84 +1.72 45 1816 +255 South Central (8| Leavenworth | 21.68 +6.39 45 1758 +263 Oolitic | 17.80 +3.45 46 1630 +214 Tell_City | 21.55 +6.22 41 1985 +319 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 11.66 -2.00 36 1620 +296 Milan_5NE | 17.39 +3.73 58 1614 +290 Scottsburg | 24.08 +10.03 45 1720 +171 ------------------------------------------------------------- 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