in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 29, 2004 Issue IN-CW3504 Agricultural Summary A few farmers were harvesting some early maturing corn fields in the southwestern region of the state, according to Indiana Agricultural Statistics. Most of the early planted corn fields are rapidly advancing toward maturity. Early planted soybean fields are beginning to turn color and leaves are dropping in many fields. Most areas received rain with heavy amounts occurring in some isolated areas. Ponding was evident in some fields. Field Crops Report There were 3.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Ninety-six percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage compared with 81percent last year and 92 percent for the average. Sixty-seven percent of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage compared with 35 percent last year and 60 percent for the average. Fourteen percent of the corn acreage is mature (safe from frost) compared with 2 percent last year and 9 percent for the average. Corn condition is rated 78 percent good to excellent compared with 56 percent last year at this time. Ninety-eight percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 90 percent last year and 95 percent for the average. Twelve percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 5 percent last year and 10 percent for the average. Soybean condition is rated 72 percent good to excellent compared with 56 percent last year at this time. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is 78 percent complete compared with 66 percent last year and 81 percent for the average. Tobacco harvest is 19 complete compared with 21 percent last year and 30 percent for the average. Other activities during the week were repairing equipment, mowing roads, attending FSA offices, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 15 percent excellent, 53 percent good, 24 percent fair, 7 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 in Dough 96 90 81 92 Corn in Dent 67 52 35 60 Corn Mature 14 7 2 9 Soybeans Podding 98 95 90 95 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 12 NA 5 10 Alfalfa Third Cutting 78 64 66 81 Tobacco Harvested 19 NA 21 30 Crop Condition Table ----------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 2 5 15 51 27 Soybean 4 6 18 51 21 Pasture 1 7 24 53 15 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table -------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : -------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 0 3 4 Short 5 19 29 Adequate 75 71 49 Surplus 20 7 18 Subsoil Very Short 1 3 4 Short 10 19 25 Adequate 78 75 60 Surplus 11 3 11 Days Suitable 3.6 5.0 5.5 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Plant Diseases Northern Corn Leaf Blight on Corn An old foe is making a comeback. Northern corn leaf blight is one of several diseases that kill corn leaves prematurely. Northern corn leaf blight can be found some fields nearly every year, but usually it is not severe enough to be of concern. This year I have seen, and have received several reports of extensive blighting of leaves on some corn hybrids due to northern corn leaf blight. Lesions of northern corn leaf blight on a susceptible hybrid are fairly easy to recognize. They are large up to 6 inches or more long and 1 inch wide and taper at each end. They are tan, but when air is humid may have a dull green cast. Like several other common leaf blighting diseases of corn, the northern corn leaf blight fungus, 'Exserohilum turcicum', overwinters in residue of corn infected the previous year. In the spring and early summer, the fungus produces spores on this residue. Wind blows these spores around and those that land on growing corn can infect and cause disease. Initial lesions develop on lower leaves. Once a dead lesion develops on a leaf, the fungus will produce spores there, and these can infect more leaf tissue. Over time, the disease progresses up the plant, killing tissue on leaves above the ear. The dull green cast on lesions is because of the spores of the fungus on the lesion surface. Moderate temperatures (65o to 80o F) and long dew periods favor infection. Most hybrids have a partial resistance to northern corn leaf blight that restricts lesion size and reduces the number of spores the fungus can produce on a lesion. This slows down the spread of the blight so that the amount of leaf tissue destroyed is not enough to reduce yield much if any. This is why, even though the fungus is widespread in Indiana, we don''t usually see much damage from northern corn leaf blight. This year, a lot of leaf tissue on some hybrids, particularly in central and northern Indiana, is blighted. These hybrids evidently do not have enough resistance to retard the spread of the disease. If grain in these fields is now in the dough stage, the reduction in yield may not be great, but there will probably be some loss. Damage from northern corn leaf blight depends on how much leaf tissue is destroyed at a given stage of kernel development. Kernels on severely affected plants may not fill completely. It's far too late to consider any remedial action, i.e., application of a fungicide. Nonetheless, growers should check their fields for leaf blight. If it is severe and if yield and grain quality are not what would be expected, a grower might want to use a more resistant hybrid in the future. It is impossible to say whether northern corn leaf blight will be a problem next year, but if a field is severely diseased this year, there will be a lot of overwintering fungus, and so a lot of inoculum next year. Gregory Shaner - Purdue University ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday August 29, 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 88 51 74 +4 5.21 5 72 Valparaiso_AP_I 84 59 73 +4 2.93 4 Wanatah 86 49 71 +4 4.38 5 75 Wheatfield 86 50 72 +4 4.94 6 Winamac 85 52 73 +5 3.64 5 71 North Central (2) Plymouth 86 56 72 +3 3.42 5 South_Bend 87 59 74 +5 2.84 5 Young_America 89 56 74 +5 2.68 4 Northeast (3) Columbia_City 85 54 73 +6 2.65 3 72 Fort_Wayne 87 56 75 +5 1.08 2 West Central (4) Greencastle 87 54 74 +2 1.91 4 Perrysville 89 56 75 +5 3.18 3 79 Spencer_Ag 87 57 75 +5 2.80 4 Terre_Haute_AFB 88 57 77 +6 1.42 3 W_Lafayette_6NW 87 54 74 +5 1.41 3 78 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 87 59 76 +5 1.02 3 Greenfield 86 57 74 +4 2.73 3 Indianapolis_AP 87 61 76 +5 2.56 4 Indianapolis_SE 87 58 75 +4 2.33 3 Tipton_Ag 86 53 73 +5 1.17 3 76 East Central (6) Farmland 88 55 74 +6 1.27 3 70 New_Castle 84 53 71 +3 0.52 3 Southwest (7) Evansville 91 61 78 +5 2.80 3 Freelandville 88 57 76 +4 2.61 4 Shoals 89 58 77 +5 2.05 5 Stendal 90 58 77 +4 4.00 4 Vincennes_5NE 89 61 77 +5 2.29 5 75 South Central (8) Leavenworth 88 58 76 +5 3.58 5 Oolitic 87 56 75 +5 2.26 5 76 Tell_City 91 60 78 +5 5.19 3 Southeast (9) Brookville 91 56 76 +6 1.33 3 Milan_5NE 88 57 75 +5 1.34 5 Scottsburg 89 53 75 +3 1.48 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday August 29, 2004 ----------------|-------------------------------- | Accumulation |-------------------------------- | April 1, 2004 thru Station | August 29, 2004 |-------------------------------- | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF |-------------------------------- | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) Chalmers_5W 28.70 +9.77 54 2377 -158 Valparaiso_AP_I 19.63 +0.04 62 2244 -72 Wanatah 21.17 +2.09 65 2093 -124 Wheatfield 35.18 +16.57 67 2192 -78 Winamac 27.16 +8.28 67 2279 -60 North Central (2) Plymouth 24.57 +5.51 67 2208 -244 South_Bend 21.40 +3.00 70 2343 +38 Young_America 25.48 +7.41 60 2392 -12 Northeast (3) Columbia_City 24.21 +6.03 69 2195 -4 Fort_Wayne 23.90 +6.88 63 2374 -33 West Central (4) Greencastle 22.32 +1.02 62 2378 -328 Perrysville 20.97 +0.67 50 2600 +74 Spencer_Ag 26.82 +5.00 66 2556 +5 Terre_Haute_AFB 17.75 -2.41 58 2768 +77 W_Lafayette_6NW 22.68 +3.80 48 2392 -2 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 18.83 -0.24 60 2665 -5 Greenfield 22.50 +1.53 60 2528 -32 Indianapolis_AP 26.37 +7.30 55 2762 +92 Indianapolis_SE 22.36 +2.64 53 2551 -104 Tipton_Ag 20.56 +1.38 60 2317 -9 East Central (6) Farmland 21.23 +2.64 60 2359 +88 New_Castle 22.60 +2.38 48 2096 -231 Southwest (7) Evansville 22.61 +3.44 51 3129 +32 Freelandville 23.04 +3.02 53 2801 +22 Shoals 25.15 +3.42 58 2799 +110 Stendal 24.33 +2.78 53 2985 +65 Vincennes_5NE 23.55 +3.53 64 2916 +137 South Central (8) Leavenworth 31.78 +9.50 62 2837 +161 Oolitic 25.61 +4.63 63 2645 +71 Tell_City 30.22 +8.23 53 3202 +235 Southeast (9) Brookville 18.63 -1.75 50 2681 +237 Milan_5NE 25.75 +5.37 82 2630 +186 Scottsburg 32.83 +12.18 57 2747 -18 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.