in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 7, 2005 Issue IN-CW3205 Agricultural Summary Heat and drought stress to crops and livestock are still evident in many areas of the state, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Several farmers continue to spray for aphids and spider mites in soybean fields. Kernel abortion in corn, especially in the tips of the ears, is still a concern to farmers. Many 4-H members are preparing projects for the upcoming state fair. Field Crops Report There were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 43 percent good to excellent compared with 80 percent last year at this time. Ninety-nine percent of the corn acreage has silked compared with 99 percent last year and 95 percent for the 5-year average. Fifty percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage compared with 59 percent last year and 46 percent for the average. By area, corn in dough is 39 percent complete in the north, 54 percent complete in the central region and 64 percent complete in the south. Eight percent of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage compared with 15 percent last year and 11 percent for the average. Ninety-six percent of the soybean acreage is blooming compared with 94 percent last year and 90 percent for the average. Seventy-three percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 70 percent last year and 59 percent for the average. Soybean condition is rated 51 percent good to excellent compared with 75 percent last year. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is 28 percent complete compared with 22 percent last year and 28 percent for the average. Major activities during the week included monitoring soybean fields for disease and insects, baling hay and straw, repairing equipment, hauling grain to market, mowing roadsides and pastures, hauling manure and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 1 percent excellent, 23 percent good, 40 percent fair, 24 percent poor and 12 percent very poor. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Feeding of hay continued on some livestock farms. Crop Progress Table ----------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Silked 99 96 99 95 Corn in Dough 50 31 59 46 Corn in Dent 8 3 15 11 Soybeans Blooming 96 91 94 90 Soybeans Podding 73 55 70 59 Alfalfa Third Cutting 28 NA 22 28 Crop Condition Table ---------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ---------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 6 16 35 38 5 Soybeans 4 12 33 43 8 Pasture 12 24 40 23 1 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table -------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : -------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 17 8 1 Short 42 29 13 Adequate 40 60 81 Surplus 1 3 5 Subsoil Very Short 18 13 1 Short 43 34 14 Adequate 39 52 82 Surplus 0 1 3 Days Suitable 6.4 5.7 5.6 Contact information --Greg Preston, Director --Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Agricultural Comments And News CNN - 3 AUG - SOY RUST INFO UPDATE FROM INDIANA * Observations No Asian soybean rust has been found on soybean, kudzu, or any other host species in Indiana. Sentinel plots are being scouted regularly. Bacterial pustule, brown spot, downy mildew, and bacterial blight have been found in some fields. * Growth Stages About one-third of Indiana soybean fields are podding, which is a little ahead of the 5-year average. * Management There is no reason at this time to spray a fungicide on soybean for rust control. If fields are sprayed now, and rust does not reach the state for at least another 2 or 3 weeks, a second spray will be required. * Forecast Outlook Temperatures of the past several days have been higher than the optimum for rust, and dew periods are not as long as they were last week. However, the sluggish development of rust in the South means that there is little inoculum available for transport by wind into Indiana. * Scouting Recommendations Because we cannot rule out the possibility that some spores of the soybean rust fungus have reached Indiana, fields should be scouted diligently and frequently. If southerly winds brought in any spores during June or July, pustules developed from secondary infection should be visible now. * Scouting Techniques The goal of scouting is to detect rust at a very low incidence (fewer than 5% of plants with any visible infection), when effective control with a fungicide is still possible. At least 150 leaves should be carefully examined. If initial spore loads are light, there may be only a few infections per acre. When these infections mature and produce spore-bearing pustules, which takes about 7-9 days, most of those spores will land near where they were produced. Thus, initial disease development will be focal. That is, there will be a few "hot spots" in a field where rust is severe, with little or no rust outside these hot spots. These hot spots, or foci, may be only 1 yard in diameter. As a focus develops and more spores are produced, infection in the field will become more general. However, the goal of scouting is detect rust before it becomes general. To maximize the chances of finding a focus, it is better to look at many areas in a field, but only a few plants in each area, rather than to look at a lot of plants in only a few areas. If there are areas in a field where leaves tend to be wet longer (low areas, areas shaded in the morning by woods, etc.), scouting should concentrate on these. Examine the underside of leaves because this is where pustules preferentially develop. Look in the lower to mid canopy for rust, on the third or fourth leaf below the top fully developed leaf. The Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory web site has images and tips for recognizing soybean rust and distinguishing it from other foliar diseases. See http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/pubs/soybean_rust_ symptoms_web.pdf Last Updated: 08/02/05. Greg Shaner, Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University. The INDIANA CROP & WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 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 USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table Week ending Sunday August 7, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|------------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN| Total|Days |Temp ----------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |97 60 77 +4 0.23 1 Valparaiso_AP_I |92 56 76 +4 0.36 2 Wanatah |93 53 75 +4 0.37 2 82 Wheatfield |92 59 76 +5 0.40 3 Winamac |90 60 76 +4 0.28 1 79 North Central(2)| Plymouth |92 60 76 +4 0.27 2 South_Bend |93 56 77 +5 0.11 1 Young_America |92 61 75 +3 0.00 0 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |90 60 75 +4 0.00 0 79 Fort_Wayne |91 60 76 +3 0.01 1 West Central(4) | Greencastle |91 63 76 +1 0.80 1 Perrysville |94 61 77 +4 0.14 2 84 Spencer_Ag |91 64 77 +3 0.01 1 Terre_Haute_AFB |92 63 78 +4 0.00 0 W_Lafayette_6NW |92 60 76 +4 0.12 1 84 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |91 67 78 +4 0.13 1 Greenfield |91 64 77 +4 0.13 2 Indianapolis_AP |93 69 80 +6 0.15 2 Indianapolis_SE |92 63 77 +3 0.52 2 Tipton_Ag |90 61 75 +4 0.75 3 82 East Central(6) | Farmland |92 60 75 +4 0.23 2 76 New_Castle |92 60 75 +3 0.25 1 Southwest (7) | Evansville |95 67 81 +4 0.25 2 Freelandville |92 67 79 +4 0.00 0 Shoals |93 65 79 +5 0.05 1 Stendal |94 68 81 +5 0.00 0 Vincennes_5NE |96 64 80 +5 0.00 0 83 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |94 68 80 +6 0.00 0 Oolitic |93 64 78 +5 0.06 1 84 Tell_City |95 69 82 +6 0.00 0 Southeast (9) | Brookville |97 61 79 +6 1.44 3 Milan_5NE |94 64 78 +5 0.75 3 Scottsburg |96 62 79 +4 0.20 1 ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday August 7, 2005 ------------------------------------------------ Accumulation -------------------------------- April 1, 2005 thru Station August 7, 2005 -------------------------------- Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF -------------------------------- | | | | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 9.40 -6.71 38 2188 +144 Valparaiso_AP_I | 8.62 -8.26 36 2083 +234 Wanatah |10.55 -5.89 43 2011 +243 Wheatfield |15.32 -0.74 77 2089 +271 Winamac |12.57 -3.52 45 2122 +241 North Central(2)| Plymouth |10.43 -6.31 44 2040 +77 South_Bend | 7.79 -7.97 41 2126 +291 Young_America |14.37 -1.17 42 2106 +180 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |12.73 -3.04 44 1994 +244 Fort_Wayne |11.29 -3.34 45 2098 +177 West Central(4) | Greencastle |19.21 +0.76 38 2074 -97 Perrysville |12.59 -4.96 38 2277 +243 Spencer_Ag |17.27 -1.59 44 2098 +55 Terre_Haute_AFB |14.81 -2.95 40 2329 +161 W_Lafayette_6NW | 9.91 -6.26 42 2160 +237 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |14.62 -1.96 44 2355 +207 Greenfield |19.50 +1.23 50 2146 +93 Indianapolis_AP |13.92 -2.66 42 2343 +195 Indianapolis_SE |14.49 -2.78 41 2164 +35 Tipton_Ag |17.28 +0.87 48 1994 +128 East Central(6) | Farmland |12.59 -3.50 44 2020 +202 New_Castle |16.50 -1.18 38 1883 +25 Southwest (7) | Evansville |12.32 -4.77 38 2539 +29 Freelandville |14.14 -3.60 39 2397 +156 Shoals |16.56 -2.67 51 2381 +223 Stendal |14.80 -4.14 36 2527 +172 Vincennes_5NE |18.98 +1.24 43 2484 +243 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |14.42 -5.10 37 2427 +274 Oolitic |14.78 -3.52 46 2178 +119 Tell_City |15.48 -3.82 32 2664 +278 Southeast (9) | Brookville |14.97 -2.72 40 2239 +291 Milan_5NE |16.34 -1.35 60 2209 +261 Scottsburg |14.32 -3.78 45 2343 +119 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 2005: Agricultural Weather Information Service, 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