in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date September 4, 2005 Issue IN-CW3605 Agricultural Summary Hurricane Katrina brought heavy rains and wind to several southwestern counties causing lodging problems in some corn fields, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Corn harvest has begun in a few west central and southwestern fields. Seed corn and silage were being harvested in the northern areas. Soybeans are rapidly advancing towards maturity with several fields across the state turning yellow and beginning to drop leaves. Field Crops Report There were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Corn condition is rated 42 percent good to excellent compared with 77 percent last year at this time. Ninety-eight percent of the corn acreage has reached the dough stage compared with 99 percent last year and 96 percent for average. Seventy-eight percent of the corn acreage has reached the dent stage compared with 80 percent last year and 73 percent for the average. By area, corn in dent stage is 78 percent complete in the north, 77 percent complete in the central region and 80 percent complete in the south. Nineteen percent of the corn is mature compared with 25 percent last year and 20 percent for the average. Soybean condition is rated 52 percent good to excellent compared with 72 percent last year. Virtually all of the soybean acreage is setting pods. Fifteen percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 27 percent last year and 21 percent for the average. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is 92 percent complete compared with 87 percent last year and 86 percent for the average. Major activities during the week included hauling old crop grain to market, cleaning grain bins, mowing roadsides and waterways, preparing harvest equipment, and attending outlook meetings and field days. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 1 percent excellent, 23 percent good, 45 percent fair, 23 percent poor and 8 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 98 94 99 96 Corn in Dent 78 61 80 73 Corn Mature 19 8 25 20 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 15 4 27 21 Alfalfa Third Cutting 92 84 87 86 Crop Condition Table ---------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ---------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 6 15 37 36 6 Soybeans 3 11 34 43 9 Pasture 8 23 45 23 1 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table -------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : -------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 9 12 1 Short 23 31 6 Adequate 61 56 79 Surplus 7 1 14 Subsoil Very Short 14 18 1 Short 32 39 9 Adequate 52 42 81 Surplus 2 1 9 Days Suitable 4.8 5.8 4.7 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 SOYBEAN SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME * Drought stress followed by heavy rains is followed by widespread SDS. A few weeks ago (Pest & Crop, July 22, 2005, Issue 18) we cautioned that SDS could develop in many areas of Indiana following the midsummer rains. This disease is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium solanif. sp. glycines with the newly proposed name Fusarium virguliforme. Early infection/colonization of young soybean seedlings frequently occurs in cool and moist soils soon after planting. These conditions are likely when soybean is planted early. High soil moisture triggers the development of foliar symptoms of SDS. If soils are wet at the beginning of the reproductive growth stages, foliar symptoms of SDS may appear any time from mid July through mid August. During most of the early summer, heat and drought caused stress in many areas of Indiana. The soybean cyst nematode caused significant damage that was easily detectable. These stressed crops then received rains from late July through early August. While this probably rarely caused soil moisture saturation, soil water content was apparently sufficient in many areas to trigger the development of SDS. Similar to previous years, the distribution of SDS probably is more a reflection of weather patterns than of the distribution of the pathogen in fields over the state. Although SDS can be found in some fields in southern Indiana, the disease is not nearly as widespread there as it was in 2004. This year, SDS is more widespread in northern Indiana. Symptoms are fairly uniform throughout some fields, rather than in patchy patterns typically seen in previous years. This may be the result of a uniform stress pattern of drought followed by overabundance of moisture. It also demonstrates that in many fields, he pathogen is widely distributed. There is a clear association between delayed planting and reduced severity of SDS. An extreme delay will reduce yield potential because the plant does not have sufficient vegetative growth before flowering. There needs to be a compromise when making planting time decisions, between reducing the risk of SDS and losing yield potential from planting too late. While soybean varieties with some resistance to SDS are slowly replacing the most susceptible ones, it remains important to not plant too early in fields with a history of SDS. Good note keeping of which fields show SDS in 2005 will aid planting decisions in 2007 when many 2005 soybean fields will once again be planted to soybean. Fields with severe SDS in 2005 should probably be the last ones planted to soybean in 2007. This will not eliminate SDS but has potential to reduce the risk of severe damage. It is also important to select a variety with the best possible resistance to SDS, in combination with other required traits. To view color pictures associated with this article, go to: http://128.210.99.160/entomology/ext/targets/p&c/ p&c2005/p&c22_2005.pdf, page 6. Andreas Westphal, Scott Abney, and Gregory Shaner, 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 September 4, 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 93 48 71 +2 0.00 0 Valparaiso_AP_I 84 49 69 +1 0.00 0 Wanatah 87 42 67 -1 0.00 0 77 Wheatfield 86 51 70 +3 0.21 1 Winamac 88 47 70 +2 0.00 0 75 North Central(2) Plymouth 86 48 69 +0 0.00 0 South_Bend 87 49 69 +2 0.00 0 Young_America 88 48 70 +1 0.17 1 Northeast (3) Columbia_City 88 49 68 +1 0.13 1 74 Fort_Wayne 88 50 69 +1 0.29 1 West Central (4) Greencastle 86 51 70 -2 1.00 1 Perrysville 90 48 70 +1 0.03 2 75 Spencer_Ag 87 53 71 +2 3.45 1 Terre_Haute_AFB 88 51 70 -1 0.58 1 W_Lafayette_6NW 90 45 70 +2 0.00 0 80 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 88 55 71 +1 1.64 2 Greenfield 87 54 70 +0 4.71 2 Indianapolis_AP 88 56 72 +2 2.23 1 Indianapolis_SE 87 50 69 -3 3.89 2 Tipton_Ag 85 49 68 +0 0.41 1 76 East Central (6) Farmland 88 50 69 +2 2.73 1 69 New_Castle 86 50 69 +1 3.85 1 Southwest (7) Evansville 88 57 73 +0 3.12 3 Freelandville 87 58 72 +1 3.03 2 Shoals 88 56 72 +1 4.28 3 Stendal 89 59 74 +2 4.65 3 Vincennes_5NE 91 56 72 +2 3.43 2 77 South Central(8) Leavenworth 87 57 73 +2 3.71 3 Oolitic 88 53 71 +1 2.89 2 76 Tell_City 89 59 74 +1 2.83 2 Southeast (9) Brookville 89 54 72 +4 2.54 2 Milan_5NE 87 54 71 +2 3.13 3 Scottsburg 88 52 72 +0 2.92 3 ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday September 4, 2005 ------------------------------------------------ Accumulation -------------------------------- April 1, 2005 thru Station September 4, 2005 -------------------------------- Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF -------------------------------- | | | | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 13.28 -6.32 48 2846 +213 Valparaiso_AP_I | 12.44 -7.97 43 2685 +279 Wanatah | 13.88 -5.97 52 2584 +281 Wheatfield | 18.88 -0.48 93 2709 +352 Winamac | 15.81 -3.78 54 2748 +320 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 12.77 -7.00 52 2654 +107 South_Bend | 9.88 -9.24 50 2755 +361 Young_America | 17.18 -1.60 50 2729 +231 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 14.73 -4.14 53 2585 +302 Fort_Wayne | 13.23 -4.40 53 2724 +223 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 24.62 +2.58 48 2731 -81 Perrysville | 16.73 -4.24 51 2949 +327 Spencer_Ag | 25.08 +2.52 55 2777 +126 Terre_Haute_AFB | 18.14 -2.70 50 3014 +219 W_Lafayette_6NW | 12.01 -7.53 52 2799 +313 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 17.47 -2.23 52 3041 +267 Greenfield | 26.62 +4.98 63 2807 +147 Indianapolis_AP | 17.97 -1.73 52 3058 +284 Indianapolis_SE | 20.55 +0.25 54 2824 +64 Tipton_Ag | 19.87 +0.02 56 2605 +189 East Central (6)| Farmland | 18.19 -1.06 51 2637 +278 New_Castle | 22.29 +1.45 48 2499 +82 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 20.34 +0.53 50 3337 +121 Freelandville | 20.26 -0.39 52 3125 +237 Shoals | 22.47 +0.04 62 3120 +324 Stendal | 22.40 +0.13 50 3314 +280 Vincennes_5NE | 25.56 +4.91 55 3239 +351 South Central(8)| Leavenworth | 22.29 -0.69 53 3187 +406 Oolitic | 20.87 -0.77 56 2888 +213 Tell_City | 21.94 -0.82 42 3482 +395 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 19.38 -1.63 52 2959 +418 Milan_5NE | 22.32 +1.31 78 2901 +360 Scottsburg | 21.85 +0.50 59 3066 +192 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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