in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 20, 2006 Issue IN-CW342006 Agricultural Summary Irrigation systems were running in northern portions of the state as some areas are in need of precipitation, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) is evident in some soybean fields across the state. There is concern among farmers of poor grain fill in late planted and re-planted corn. Field Crops Report There were 5.4 days suitable for field work. Corn condition is rated 72 percent good to excellent compared with 41 percent last year at this time. Eighty-three percent of the corn acreage is in the dough stage compared with 85 percent last year and 77 percent for the 5-year average. Thirty-seven percent of the corn acreage is in the dent stage compared with 40 percent last year and 34 percent for the 5-year average. Soybean condition is rated 72 percent good to excellent compared with 52 percent last year. Eighty-six percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods compared with 95 percent last year and 86 percent for the 5 - year average. Third cutting of alfalfa hay is rated 68 percent complete compared with 65 percent last year and 58 percent for the 5-year average. Major activities during the week included: preparing harvest equipment, moving grain to market, cleaning grain bins, attending field days and outlook meetings, cutting and baling hay, mowing roadsides and ditches, and taking care of livestock. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 7 percent excellent, 58 percent good, 27 percent fair, 6 percent poor and 2 percent very poor. Livestock remain in mostly good condition as the heat has subsided. Pastures are in relatively good condition for this time of the year. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn in Dough 83 66 85 77 Corn in Dent 37 18 40 34 Soybeans Podding 86 67 95 86 Alfalfa Third Cutting 68 45 65 58 Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 2 5 21 52 20 Soybeans 2 5 21 56 16 Pasture 2 6 27 58 7 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table ---------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ---------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 2 1 12 Short 16 10 30 Adequate 77 81 56 Surplus 5 8 2 Subsoil Very Short 2 2 19 Short 15 13 39 Adequate 79 80 42 Surplus 4 5 0 Days Suitable 5.4 4.9 5.1 Contact information --Greg Preston, Director --Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana --------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Agricultural Comments And News THE LATE SEASON DISEASES ARE MAKING AN EARLY APPEARANCE Phytophthora, SDS, Diaporthe stem canker AND Sclerotinia were all identified in soybean fields in Ohio last week. From the windshield these four diseases can all look very similar, below is an easy checklist on how to tell many of these apart. Pictures and links to factsheets can all be found at www.oardc.ohio- state.edu/ohiofieldcropdisease/. Phytophthora stem rot, plants will first turn yellow, sometimes unevenly and wilt, at the base of the plant, a chocolate brown canker will colonize from the base of the plant up the stem. The roots will be very rotted. Diaporthe stem canker, again the plants will turn yellow, leaves may turn necrotic between the veins, very similar to Brown stem rot and sudden death syndrome, but it is a paler yellow. At the base of the stem, there will be canker, usually at the 2, 3 or 4 node of the plant. On this canker, it will have a black scurfy appearance or with a hand lens you will see black dots. Sudden death syndrome - This disease has a striking pattern in the leaves, necrosis (browning) between the veins which is surrounded by yellow. The key to diagnosing this disease is that the roots are rotted and if you cut open the base of the plant, the crown, it is typically a gray color, not bright white. The pith is white and in good shape up the plant. This disease is caused by a fungus that colonizes the base of the plant and produces a toxin. It is the toxin that causes those symptomatic changes in the leaves. Brown stem rot which we have not found, yet; has foliar symptoms very similar to SDS. There is more necrosis, browning of the leaves and the pith turns chocolate brown, this pith browning does not necessarily develop from the base of the plant up the stem. Sclerotinia this was bound to make a reappearance at some point and this may be the year. Fields that had canopy during flowering are the ones that have the highest likelihood of this occurring. The tops of the plants will wilt, sometimes it will be yellow first, then a gray color, but some place on the stem or side branch there will be a canker. If the conditions in the field are wet, it will be white and fluffy. If the conditions in the field are dry, it will be a pale white color, the stem will be hollow and there may be black hard structures, look similar to mice droppings on the surface or inside the stem. All of these diseases can be managed, first with resistance in the variety, by improving soil drainage and/or rotation. Anne Dorrance, C.O.R.N. Newsletter 2006-25, Crop Observation and Recommendation Network, The Ohio State University, August 7, 2006 -August 15, 2006. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WARM NIGHTS REDUCE GRAIN YIELD POTENTIAL High night temperatures (in the 70s or 80s) can result in wasteful respiration and a lower amount of dry matter accumulation in plants. The rate of respiration of plants increases rapidly as the temperature increases, approximately doubling for each 13 degree F increase. With high night temperatures more of the sugars produced by photosynthesis during the day are lost; less is available to fill developing kernels, thereby lowering potential grain yield. Past research at the University of Illinois indicates that corn grown at night temperatures in the mid 60s outyields corn grown at temperatures in the mid 80s. Corn yields are often higher with irrigation in western states, which have low humidity and limited rainfall. While these areas are characterized by hot sunny days, night temperatures are often cooler than in the Eastern Corn Belt. Low night temperatures accounted in part for Ohio's record high corn yields in 2004. During most of the 2004 growing season, temperatures were below normal. From late June through most of August, a period of time that included most of the grain fill period in corn, weekly temperatures were cooler than normal - as much as 4 to 7 degrees below normal in August. Cool night temperatures in 2004 reduced respiration losses during grain fill. The absence of moisture stress was especially important during grain filling. In parts of the Ohio where rainfall was below average during grain fill in July and August, cooler than average temperatures also minimized moisture stress. Peter Thomison, Jim Beuerlein, C.O.R.N. Newsletter 2006-25, August 7, 2006 - August 15, 2006, Crop Observation and Recommendation Network, Ohio State 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 20, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------- | 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 53 71 -2 0.51 2 Francesville 84 54 70 +0 1.39 3 Valparaiso_AP_I 83 54 71 +2 0.00 0 Wanatah 85 48 68 -2 0.79 1 76 Winamac 84 54 70 +0 0.94 2 73 North Central(2) Plymouth 84 52 69 -3 0.25 1 South_Bend 84 52 72 +1 1.02 1 Young_America 85 53 71 -1 0.10 1 Northeast (3) Columbia_City 84 50 70 +0 0.33 2 69 Fort_Wayne 84 49 71 -1 0.69 2 West Central(4) Greencastle 86 55 71 -3 0.85 3 Perrysville 87 55 73 +2 0.69 3 76 Spencer_Ag 88 57 73 +2 0.79 2 Terre_Haute_AFB 88 55 74 +2 0.61 3 W_Lafayette_6NW 86 53 71 +0 0.43 4 77 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 86 59 75 +3 0.87 2 Greenfield 86 54 73 +1 0.31 2 Indianapolis_AP 87 61 75 +3 0.50 3 Indianapolis_SE 86 55 73 -2 0.39 2 Tipton_Ag 85 52 71 +0 0.15 2 77 East Central(6) Farmland 85 49 71 +1 0.44 2 75 New_Castle 85 52 71 -1 0.09 3 Southwest (7) Evansville 93 62 79 +3 2.31 2 Freelandville 88 61 75 +2 0.38 3 Shoals 91 56 76 +3 0.67 2 Stendal 95 62 80 +5 1.64 2 Vincennes_5NE 91 61 77 +4 1.62 2 South Central(8) Leavenworth 88 60 77 +4 2.11 4 Oolitic 88 58 74 +2 0.17 2 79 Tell_City 90 62 76 +1 1.88 2 Southeast (9) Brookville 92 57 75 +4 0.12 1 Greensburg 89 59 75 +4 0.32 1 Scottsburg 89 57 75 +2 1.04 2 ---------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday August 20, 2006 ------------------------------------------------ Accumulation -------------------------------- April 1, 2006 thru Station August 20, 2006 -------------------------------- Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF -------------------------------- | | | | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |21.59 +3.79 45 2319 -13 Francesville |25.55 +7.77 55 2236 +86 Valparaiso_AP_I |13.25 -5.19 38 2302 +178 Wanatah |17.25 -0.74 47 2093 +60 Winamac |20.45 +2.67 44 2260 +110 North Central(2)| Plymouth |17.45 -0.63 49 2163 -87 South_Bend |20.82 +3.50 50 2270 +157 Young_America |20.94 +3.95 52 2333 +127 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |18.42 +1.22 53 2137 +123 Fort_Wayne |19.79 +3.73 52 2303 +96 West Central(4) | Greencastle |20.23 +0.04 55 2315 -169 Perrysville |20.41 +1.19 55 2552 +230 Spencer_Ag |22.39 +1.70 60 2461 +119 Terre_Haute_AFB |15.99 -3.24 56 2618 +143 W_Lafayette_6NW |20.26 +2.46 59 2405 +205 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |22.25 +4.14 57 2613 +159 Greenfield |24.86 +4.90 62 2357 +8 Indianapolis_AP |20.53 +2.42 59 2630 +176 Indianapolis_SE |21.17 +2.36 59 2340 -97 Tipton_Ag |21.27 +3.17 60 2204 +67 East Central(6) | Farmland |20.62 +3.02 62 2175 +90 New_Castle |22.00 +2.74 57 2222 +88 Southwest (7) | Evansville |26.34 +7.95 50 3041 +186 Freelandville |16.01 -3.14 48 2783 +226 Shoals |23.54 +2.76 52 2669 +200 Stendal |26.60 +6.09 51 3057 +370 Vincennes_5NE |26.07 +6.92 59 2849 +292 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |26.69 +5.42 64 2745 +285 Oolitic |18.52 -1.46 55 2465 +104 Tell_City |27.90 +6.94 51 3012 +286 Southeast (9) | Brookville |19.39 +0.01 47 2538 +298 Greensburg |23.60 +4.17 51 2615 +322 Scottsburg |25.50 +5.80 59 2697 +155 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 2006: 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