in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 1, 2006 Issue IN-CW402006 Agricultural Summary Harvest of both corn and soybeans is gaining momentum especially in northern and central areas of the state, according to the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Southern portions of the state are lagging behind in harvest due to excessive precipitation. The percent of corn acreage harvested is about 8 days behind the 5-year average, and soybean acreage harvested is about 13 days behind the 5-year average. Field Crops Report There were 3.7 days suitable for field work. Corn condition is rated 73 percent good to excellent compared with 47 percent last year at this time. Seventy-three percent of the corn acreage is now mature compared with 87 percent last year and 82 percent for the 5-year average. Ten percent of the corn acreage is now harvested compared with 19 percent for both last year and the 5-year average. Soybean condition is rated 74 percent good to excellent compared with 55 percent last year. Seventy-six percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with 94 percent last year and 89 percent for the 5-year average. Six percent of the soybean acreage has been harvested compared with 21 percent last year and 24 percent for the 5-year average. Five percent of the winter wheat acreage has been planted compared with 10 percent last year and 13 percent for the 5-year average. Tobacco harvest is now 75 percent complete compared with 83 percent last year and 89 percent for the 5-year average. Some producers have been able to take fourth and even fifth cuttings of hay. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pasture condition is rated 9 percent excellent, 58 percent good, 27 percent fair, 5 percent poor and 1 percent very poor. Livestock remain in mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Mature 73 59 87 82 Corn Harvested 10 5 19 19 Soybeans Shedding Lvs 76 57 94 89 Soybeans Mature 41 19 75 68 Soybeans Harvested 6 2 21 24 Winter Wheat Planted 5 2 10 13 Winter Wheat Emerged 1 N/A 1 2 Tobacco Harvested 75 60 83 89 Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 2 5 20 54 19 Soybeans 1 5 20 56 18 Pasture 1 5 27 58 9 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table ---------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : : Week : Week : Year : ---------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 0 0 2 Short 1 1 10 Adequate 75 66 79 Surplus 24 33 9 Subsoil Very Short 1 0 10 Short 4 5 23 Adequate 78 78 63 Surplus 17 17 4 Days Suitable 3.7 2.8 4.6 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 FALL APPLIED HERBICIDES FOR CORN AND SOYBEAN IN 2006 * Trying to make the decision? * When would I apply herbicides in the fall? * How does the winter effect fall applied herbicides? * What do I use for some of the major winter annuals? * Fall applied programs for Indiana For those of you that use fall applied herbicide programs you are probably thinking about what might be available this year for products. For those of you who have not used a fall applied program before, you might be wondering if it is a good fit for you. TRYING TO MAKE THE DECISION? PROS The adoption of no-till and the recent mild winters have appeared to increase the amount of winter annual weeds in the Midwest. Many fields have a mat of chickweed, purple deadnettle, henbit, and whitlow grass in the spring. Two weeds that have become increasingly problematic are dandelion and cress leaf groundsel (butterweed). Both dandelion (Northeast Indiana) and cress leaf groundsel (Southern Indiana) can turn fields yellow in the spring. Research has demonstrated that dandelion can be more sensitive to effective herbicides when applied after a light frost. However, this would make for a small window of application in many years and possibly jeopardize control. Some biennials, such as musk thistle and poison hemlock were also bad this spring. Perennials such as common pokeweed also appeared to be on the increase these past couple of years. Many of these plants are often controlled more effectively in the fall, becoming less responsive to herbicides in the spring once they have started to bloom and increase in size. A mat of vegetation in the spring can slow the drying and warming of the soil before planting thus delaying planting. In Indiana we also often have to deal with wet springs making it difficult to apply timely spring burndowns delaying planting further. In a few case, planting has to be done into a mat of winter annuals and/or summer annuals coming up in the spring or we use aggressive tillage to dry the soil, resulting in added cost, soil compaction, and fields prone to erosion if heavy rains fall soon after tillage. Thus, utilization of a fall herbicide application can be effective in providing winter annual free fields in the spring or and in most cases provide a wider window for planting. Some research suggests that a field heavy with winter annual weeds can attract pests. Some winter annual weeds can serve as alternate hosts to soybean cyst nematode. Research being conducted at Purdue University is presently investigating optimum timing of fall applied herbicides to interfere with the nematode/weed interaction. CONS Fall applied programs may not be for everybody. If you are on highly erodible land and are not using a cover crop to prevent erosion it would not be beneficial in the long term to use a fall applied program. In some cases, use of an inappropriate fall applied program can lead to needing a burndown in the spring, increasing costs and time inputs. The winter months that follow can have an effect on the germination patterns of the winter annuals and the persistence of the that follow can have an effect on the germination patterns of the winter annuals and the persistence of the herbicide in the soil if a residual herbicide is used. Winters that are wet and mild can increase the microbial activity thus speed the break down of the herbicide in the soil. Fields that have heavy common lambsquarter and giant ragweed pressure may require the use of a burndown in the spring under the following conditions. The use of a nonresidual herbicides or residual herbicides that do not provide good residual activity on common lambsquarter and giant ragweed in the fall will can provide good control of the winter annuals, but allow the soil to warm more quickly in the spring, thus summer annuals will emerge earlier in the spring. In a few cases the use of a specific product will lock you into using a specific crop the following year. For example, the use of Canopy EX requires that soybean be planted the following year. The use of Simazine 4L requires that only corn be planted the following year. One final con that was given to me at a field one year is that some producers winterize their spaying equipment before any chance of overnight frosts. The concern of having fluids freeze over night in the equipment's plumbing could lead to extra time and money costs. WHEN WOULD I APPLY THE HERBICIDES IN THE FALL? Several fall applied herbicides have fairly large application windows allowing weed size to be the timing criteria for application. Basis or Canopy EX can be applied anytime after harvest to before the ground freezes when weeds are less than 3 inches tall or 3 inches in diameter, but before the weeds bloom. Princep can also be applied after harvest to weeds less than 2 inches tall/wide. When winter annuals get larger, tank mixing of 2,4-D or glyphosate is common practice. The use of 2,4-D products and glyphosate products also have wide windows of application. The window of application generally depends on weed species and size. All herbicide programs should be applied before the ground freezes. This is for two reasons; 1) winter annuals have essentially shut down at this time and any herbicide application would have very little effect and 2) the possibility of off site movement of the herbicide increases when they are applied to frozen ground. HOW DOES THE WINTER EFFECT FALL APPLIED HERBICIDES? After applying a fall applied herbicide program the winter weather will have some effect on both the herbicides that have residual activity and those that don't. In the case of residual herbicides, mild wet winters promote microbial breakdown of herbicides resulting in reduced activity in the spring possibly requiring additional weed control efforts. On the flip side, a cold dry winter will reverse this effect. A mild winter can also have an effect on non-residual herbicides. Germination of winter annuals can still occur after an application in a mild winter also resulting needed efforts in the spring. WHAT DO I USE FOR SOME OF THE MAJOR WINTER ANNUALS? The use of 2,4-D is common, but it more than likely is combined with something else to provide a broader spectrum of control. Alone, 2,4-D is not highly effective on common chickweed and can be inconsistent on cress leaf groundsel (butterweed) once it starts to bolt. In most cases, the addition of Basis, Canopy EX (before soybean), Express, glyphosate, Simazine (before corn) or Valor are combined with 2,4-D to increase control of several of the winter annuals. Glyphosate products such as Roundup, Glyphomax, Touchdown, are often used in tank mixes due to glyphosate's broad spectrum weed control and efficacy on many perennials. Below is a list of herbicides and/or tank mix options that are effective on many of the winter annuals that we have to deal with in Indiana. In order to view this listing, go to:http://128.210.99.160/entomology/ext/targets/p&c/PandC2006 /PandC23_2006.pdf, page 5. Glenn Nice and Bill Johnson, Department of Botany & 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 October 1, 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 78 34 55 -7 0.36 4 Francesville 75 37 54 -6 0.23 5 Valparaiso_AP_I 73 37 55 -6 0.57 3 Wanatah 75 37 53 -7 1.00 5 61 Winamac 75 38 54 -7 0.43 3 55 North Central(2) Plymouth 74 41 55 -7 0.38 5 South_Bend 71 41 55 -6 0.49 5 Young_America 78 38 57 -5 0.17 4 Northeast (3) Columbia_City 73 40 54 -5 0.59 5 57 Fort_Wayne 77 40 56 -5 0.84 5 West Central(4) Greencastle 79 38 57 -7 0.25 1 Perrysville 80 37 58 -4 0.08 1 59 Spencer_Ag 80 41 57 -4 0.03 1 Terre_Haute_AFB 81 38 58 -6 0.09 3 W_Lafayette_6NW 79 34 56 -5 0.14 3 60 Central (5) Eagle_Creek_AP 78 44 59 -4 0.23 3 Greenfield 78 40 57 -6 1.16 4 Indianapolis_AP 79 41 59 -4 0.42 2 Indianapolis_SE 77 39 57 -6 0.52 2 Tipton_Ag 78 37 56 -4 0.38 4 60 East Central(6) Farmland 77 39 56 -5 1.07 5 61 New_Castle 78 37 56 -4 0.52 4 Southwest (7) Evansville 83 43 61 -4 0.11 3 Freelandville 82 43 59 -4 0.67 2 Shoals 82 38 57 -6 0.90 3 Stendal 83 45 62 -2 0.14 2 Vincennes_5NE 84 43 60 -3 0.19 3 60 South Central(8) Leavenworth 78 43 59 -4 0.78 3 Oolitic 79 39 57 -5 0.15 2 61 Tell_City 81 44 60 -5 0.59 1 Southeast (9) Brookville 79 39 57 -4 0.25 2 Greensburg 78 39 59 -3 0.11 2 Scottsburg 80 40 60 -4 0.41 3 ---------------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table (Continued) Week ending Sunday October 1, 2006 ------------------------------------------------ Accumulation -------------------------------- April 1, 2006 thru Station October 1, 2006 -------------------------------- Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF -------------------------------- | | | | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W |25.88 +3.67 63 2925 -116 Francesville |33.06 +10.57 78 2818 +29 Valparaiso_AP_I |15.67 -8.50 50 2898 +121 Wanatah |22.45 -0.89 67 2616 -34 Winamac |26.27 +3.78 64 2848 +59 North Central(2)| Plymouth |23.30 +0.28 70 2731 -203 South_Bend |26.51 +4.14 73 2867 +117 Young_America |26.22 +4.43 73 2943 +57 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City |24.37 +2.50 77 2685 +60 Fort_Wayne |24.62 +4.64 71 2902 +18 West Central(4) | Greencastle |30.01 +4.76 70 2914 -342 Perrysville |23.36 -0.30 70 3223 +195 Spencer_Ag |30.66 +5.34 75 3119 +66 Terre_Haute_AFB |21.68 -2.18 76 3301 +70 W_Lafayette_6NW |25.48 +3.28 78 3024 +153 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP |26.41 +4.15 76 3317 +115 Greenfield |33.36 +9.04 79 2987 -94 Indianapolis_AP |26.13 +3.87 77 3347 +145 Indianapolis_SE |27.06 +4.36 76 2961 -236 Tipton_Ag |28.69 +6.08 79 2791 +8 East Central(6) | Farmland |26.95 +4.97 80 2747 +30 New_Castle |28.72 +5.46 74 2798 +13 Southwest (7) | Evansville |35.84 +13.37 63 3826 +114 Freelandville |21.33 -2.08 60 3494 +156 Shoals |35.24 +9.99 69 3327 +89 Stendal |37.50 +12.36 65 3878 +380 Vincennes_5NE |29.92 +6.51 73 3600 +262 South Central(8)| Leavenworth |40.38 +14.90 83 3446 +231 Oolitic |27.52 +3.37 70 3110 +19 Tell_City |43.03 +17.30 64 3792 +203 Southeast (9) | Brookville |27.03 +3.62 59 3235 +300 Greensburg |31.19 +7.54 68 3284 +282 Scottsburg |33.93 +9.84 75 3383 +58 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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