INDIANA WEEKLY WEATHER & CROPS Released: Monday, 3PM May 15, 2000 Vol. 50, #6 West Lafayette, IN CROP REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING MAY 14 Rain slowed field activities in some areas. Portions of the state received heavy amounts along with strong damaging winds, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Recent warm weather and showers have helped germination and emergence of early planted corn and soybeans. Corn planting is more than two weeks ahead of average. Soybean planting has surpassed the record high established in 1988 by 2 days. This places soybeans more than 2 weeks ahead of average. Corn and Soybeans Eighty-six percent of the corn acreage is planted compared with 81 percent last year and 49 percent for the 5-year average. Corn planted is 3 days behind the record pace established in 1988. By area, corn planting is 87 percent complete in the north, 88 percent complete in the central and 77 percent complete in the south. Fifty-two percent of the corn crop has emerged compared with 29 percent last year. Fifty-seven percent of the soybean acreage is planted compared with 45 percent last year and 23 percent for the average. By area, soybean planting is 59 percent complete in the north, 60 percent complete in the central and 46 percent complete in the south. Winter Wheat Fifty-seven percent of the winter wheat acreage is headed compared with 44 percent last year and 35 percent for the 5-year average. Winter wheat condition is rated 77 percent good to excellent, compared with 85 percent at this time a year ago. Other Crops and Livestock Pasture condition was rated 14 percent excellent, 49 percent good, 27 percent fair, 8 percent poor and 2 percent very poor. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Days Suitable and Soil Moisture For the week ending Friday, 4.1 days were rated suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture was rated 10 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 13 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 12 percent very short, 36 percent short, 47 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Crop Progress --------------------------------------------------- : This : Last: Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week: Year : Avg --------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Planted 86 66 81 49 Corn Emerged 52 15 29 NA Soybeans Planted 57 29 45 23 Soybeans Emerged 22 NA 10 NA Winter Wheat Headed 57 27 44 35 Crop Condition ----------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Winter Wheat 5/14 1 4 18 52 25 Winter Wheat 5/7 1 3 17 53 26 Winter Wheat 1999 0 2 13 56 29 Pasture 2 8 27 49 14 Soil Moisture ----------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------ Percent Topsoil Very Short 0 4 1 Short 10 17 14 Adequate 77 69 69 Surplus 13 10 16 Subsoil Very Short 12 17 1 Short 36 37 12 Adequate 47 42 78 Surplus 5 4 9 --Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician Andrea Buchanan, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://info.aes.purdue.edu/agstat/nass.html Insects Corn Flea Beetle Making Their Presence Known * Several corn flea beetle calls have come in * Most corn will outgrow damage * Field corn under environmental stress with 5 or more beetles per plant may need treating * Seed, sweet, and popcorn highly susceptible to Stewart's disease needs protection from feeding There is no doubt that the mild winter has contributed to the high numbers of corn flea beetles being observed. This tiny (1/16"), shiny black beetle feeds on corn leaves by stripping off the top layer of plant tissue. This feeding leaves gray to brown lines or "tracks" etched on the leaf surface. Heavily infested plants may appear gray as their leaves shrivel and die. On seedling dent corn, control may be necessary if 50 percent of the plants inspected show severe corn flea beetle feeding damage (plants begin to look silvery or whitish, or leaves begin to die), approximately 5 or more corn flea beetle per plant are found, and poor growing conditions are causing slow corn growth (e.g., cool temperatures, dry soils, herbicide damage). Normally, once a corn plant reaches the growth stage V5, it is no longer susceptible to significant corn flea beetle damage. Therefore, sampling for corn flea beetle typically will not be necessary once the plants have 5 leaves. Corn flea beetle may also transmit the bacterium that causes Stewart's wilt as it feeds. This can be a serious problem, especially on sweetcorn and seed corn inbreds. In sweetcorn, the disease may result in ears that are smaller than normal, or some infected plants may die. In seed production fields, severe leaf blight may cause lightweight chaffy ears, plus increase the likelihood of stalk rots. The beetles alone are seldom severe enough to kill plants although in combination with the disease, such as noted above for sweetcorn, they may. In seed production fields where highly susceptible inbreds are utilized, treatment is probably justified if corn flea beetles are noted. Armyworm in Corn and Wheat * Moths lay eggs on grassy crops and weeds * Corn can be quickly consumed when grass cover crop is destroyed * Wheat defoliation and head clipping can result Spring flying armyworm moths prefer to lay their eggs on dense grassy vegetation (e.g., wheat and grass cover crops) and the hatched larvae will feed on both corn and wheat. Corn - Corn that has been no-tilled into or growing adjacent to a grass cover crop (especially rye) should be inspected immediately for armyworm feeding. Hatched larvae will move from the dying grasses to emerging/emerged corn. Armyworm feeding gives corn a ragged appearance, feeding from the leaf margin toward the midrib. Damage may be so extensive that most of the plant, except the midrib and stalk, is consumed. A highly damaged plant may recover if the growing point has not been destroyed. If more than 50% of the plants show armyworm feeding and live larvae less than 1-1/4 inches long are numerous in the field, a control may be necessary. Larvae greater than 1-1/4 inches will soon be pupating and controls are futile because the damage has already been done. If armyworm are detected migrating from border areas or waterways within fields, spot treatments in these areas are possible if the problem is identified early enough. Wheat - Examine plants in different areas of a field, especially where plant growth is dense. Look for flag leaf feeding, clipped heads, and armyworm droppings (excrement) on the ground. Shake the plants and count the number of armyworm on the ground and under plant debris. On sunny days, the armyworm will take shelter under crop residue or soil clods. If counts average approximately 5 or more per linear foot of row, the worms are less than 1-1/4 inches long and not parasitized or diseased, and leaf feeding is evident, control may be justified. If a significant number of armyworm are present and they are destroying the leaves, or the heads, treat immediately. --John Obermeyer, Rich Edwards, and Larry Bledsoe, Purdue University Weather Data Week ending Sunday May 14, 2000 -------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|-----------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp -------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) Valparaiso_Ag 86 40 64 +6 0.98 5 Wanatah 87 38 64 +7 1.35 5 67 Wheatfield 86 38 65 +7 3.13 5 Winamac 86 41 65 +6 1.57 4 69 North Central (2) Logansport 84 42 66 +7 0.91 2 Plymouth 87 39 64 +5 1.16 5 South_Bend 87 38 65 +8 1.06 5 Young_America 86 42 67 +9 1.52 3 Northeast (3) Bluffton 84 42 67 +8 1.55 4 65 Fort_Wayne 86 42 67 +9 1.37 5 West Central (4) Crawfordsville 84 36 66 +6 1.22 3 65 Perrysville 84 40 66 +6 1.71 5 69 Terre_Haute_Ag 84 41 67 +6 1.40 3 69 W_Lafayette_6NW 89 40 66 +7 0.81 4 64 Central (5) Castleton 83 42 67 +6 1.81 4 Greenfield 83 42 67 +7 1.42 3 Greensburg 83 44 68 +9 1.25 3 Indianapolis_AP 83 40 68 +8 1.46 2 Indianapolis_SE 82 42 67 +7 1.35 2 Tipton_Ag 84 40 65 +8 1.73 3 64 East Central (6) Farmland 84 49 68 +10 1.67 5 62 New_Castle 80 38 64 +6 1.11 3 Southwest (7) Dubois_Ag 86 40 68 +7 1.48 3 72 Evansville 88 42 70 +7 0.40 3 Freelandville 85 44 68 +7 1.52 3 Shoals 85 41 68 +7 2.01 4 Vincennes_5NE 85 42 67 +6 1.44 3 South Central (8) Bloomington 85 42 67 +6 2.08 3 Tell_City 86 48 70 +7 0.72 4 Southeast (9) Scottsburg 85 43 69 +7 1.67 3 ------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2000 thru Station | May 14, 2000 |--------------------------------- |Precipitation| GDD Base 50oF |-------------|------------------- | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN -------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) Valparaiso_Ag 5.80 +0.10 19 250 +45 Wanatah 5.84 +0.37 16 249 +78 Wheatfield 6.90 +1.57 17 272 +85 Winamac 5.28 +0.03 12 275 +54 North Central (2) Logansport 3.51 -1.65 18 277 +62 Plymouth 6.25 +0.67 18 259 +24 South_Bend 5.41 +0.17 21 271 +81 Young_America 3.66 -1.50 13 335 +120 Northeast (3) Bluffton 4.58 -0.69 15 301 +76 Fort_Wayne 4.25 -0.67 15 302 +100 West Central (4) Crawfordsville 3.70 -2.24 16 256 -17 Perrysville 4.33 -1.37 14 302 +50 Terre_Haute_Ag 5.13 -0.85 16 364 +72 W_Lafayette_6NW 2.98 -2.57 15 321 +100 Central (5) Castleton 6.31 +0.46 22 324 +60 Greenfield 6.49 +0.43 21 335 +89 Greensburg 7.44 +1.15 20 336 +76 Indianapolis_AP 5.81 +0.29 19 371 +90 Indianapolis_SE 5.91 +0.06 16 326 +62 Tipton_Ag 3.85 -1.83 15 270 +78 East Central (6) Farmland 7.09 +1.83 20 293 +108 New_Castle 6.05 -0.08 20 234 +44 Southwest (7) Dubois_Ag 5.85 -0.50 20 402 +81 Evansville 3.30 -2.92 16 452 +51 Freelandville 5.80 -0.39 13 365 +52 Shoals 5.22 -1.28 19 349 +44 Vincennes_5NE 4.79 -1.40 19 365 +52 South Central (8) Bloomington 6.27 +0.15 17 336 +26 Tell_City 5.79 -1.25 15 413 +46 Southeast (9) Scottsburg 7.19 +0.95 16 380 +63 -------------------------------------------------------- DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). GDD = Growing Degree Days. Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precipitation of 0.01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. Copyright 2000: 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.