in-crop-weather INDIANA WEEKLY WEATHER & CROPS Released: Monday, 3PM June 14, 1999 Vol. 49, #11 West Lafayette, IN CROP REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING JUNE 13 Unseasonably hot temperatures with several days above 90 degrees placed stress on crops, pastures and livestock last week according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Storms occurred in isolated areas, resulting in some wind and hail damage. Winter wheat harvest is underway. Major activities included post-emergence spraying, side-dressing corn, baling hay and care of livestock. Corn and Soybeans Corn planting is complete. Growth and development is advancing ahead of normal. Height in many corn fields is already above knee-high. Virtually all of the corn planted acreage has emerged. Soybean planted acreage advanced to 98 percent complete, far ahead of last year's 87 percent and the 5-year average of 78 percent. By area, soybean planting is 100 percent complete in the north, 99 percent in the central region and 93 percent in the south. Winter Wheat Winter wheat condition is rated 81 percent good to excellent compared with 64 percent last year. Wheat harvest is 1 percent complete compared with 2 percent at this time last year. Most of the harvest has occurred in the southwestern area of the state. Wheat remains in mostly good condition with limited disease problems. Other Crops Pasture condition was rated 10 percent excellent, 62 percent good, 25 percent fair, and 3 percent poor. Transplanting of tobacco is 75 percent complete, compared with 45 percent last year and 54 percent for the average. First cutting of alfalfa hay is 95 percent complete compared with 80 percent last year and 62 percent for the 5-year average. Days Suitable and Soil Moisture For the week ending Friday, 6.4 days were rated suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture was rated 5 percent very short, 28 percent short, 63 percent adequate and 4 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 4 percent very short, 18 percent short, 74 percent adequate and 4 percent surplus. Crop Progress --------------------------------------------------- : This : Last: Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week: Year : Avg --------------------------------------------------- Percent Soybeans Planted 98 96 87 78 Soybeans Emerged 93 84 78 NA Wheat Harvested 1 NA 2 0 Alfalfa, First Cutting 95 70 80 62 Crop Condition ----------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent ----------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn 0 2 16 61 21 Soybeans 0 1 22 61 16 Winter Wheat 0 2 17 60 21 Pasture 0 3 25 62 10 Soil Moisture ----------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------ Percent Topsoil Very Short 5 0 1 Short 28 4 3 Adequate 63 74 37 Surplus 4 22 59 Subsoil Very Short 4 1 1 Short 18 9 5 Adequate 74 77 50 Surplus 4 13 44 --Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician --Bud Bever, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://info.aes.purdue.edu/agstat/nass.html Uneven Corn Fields The buzz at Paul's Pretty Good Pastry Shop late last week centered around corn fields that had come up just fine and looked nice and uniform early on, but have since taken a turn for the worse, especially during the recent hot spell. My own windshield surveys in the last few days confirm that some fields simply look ugly in their unevenness in color and height. What are some of the reasons for this sudden turn of events? First of all, remember that successful germination and emergence do not guarantee continued success in the development of a corn crop. The second hurdle for that crop is to become "well established" as it continues on its way towards the critical pollination period. Becoming "well established" revolves around the ability of the crop to develop an extensive root system. An otherwise perfect-looking field can turn "ugly" almost overnight. The causes of such a quick turnaround almost always result from some sort of limitation of root development. Uneven development that is unrelated to uneven emergence often begins to appear some time after growth stages V4 to V6 (4- to 6-leaf collars) when root development normally begins to speed up dramatically. In such fields, check for limiting factors such as soil compaction, herbicide injury, low soil pH, poor drainage, or root diseases. The effects of such root-limiting factors are usually accentuated in the presence of excessive heat like much of Indiana has experienced during the past week. Permanent roots developing horizontally instead of a downward angle suggest the presence of severe soil compaction. Permanent roots (and/or seed roots) developing primarily in the planter furrow suggest the presence of severe sidewall compaction by the planter's double-disc openers. Visible leaf rolling has been a common correlated symptom of compaction in heat-stressed fields late last week as the restricted root system could not keep up with the transpiration load of the plants. Leaf rolling has also been evident in those lower-lying areas of fields where corn root growth was previously restricted by early excessively wet soils. Permanent roots that are 'stubbed off' AND appear to have been fed upon suggest grub or rootworm larvae damage. Permanent roots that are disfigured (swollen, club ends, excessive secondary root development or 'bottle-brushing') suggest herbicide injury. Permanent roots with scattered discolored areas, with water-soaked lesions, suggest a disease infection. Permanent roots that appear 'stubbed off' and shriveled, but NOT eaten, suggest excessively dry surface soils. Permanent roots that are uniformly discolored (yellowish or brownish) suggest excessively wet soils or excessively low soil pH. Permanent roots whose tips appear 'burned' off suggest injury from excessive amounts of starter fertilizer. --R. L. (Bob) Nielsen, Agronomy Dept., Purdue University Weather Data for Week ending June 13, 1999 -------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|-----------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp -------------------------------------------------- Bloomington 93 67 81 +11 0.04 1 Bluffton 92 67 80 +12 0.46 3 78 Butlerville 92 64 79 +9 1.07 4 79 Castleton 90 67 79 +10 0.22 2 Crawfordsville 93 65 78 +9 0.52 2 77 Dubois_Ag 91 65 79 +9 0.48 2 86 Evansville 91 70 81 +8 0.57 2 Farmland 94 61 79 +12 0.01 1 75 Fort_Wayne 92 67 80 +11 0.10 2 Freelandville 91 68 80 +9 0.00 0 Greenfield 92 67 79 +10 0.21 2 Indianapolis_AP 92 68 80 +10 0.00 0 Indianapolis_SE 90 65 79 +9 0.28 1 Logansport 93 68 80 +12 0.95 3 New_Castle 92 66 78 +11 0.50 3 Perrysville 92 64 80 +11 0.71 2 83 Plymouth 94 62 80 +12 1.70 2 Scottsburg 93 66 80 +9 0.21 2 Shoals 91 63 78 +8 0.84 1 South_Bend 95 65 80 +13 0.53 2 Tell_City 92 70 81 +9 0.00 0 Terre_Haute_Ag 94 68 80 +11 0.47 4 79 Tipton_Ag 91 66 79 +11 1.25 1 77 Valparaiso_Ag 91 62 77 +10 0.70 3 Vincennes_5NE 93 67 80 +9 0.57 3 81 Wanatah 94 60 78 +11 0.98 3 82 W_Lafayette_6NW 94 67 80 +12 0.39 2 86 Wheatfield 94 64 79 +12 1.58 3 Winamac 93 64 80 +12 0.06 2 Young_America 92 67 79 +11 0.68 3 -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 1999 thru Station | June 14, 1999 |--------------------------------- |Precipitation| GDD Base 50oF |-------------|------------------- | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN -------------------------------------------------- Bloomington 10.25 +0.03 30 1008 +187 Bluffton 7.30 -1.82 27 879 +188 Butlerville 9.25 -0.77 38 967 +98 Castleton 9.12 -0.41 36 930 +161 Crawfordsville 9.62 -0.11 31 797 +28 Dubois_Ag 9.75 -1.12 32 1016 +188 Evansville 12.29 +1.95 29 1144 +152 Farmland 7.78 -1.36 35 858 +246 Fort_Wayne 10.81 +2.44 32 843 +193 Freelandville 10.62 +0.05 30 1001 +157 Greenfield 8.08 -1.67 36 927 +191 Indianapolis_AP 9.41 +0.24 34 1009 +215 Indianapolis_SE 8.93 -0.60 38 901 +132 Logansport 10.75 +1.96 33 869 +199 New_Castle 8.16 -2.04 34 781 +151 Perrysville 9.44 -0.29 32 955 +222 Plymouth 12.34 +2.90 32 850 +149 Scottsburg 7.44 -2.81 26 1046 +203 Shoals 9.42 -1.74 27 949 +140 South_Bend 9.80 +1.03 32 881 +265 Tell_City 10.07 -1.32 22 1131 +205 Terre_Haute_Ag 10.12 +0.25 29 1081 +277 Tipton_Ag 9.58 +0.40 29 805 +170 Valparaiso_Ag 10.05 +0.42 31 843 +206 Vincennes_5NE 11.73 +1.16 39 1043 +199 Wanatah 10.65 +1.56 33 721 +135 W_Lafayette_6NW 11.81 +2.65 30 897 +220 Wheatfield 12.74 +3.81 28 866 +251 Winamac 11.09 +2.10 29 861 +192 Young_America 9.50 +0.71 31 808 +138 -------------------------------------------------- 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 1999: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The above 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.