Ask The Agronomist Blog
Rain, Rain & More Rain!
July 14, 2010
Posted by:
John Furlong, Regional Sales Agronomist
Welcome from waterlogged southeast Iowa. Since April 24th, rainfall amounts of 40 inches have been reported in some areas. As you can imagine, crops in those areas are suffering greatly. North of I-80 in eastern Iowa is better, and there will be some good crops.
As a result of the heavy rains, nitrogen losses have been excessive and weed control has been spotty. Early planted crops seem to be doing the best. If we learned anything this year, we learned that once April 10th is here, look at soil conditions and not at the calendar. Corn started tasseling July 1, and has been progressing without any excess heat stress. Hopefully we can continue to get some rainfall {and not monsoons} to finish the late planted crops.
NE Iowa/WI Crop Report
July 14, 2010
Posted by:
Tony Plenggenkuhle, Regional Sales Agronomist
For the most part, crops in northeast Iowa & Wisconsin are looking good. As is the case across most of the Corn Belt, there has been far too much rain across my region and as a result, the shallow root system may be a cause for concern if things turn dry in August. However, there has been plenty of moisture to get the crop through the crucial pollination period. It's easy to see the tile lines, but in most areas there has been just enough time to drain the soils between rains to prevent ponding and resulting denitrification from occurring.
I have found rootworm larvae and a few beetles over the last few weeks, and am beginning to see a few aphids. Bottom line, barring any hail storms or high winds in the future my region looks to be on track for a bumper crop this year.
The good, the bad, and the ugly...
July 14, 2010
Posted by:
Bill Kessinger, Regional Sales Agronomist
Across Central Indiana and Ohio we have a wide range in corn maturity from tasseling to knee-high to bare soil. The corn that did not get damaged by the heavy rains in May and June is tasseling and looks tremendous. With the rapid growth experienced in June and wet field conditions, some growers struggled to get nitrogen applied and had to revert to using drops. Farm programs with high amounts of N as starter and preplant N are suffering from denitrification, with many corn fields already showing signs of nitrogen deficiency. Above-normal levels of Grey Leaf Spot and rust have the planes out spraying in full force. As a whole, the corn looks good but most fields still show signs from water damage.
Soybeans are in the same condition as corn. Some of the soybeans planted in April look excellent, but many fields were replanted or planted for the first time over the July 4th weekend. We have experienced ideal conditions for seedling diseases this spring, with Phytophthora still causing plant death, especially in Southern and Central Ohio. Due to the wet conditions, rapid growth, and increasing herbicide resistance, weed control has been another tough issue growers are trying to overcome. The soybeans planted a couple weeks ago are beginning to take off. With some luck--and rain--in July and August, a decent soybean yield is still possible.
