WEEKLY AG UPDATE By ned birkey msu EXTENSION EDUCATOR EMERITUS SPARTAN AG The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center’s outlook through April 28 is calling for leaning above normal temperatures but likely above normal outlook for precipitation. The MSU Enviroweather station at Deerfield recorded the low soil temperature at the 2-inch level for April 14 was 60.2ºF, was 56.6ºF on April 13, 46.5ºF on April 12, and 45ºF on April 11. The five-year historical rainfall at this location since March 1 has been 6.4 inches in 2026, 4.85 inches last year, 5.26 inches in 2024, 4.4 inches in 2023 and 2.73 inches in 2022. The five-year degree day totals (base 50ºF) for this location since March 1 has been 195.6 GDD in 2026, 109.9 GDD last year, 112.4 GDD in 2024, 100.9 GDD in 2023, 77.7 GDD in 2022 and a five-year average of 119.3 GDD. Soil temperatures affect corn germination as Bob Nielsen of Purdue reminds everyone. Corn needs 115 growing degree days to emerge and if soil temperatures remain just about 50ºF for a length of time, corn can take upward of 35 days to emerge. If soil temperatures are a daily average temperature of about 65ºF, emergence can occur in seven days or less. The main goal, as former world corn yield recordholder Francis Childs once said at a meeting at Cabela’s, is rapid and uniform emergence of corn plants. Once the calendar turns to May, agronomists agree that farmers should plant corn as long as the forecast is favorable and ignore soil temperatures. Is this the Chinese “Year of the Slug?” MSU’s Chris DiFonzo says slugs are fairly field specific, are nocturnal, feed at night or on cloudy days and are most damaging in wet years when soils are moist, temperatures are cooler and small crops are most vulnerable. One tactic for corn and soybean farmers is to do pre-plant disking or tillage, delay planting and possibly use a slug bait. If possible, avoid using an insecticide seed treatment that kills ground beetles that are slug predators (the good guys). If planting is delayed, the crops might pop up fast when the weather is warmer and crops outgrow the slugs. For anyone really wanting to know, there are three species of slugs in the eastern U.S., the gray garden slug, the marsh slug and the dusky slug. Nitrogen has been a hot topic in winter discussions about the price of nitrogen (N) and the price of corn. Emerson Nafziger of Illinois says that today’s higher-yielding hybrids take up more N, but this is more than met by faster-growing plants with root systems that are better at taking up N from the soil, either organic or nitrate nitrogen. He says that farmers can have confidence that even modest fertilizer rates, applied properly, will provide a safe N supply for the corn crop, with less cause for concern about whether the crop will get enough N. All America Selections (AAS) winners for pollinator friendly gardens or landscapes this year include Zydeco zinnia, Coreopsis SunGlobe, Heliopsis Sole, Nasturtium Baby Series and Sedum Spectacular. These plants have been trialed in gardens across North America to ensure they aren’t just beautiful but also withstand heat, humidity, and pests while keeping local bees and butterflies happy. |
