Indiana
Despite having only 2.5 days suitable for working in fields last week, Indiana farmers are ahead of schedule.

Fifteen percent of winter wheat has been harvested, according to the Indiana field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), compared with 5 this time last year and 12 for the five-year average. The condition is 68 percent good to excellent; only 1 is in poor condition. There have been reports of rust because of lingering rainy weather.

Scattered storms were reported by NASS last week, with some causing isolated wind and hail damage. A surplus of moisture and ponding in some fields were causing problems for a few growers.
Still, most corn and soybean fields are thriving in the warm temperatures. Corn condition is reported to be 68 percent good to excellent. Ninety-one percent of the soybean acreage has been planted, compared with 89 last year and 94 for the five-year average. Eighty-five percent of the soybean plantings have emerged, compared to 77 this time last year and 87 for the five-year average.

Soybeans are reported 67 percent good to excellent. Only 2 percent of both the corn and soybean crops is in poor condition.
The first cutting of alfalfa hay is 82 percent complete, on par with last year’s 83, and 89 for the five-year average. Pasture is looking better this year, with an 82-percent good-to-excellent rating.

By Andrea McCann
Indiana Correspondent

Ohio
The same cool, wet conditions Ohio growers faced in 2009 continue into the 2010 season. That means farmers should be especially alert for white mold in their soybeans.

“If it stays cool and wet, then white mold will be the next issue to monitor,” said Anne Dorrance, an Ohio State University extension plant pathologist.

Last year’s rainy weather and cooler temperatures resulted in the first major white mold outbreak in Ohio in nearly a decade. White mold, also known as Sclerotinia stem rot, is a common fungal disease that spreads by infecting decaying soybean stem tissue or blossoms prior to flowering (R1 stage) and during (R2).

The fungus invades the plant by producing oxalic acid, which kills plant tissue and allows fungus to take hold. Visible symptoms include fluffy white lesions on the base of dying plants and the stem will be bleached with white fluffy growth of the mycelium from the fungus.

Areas most prone are those in high-yielding sites, where the canopy formed early and the fields received timely moisture, and in areas where humidity has built up, with little airflow.

NASS reported soybeans continue to run behind 2009 numbers as well as the five-year average, with only 87 percent in the ground and 83 emerged.

Winter wheat is ahead of schedule, with 95 percent turning coloring, compared to only 62 in 2009 and 66 on the five-year average.

By Jane Houin
Ohio Correspondent

Illinois
Last week was another hot and wet week in Illinois. Many parts of the state are experiencing problems due to ponding of fields, according to NASS.

Wet conditions are taking their toll on standing crops and keeping producers from applying much-needed herbicides. Despite reports that 69 percent of the corn is in good or excellent condition, excessive rains in some areas have farmers downgrading dreams of record harvests.

Plants left in flooded fields with stunted growth, yellow leaves, shortened internodes and symptoms of nutrient deficiencies are likely to show little or no recovery, according to Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois agronomist.

If the soil would dry, existing leaves could green and growth rates could increase, restoring some yield potential if the developing ears have not been compromised too badly, he said.

“Applying foliar forms of nitrogen or dry forms such as urea will not do much good until the water goes away and the roots start to take up oxygen,” he said. “Roots … produce plant hormones, they grow into the soil to reach more nutrients and they anchor the plant. They do none of these things well when they are sitting in saturated soils.”

Because of this, nitrogen will produce little benefit to plants severely stunted and standing in water. If the majority of a field is on drier ground and still needs nitrogen, it should be applied as soon as possible.

Nafziger recommends applying nitrogen to corn in low, wet areas only after the water is gone and plants start to green, which indicates they are getting oxygen. If plants are stunted and far behind the rest of the field, applying may not help.

By Deborah Behrends
Illinois Correspondent