Indiana
Late blight has been found on tomatoes in Dearborn County, according to Dan Egel, extension plant pathologist for Purdue University.

Late blight isn’t something Indiana growers normally have to worry about because winters are cold enough to kill it, but last year, the disease was found in about 30 counties. Those were traced to transplants, Egel said, adding the Dearborn case is probably due to disease hopping across the Ohio River from Boone County, Ky., where it was confirmed last month.

“Under the right conditions, the blight can move very, very quickly,” he said. “But conditions over the last week-and-a-half haven’t been conducive to any sort of foliage diseases. When it’s dry, it’s not going to splash from plant to plant because there’s nothing to splash.”

Blight is characterized by large lesions on leaves that, in wet conditions, appear to have a white cast. Lesions may also appear on the stem and on the tomato, where it would look similar to mold in wet conditions.

If homeowners suspect blight, they should contact their county extension office for assistance. More information is available at www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ ppdl/lateblight.html or www.watermelondr.info

Recent hot, dry weather could cause problems for some crops, especially watermelon and cantaloupe, which often aren’t irrigated, Egel noted.

Corn is tasseling well ahead of normal, according to the latest crop update from the Indiana field office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). As of July 4, 31 percent of the state’s corn had tasseled, up from 2 last year. The five-year average is 8.

For Indiana’s soybean crop, 96 percent had emerged, up from last year’s 94. The five-year average is 97. Twenty-three percent of the crop had bloomed, up from 3 last year. The five-year average is 13.

The winter wheat continues at a fast pace, with 71 percent of the crop harvested. Last year, 52 had been harvested by this time. The five-year average is 51.

By Michele F. Mihaljevich
Indiana Correspondent

Illinois

East-central Illinois saw rains subside, allowing farmers to return to the fields for the first time since Memorial Day, report University of Illinois extension specialists. While corn looks good to excellent with tasseling and silking under way, soybean field conditions vary widely by planting date, drainage and herbicide.

In northern Illinois, rain in late June ranged from 1.5 to more than 2 inches, with damage from high winds and hail. Corn appears in good shape and soybeans are in full bloom, but it has been difficult to make timely herbicide applications.

According to the last weekly USDA report for southern Illinois, corn silking is 25-65 percent from north to south. With bright sun, adequate soil moisture and temperatures moderating into the low to mid-80s, corn sets look excellent and soybean flowering has begun, although late-planted soybeans are far from canopy closure.

Wet weather continued to keep west-central Illinois producers out of the field, extension officials said, adding that two days or more of fieldwork were possible in some locations, but many fields remain untouchable. Corn tasseling has started, and while soybean fields range from V3 to R1, some have been scrapped for the year.
Extension specialist Vince Davis said since April 1, most of Illinois is at least 4-14 inches above normal for rainfall, with the amounts highest above normal in the west and northwest. Temperatures are also an average of 3-5 degrees above normal.

By Karen Binder
Illinois Correspondent

Iowa
The warmer, dry weather the last week in June was welcome for Iowa farmers. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for some who had crops drowned out by the recent torrential rains, said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.

“The additional rain over the past weekend has made additional flooding a real threat,” he said last week, “especially in southern Iowa, which has been hardest hit by the extremely wet weather this June.”

The July 6 Crop and Weather Report said the final days of June created flooding concerns as heavy rains in the north pushed rivers near levels witnessed in 2008. According to the report, early-planted corn is 8 percent tasseled and has just begun to silk, while 27 percent of soybeans have started blooming.

“We continue to have warm conditions, so the crop is developing ahead of schedule in many areas,” said Paul Kassel, Iowa State University crops field specialist. “I would guess that we will have pollination of the corn crop completed by mid-July.”

Farmers also concentrated on applying herbicides to soybean fields highly populated with weeds, along with spraying, with many producers finishing up harvesting their first cutting of alfalfa, while others were completing second cuttings.

By Doug Schmitz
Iowa Correspondent