in-crop-weather

State
Indiana Crop Weather

Week Ending Date  
October 1, 2006

Issue
IN-CW402006

                        Agricultural Summary

Harvest of both corn and soybeans is gaining momentum especially in
northern and central areas of the state, according to the 
Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics 
Service. Southern portions of the state are lagging behind in harvest
due to excessive precipitation. The percent of corn acreage harvested 
is about 8 days behind the 5-year average, and soybean acreage 
harvested is about 13 days behind the 5-year average. 

                         Field Crops Report

There were 3.7 days suitable for field work. Corn condition is rated
73 percent good to excellent compared with 47 percent last year at 
this time. Seventy-three percent of the corn acreage is now mature 
compared with 87 percent last year and 82 percent for the 5-year 
average. Ten percent of the corn acreage is now harvested compared
with 19 percent for both last year and the 5-year average. 

Soybean condition is rated 74 percent good to excellent compared with
55 percent last year. Seventy-six percent of the soybean acreage is
shedding leaves compared with 94 percent last year and 89 percent for
the 5-year average. Six percent of the soybean acreage has been
harvested compared with 21 percent last year and 24 percent for the
5-year average. 

Five percent of the winter wheat acreage has been planted compared 
with 10 percent last year and 13 percent for the 5-year average. 
Tobacco harvest is now 75 percent complete compared with 83 percent 
last year and 89 percent for the 5-year average. Some producers have 
been able to take fourth and even fifth cuttings of hay. 

               Livestock, Pasture and Range Report

Pasture condition is rated 9 percent excellent, 58 percent good, 27
percent fair, 5 percent poor and 1 percent very poor. Livestock remain
in mostly good condition. 

                             
                    Crop Progress Table
-------------------------------------------------------
                       : This : Last : Last : 5-Year
     Crop              : Week : Week : Year :  Avg
-------------------------------------------------------
                             Percent
Corn Mature               73     59     87     82
Corn Harvested            10      5     19     19
Soybeans Shedding Lvs     76     57     94     89
Soybeans Mature           41     19     75     68
Soybeans Harvested         6      2     21     24
Winter Wheat Planted       5      2     10     13
Winter Wheat Emerged       1    N/A      1      2
Tobacco Harvested         75     60     83     89

                    Crop Condition Table
-------------------------------------------------------
              : Very :      :      :      : Excel-
     Crop     : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :  lent
------------------------------------------------------- 
                             Percent
Corn              2      5     20     54     19
Soybeans          1      5     20     56     18
Pasture           1      5     27     58      9

        Soil Moisture & Days Suitable
             for Fieldwork Table
----------------------------------------
               : This  : Last  : Last :
               : Week  : Week  : Year :
----------------------------------------
                      Percent
Topsoil
  Very Short       0       0       2
  Short            1       1      10
  Adequate        75      66      79
  Surplus         24      33       9
Subsoil
  Very Short       1       0      10
  Short            4       5      23
  Adequate        78      78      63
  Surplus         17      17       4
Days Suitable    3.7     2.8     4.6
                                            
Contact information
--Greg Preston, Director
--Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician
  E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov
  http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana        
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Other Agricultural Comments And News

        FALL APPLIED HERBICIDES FOR CORN AND SOYBEAN IN 2006

*  Trying to make the decision?
*  When would I apply herbicides in the fall?
*  How does the winter effect fall applied herbicides?
*  What do I use for some of the major winter annuals?
*  Fall applied programs for Indiana   
    
For those of you that use fall applied herbicide programs you are
probably thinking about what might be available this year for 
products. For those of you who have not used a fall applied program
before, you might be wondering if it is a good fit for you. 

TRYING TO MAKE THE DECISION? 

PROS 
The adoption of no-till and the recent mild winters have appeared
to increase the amount of winter annual weeds in the Midwest. Many
fields have a mat of chickweed, purple deadnettle, henbit, and whitlow
grass in the spring. Two weeds that have become increasingly 
problematic are dandelion and cress leaf groundsel (butterweed). Both
dandelion (Northeast Indiana) and cress leaf groundsel (Southern 
Indiana) can turn fields yellow in the spring. Research has 
demonstrated that dandelion can be more sensitive to effective 
herbicides when applied after a light frost. However, this would make
for a small window of application in many years and possibly 
jeopardize control. Some biennials, such as musk thistle and poison 
hemlock were also bad this spring. Perennials such as common pokeweed
also appeared to be on the increase these past couple of years. Many
of these plants are often controlled more effectively in the fall,
becoming less responsive to herbicides in the spring once they have 
started to bloom and increase in size. A mat of vegetation in the
spring can slow the drying and warming of the soil before planting 
thus delaying planting. In Indiana we also often have to deal with wet
springs making it difficult to apply timely spring burndowns delaying
planting further. In a few case, planting has to be done into a mat 
of winter annuals and/or summer annuals coming up in the spring or 
we use aggressive tillage to dry the soil, resulting in added cost, 
soil compaction, and fields prone to erosion if heavy rains fall soon
after tillage. Thus, utilization of a fall herbicide application can 
be effective in providing winter annual free fields in the spring or 
and in most cases provide a wider window for planting. 

Some research suggests that a field heavy with winter annual weeds 
can attract pests. Some winter annual weeds can serve as alternate 
hosts to soybean cyst nematode. Research being conducted at Purdue 
University is presently investigating optimum timing of fall applied
herbicides to interfere with the nematode/weed interaction. 

CONS
Fall applied programs may not be for everybody. If you are on
highly erodible land and are not using a cover crop to prevent 
erosion it would not be beneficial in the long term to use a fall 
applied program. 

In some cases, use of an inappropriate fall applied program can lead
to needing a burndown in the spring, increasing costs and time inputs.
The winter months that follow can have an effect on the germination 
patterns of the winter annuals and the persistence of the that follow
can have an effect on the germination patterns of the winter annuals 
and the persistence of the herbicide in the soil if a residual 
herbicide is used. Winters that are wet and mild can increase the 
microbial activity thus speed the break down of the herbicide in the
soil. 

Fields that have heavy common lambsquarter and giant ragweed pressure
may require the use of a burndown in the spring under the following
conditions. The use of a nonresidual herbicides or residual herbicides
that do not provide good residual activity on common lambsquarter and
giant ragweed in the fall will can provide good control of the winter
annuals, but allow the soil to warm more quickly in the spring, thus
summer annuals will emerge earlier in the spring. 

In a few cases the use of a specific product will lock you into using 
a specific crop the following year. For example, the use of Canopy EX
requires that soybean be planted the following year. The use of 
Simazine 4L requires that only corn be planted the following year. 

One final con that was given to me at a field one year is that some
producers winterize their spaying equipment before any chance of
overnight frosts. The concern of having fluids freeze over night in
the equipment's plumbing could lead to extra time and money costs. 

WHEN WOULD I APPLY THE HERBICIDES IN THE FALL? 

Several fall applied herbicides have fairly large application windows
allowing weed size to be the timing criteria for application. Basis
or Canopy EX can be applied anytime after harvest to before the
ground freezes when weeds are less than 3 inches tall or 3 inches in
diameter, but before the weeds bloom. Princep can also be applied 
after harvest to weeds less than 2 inches tall/wide. When winter 
annuals get larger, tank mixing of 2,4-D or glyphosate is common
practice. The use of 2,4-D products and glyphosate products also have
wide windows of application. The window of application generally 
depends on weed species and size. All herbicide programs should be
applied before the ground freezes. This is for two reasons; 1) winter
annuals have essentially shut down at this time and any herbicide 
application would have very little effect and 2) the possibility of
off site movement of the herbicide increases when they are applied
to frozen ground. 

HOW DOES THE WINTER EFFECT FALL APPLIED HERBICIDES?

After applying a fall applied herbicide program the winter weather 
will have some effect on both the herbicides that have residual 
activity and those that don't. In the case of residual herbicides,
mild wet winters promote microbial breakdown of herbicides resulting
in reduced activity in the spring possibly requiring additional weed
control efforts. On the flip side, a cold dry winter will reverse
this effect. A mild winter can also have an effect on non-residual 
herbicides. Germination of winter annuals can still occur after an 
application in a mild winter also resulting needed efforts in the 
spring. 

WHAT DO I USE FOR SOME OF THE MAJOR WINTER ANNUALS? 

The use of 2,4-D is common, but it more than likely is combined with
something else to provide a broader spectrum of control. Alone, 2,4-D
is not highly effective on common chickweed and can be inconsistent 
on cress leaf groundsel (butterweed) once it starts to bolt. In most
cases, the addition of Basis, Canopy EX (before soybean), Express, 
glyphosate, Simazine (before corn) or Valor are combined with 2,4-D
to increase control of several of the winter annuals. Glyphosate 
products such as Roundup, Glyphomax, Touchdown, are often used in 
tank mixes due to glyphosate's broad spectrum weed control and 
efficacy on many perennials. Below is a list of herbicides and/or 
tank mix options that are effective on many of the winter annuals
that we have to deal with in Indiana. In order to view this listing,
go to:http://128.210.99.160/entomology/ext/targets/p&c/PandC2006
/PandC23_2006.pdf, page 5. 

Glenn Nice and Bill Johnson, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology,
Purdue University. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The INDIANA CROP & WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is
issued weekly April through November by the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field
Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd,  Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 
47906-4145. Second Class postage paid at Lafayette IN. For 
information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER:
Send address change to the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win
Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

             Weather Information Table

       Week ending Sunday October 1, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------
                | Past Week Weather Summary Data   
                |---------------------------------
 Station        |      Air      |            | Avg  
                |  Temperature  |  Precip.   |4 in.  
                |---------------|------------|Soil 
                |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN| Total|Days |Temp 
----------------------------------------------------- 
Northwest (1)                                    
Chalmers_5W      78  34   55  -7   0.36    4     
Francesville     75  37   54  -6   0.23    5     
Valparaiso_AP_I  73  37   55  -6   0.57    3     
Wanatah          75  37   53  -7   1.00    5   61
Winamac          75  38   54  -7   0.43    3   55
North Central(2)                                 
Plymouth         74  41   55  -7   0.38    5     
South_Bend       71  41   55  -6   0.49    5     
Young_America    78  38   57  -5   0.17    4     
Northeast (3)                                    
Columbia_City    73  40   54  -5   0.59    5   57
Fort_Wayne       77  40   56  -5   0.84    5     
West Central(4)                                  
Greencastle      79  38   57  -7   0.25    1     
Perrysville      80  37   58  -4   0.08    1   59
Spencer_Ag       80  41   57  -4   0.03    1     
Terre_Haute_AFB  81  38   58  -6   0.09    3     
W_Lafayette_6NW  79  34   56  -5   0.14    3   60
Central (5)                                      
Eagle_Creek_AP   78  44   59  -4   0.23    3     
Greenfield       78  40   57  -6   1.16    4     
Indianapolis_AP  79  41   59  -4   0.42    2     
Indianapolis_SE  77  39   57  -6   0.52    2     
Tipton_Ag        78  37   56  -4   0.38    4   60
East Central(6)                                  
Farmland         77  39   56  -5   1.07    5   61
New_Castle       78  37   56  -4   0.52    4     
Southwest (7)                                    
Evansville       83  43   61  -4   0.11    3     
Freelandville    82  43   59  -4   0.67    2     
Shoals           82  38   57  -6   0.90    3     
Stendal          83  45   62  -2   0.14    2     
Vincennes_5NE    84  43   60  -3   0.19    3   60
South Central(8)                                 
Leavenworth      78  43   59  -4   0.78    3     
Oolitic          79  39   57  -5   0.15    2   61
Tell_City        81  44   60  -5   0.59    1     
Southeast (9)                                    
Brookville       79  39   57  -4   0.25    2     
Greensburg       78  39   59  -3   0.11    2     
Scottsburg       80  40   60  -4   0.41    3      
----------------------------------------------------

      Weather Information Table (Continued)

      Week ending Sunday October 1, 2006
------------------------------------------------
                        Accumulation           
                --------------------------------
                      April 1, 2006 thru       
 Station               October 1, 2006       
                 --------------------------------
                  Precipitation   |GDD Base 50oF
                 --------------------------------
                       |     |    |     |
                 Total | DFN |Days|Total|  DFN   
-------------------------------------------------
Northwest (1)   |
Chalmers_5W     |25.88  +3.67   63  2925  -116
Francesville    |33.06 +10.57   78  2818   +29
Valparaiso_AP_I |15.67  -8.50   50  2898  +121
Wanatah         |22.45  -0.89   67  2616   -34
Winamac         |26.27  +3.78   64  2848   +59
North Central(2)|
Plymouth        |23.30  +0.28   70  2731  -203
South_Bend      |26.51  +4.14   73  2867  +117
Young_America   |26.22  +4.43   73  2943   +57
Northeast (3)   |
Columbia_City   |24.37  +2.50   77  2685   +60
Fort_Wayne      |24.62  +4.64   71  2902   +18
West Central(4) | 
Greencastle     |30.01  +4.76   70  2914  -342
Perrysville     |23.36  -0.30   70  3223  +195
Spencer_Ag      |30.66  +5.34   75  3119   +66
Terre_Haute_AFB |21.68  -2.18   76  3301   +70
W_Lafayette_6NW |25.48  +3.28   78  3024  +153
Central (5)     |
Eagle_Creek_AP  |26.41  +4.15   76  3317  +115
Greenfield      |33.36  +9.04   79  2987   -94
Indianapolis_AP |26.13  +3.87   77  3347  +145
Indianapolis_SE |27.06  +4.36   76  2961  -236
Tipton_Ag       |28.69  +6.08   79  2791    +8
East Central(6) |
Farmland        |26.95  +4.97   80  2747   +30
New_Castle      |28.72  +5.46   74  2798   +13
Southwest (7)   |
Evansville      |35.84 +13.37   63  3826  +114
Freelandville   |21.33  -2.08   60  3494  +156
Shoals          |35.24  +9.99   69  3327   +89
Stendal         |37.50 +12.36   65  3878  +380
Vincennes_5NE   |29.92  +6.51   73  3600  +262
South Central(8)|
Leavenworth     |40.38 +14.90   83  3446  +231
Oolitic         |27.52  +3.37   70  3110   +19
Tell_City       |43.03 +17.30   64  3792  +203
Southeast (9)   |
Brookville      |27.03  +3.62   59  3235  +300
Greensburg      |31.19  +7.54   68  3284  +282
Scottsburg      |33.93  +9.84   75  3383   +58  
------------------------------------------------------------------
DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period).
GDD = Growing Degree Days.
Precipitation (Rainfall or melted snow/ice) in inches.
Precipitation Days = Days with precip of .01 inch or more.
Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit.

Copyright 2006:  Agricultural Weather Information Service, Inc.
                 All rights reserved.

       The above weather information is provided by AWIS, Inc.
For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page
                        at: www.awis.com