in-crop-weather

State
Indiana Crop Weather

Week Ending Date
September 23, 2001

Issue
IN-CW3801

Agricultural Summary 

Mid-week showers halted field activities in some areas, but corn
and soybean harvest continued to make good progress in most areas
of the state.  Reports indicate good yields for corn and soybeans
from early harvested fields.  Lodging of corn plants is a concern
in some fields.    

						
Field Crops Report

There were 4.5 days suitable for fieldwork.  Corn condition is
rated 74 percent good to excellent compared with 74 percent last
week and 71 percent last year at this time.  All of the corn 
acreage has reached the dent stage, on par with a year ago.  
Eighty percent of the corn acreage is mature compared with 77 
percent last year and 65 percent for the average.  By region, 
69 percent of the corn acreage is mature (safe from frost) in the
north, 83 percent in the central region and 91 percent in the 
south.  Thirteen percent of the corn acreage is harvested compared
with 13 percent last year and 10 percent for the 5-year average.
Moisture content of harvested corn is averaging 23 percent.  

Soybean condition is rated 73 percent good to excellent compared
with 72 percent last week and 64 percent last year.  Eighty 
percent of the soybean acreage is shedding leaves compared with
83 percent last year and 73 percent for the average.  Forty-four
percent of the soybean acreage is mature compared with 51 percent
last year and 44 percent for the average.  Seven percent of the
soybean acreage is harvested compared with 12 percent last year
and 10 percent for the average.  Moisture content of harvested
soybeans is averaging 14.5 percent.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report

Pasture condition is rated 6 percent excellent, 42 percent good,
34 percent fair, 14 percent poor and 4 percent very poor.  Tobacco
harvest is 90 percent complete compared with 76 percent for the 
average.  Livestock are in mostly good condition and calves are
being weaned.  Five percent of the winter wheat acreage is seeded
compared with 4 percent last year and 5 percent for the average.                    

                          
                  Crop Progress Table
--------------------------------------------------------
                          : This : Last : Last : 5-Year
     Crop                 : Week : Week : Year :  Avg
--------------------------------------------------------
                                      Percent
Corn Dent                   100     98    100      94
Corn Mature                  80     56     77      65
Corn Harvested               13      6     13      10
Soybeans Shedding Lv         80     58     83      73
Soybeans Mature              44     19     51      44
Soybeans Harvested            7      2     12      10
Tobacco Harvested            90     76     84      76

                    
                   Crop Condition Table
--------------------------------------------------------
                   : Very :      :      :      : Excel-
     Crop          : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent
--------------------------------------------------------
                                  Percent
Corn                  2      5      19     52      22
Soybeans              2      6      19     53      20
Pasture               4     14      34     42       6

   Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table
-------------------------------------------------------
                   : This : Last : Last
                   : Week : Week : Year
-------------------------------------------------------
                           Percent
Topsoil
  Very Short          1       3      2
  Short              10      13      8
  Adequate           76      79     77
  Surplus            13       5     13
Subsoil
  Very Short          6       9      7
  Short              21      23     16
  Adequate           68      65     70
  Surplus             5       3      7
Days Suitable       4.5     5.1    5.2
Contact information
--Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician
--Bud Bever, Agricultural Statistician
  E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov
  http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm                     

Other Agricultural Comments And News

Variety Selection and Establishment of Winter Wheat 

-Plant high quality seed of several varieties.
-Adjust seeding rate according to seed size.
-Plant timely and observe Hessian fly-free date.

When choosing among the many public and private wheat
varieties that are available, select those varieties that
have the combination of traits that best fit your production
system.  In addition to yield, certain traits dealing with
disease resistance, winterhardiness, and earliness may also
be important.  It is likely that not any one single variety
will contain all the traits that you consider important. 
Therefore, plant several varieties to help spread the risk
associated with the various diseases and environmental
stresses of your area.  Consult sources of information such
as the Performance of Public and Private Small Grains
available from the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in
your county.  This publication is also available over the
WEB at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/vareity.htm.  Then
click on 2001 PDF under Small Grains.

Seed might also be saved from the previous season if it is
high in quality and not contaminated with seed borne
diseases like smut.  Seed should be professionally cleaned
to remove light, shriveled, low quality kernels.  A seed
treatment can also be applied.  Good quality seed should
have at least 85 to 95% germination.

The seeding rate for soft red winter wheat should be
adjusted for seed size.  Seed size can vary from less than
12,000 seeds per pound to more than 16,000 seeds per pound. 
Accordingly, seeding rates can also vary from as little as
90 lb./acre for very small seeded varieties to as much as
165 lb./acre for large seeded varieties (see table). Optimum
plant population is around 1.3 to 1.5 million plants/acre. 
The higher rates should be used for late-planted wheat
(i.e., more than 3 weeks after the Hessian fly free date).

Seed should be sown 3/4" to 1" inches deep.  This becomes
especially important in no-till situations with heavy
residue.  It is important to get the seed through the
residue and into the soil to assure good seed to soil
contact and subsequent uniform germination and emergence. 
Wheat will be more winter hardy and less susceptible to
winter heaving if well established by proper seeding in a
timely manner.  Adequate nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer
is also important for seedling establishment in the fall. 
Apply approximately 20 to 25 lb. N/acre and phosphate
fertilizer according to soil test.  Potash is important for
later growth and development and should also be applied
according to soil test.

Wheat should be sown within the two-week period following
the Hessian fly-free date.  The fly-free date ranges from
September 22 across the northern tier of Indiana counties to
October 9 in the southwestern corner of the state.  In
addition to dodging the Hessian fly, planting in this window
reduces the risk of several diseases.  For example, wheat
that is planted excessively early is more susceptible to
take-all and may also be exposed to high aphid populations
which can transmit Barley Yellow Dwarf virus.  Late planted
wheat (more than 3 weeks after the fly-free date) is often
predisposed to winter die back and increased susceptibility
to heaving.

Seeding Rates for Winter Wheat Based on Seed Size*
_________________________________________________________
                         ---------Desired Population--------  
Number of      Seed           1.1a      1.3a      1.5a
seeds/lb.      Size            25b       30b       35b
_________________________________________________________
                         -------------lb. seed/acre---------
10,000         large          120       145       165
12,000         large          100       120       140
14,000         medium          85       100       120
16,000         small           75        90       105
_________________________________________________________
*  Seeding rates adjusted to 90% field emergence.
a  Million plants/acre
b  Plants/square foot

Charles Mansfield and Ellsworth Christmas, Dept. of 
Agronomy, Purdue University.

 

                  Weather Information Table
     
               Week Ending Sunday September 23, 2001
---------------------------------------------------------------
                | Past Week Weather Summary Data   
                |---------------------------------
 Station        |      Air      |           | Avg  
                |  Temperature  |  Precip.  |4 in.  
                |---------------|-----------|Soil 
                |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
Northwest (1)   |                                
Valparaiso_Ag   |73  52   63  +0   1.27    5     
Wanatah         |76  45   61  -2   1.04    6   67
Wheatfield      |77  45   62  +0   0.73    4     
Winamac         |76  49   62  -2   0.97    4   66
North Central(2)|                                
Logansport      |75  48   63  -2   0.99    3     
Plymouth        |75  48   62  -2   0.73    4     
South_Bend      |73  50   63  +1   2.02    5     
Young_America   |78  47   64  +0   1.07    1     
Northeast (3)   |                                
Bluffton        |76  46   63  -2   1.19    3   64
Fort_Wayne      |77  47   64  +0   1.63    3     
West Central (4)|                                
Crawfordsville  |81  45   63  -2   2.04    3   67
Perrysville     |78  47   65  +1   0.51    2   71
Terre_Haute_Ag  |82  50   66  +0   1.09    3   71
W_Lafayette_6NW |77  45   64  +0   0.74    1   67
Central (5)     |                                
Castleton       |77  48   65  -2   2.72    3     
Greenfield      |80  50   66  +2   2.35    3     
Greensburg      |79  48   65  +1   1.20    3     
Indianapolis_AP |77  51   66  +2   1.65    3     
Indianapolis_SE |77  48   65  -2   2.18    3     
Tipton_Ag       |77  45   63  -1   1.05    1   61
East Central (6)|                                
Farmland        |77  44   63  +0   1.38    4   63
New_Castle      |75  44   61  -2   1.41    4     
Southwest (7)   |                                
Dubois_Ag       |81  50   67  +1   0.54    2   70
Evansville      |81  54   68  +2   0.58    2     
Freelandville   |81  52   67  +1   1.08    2     
Shoals          |80  50   66  -1   1.05    3     
Vincennes_5NE   |81  50   68  +3   0.95    2   68
South Central(8)|                                
Bloomington     |79  49   65  -2   1.14    3     
Tell_City       |80  53   68  +0   0.54    2     
Southeast (9)   |                                
Scottsburg      |79  50   65  -2   0.99    3      
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
                |        Accumulation           
                |      April 1, 2001 thru       
 Station        |       September 23, 2001  
                |---------------------------------
                |Precipitation|  GDD Base 50oF   
                |-------------|-------------------
                | Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN  
-------------------------------------------------------------     
Northwest (1)   |
Valparaiso_Ag   | 21.18  -1.96  84  2974  +285
Wanatah         | 24.11  +1.70  80  2712  +143
Wheatfield      | 20.54  -1.22  73  2950  +323
Winamac         | 24.13  +2.43  76  2934  +229
North Central(2)|
Logansport      | 29.15  +8.18  76  2973  +177
Plymouth        | 22.69  +0.60  77  2789   -55
South_Bend      | 22.73  +1.27  74  2960  +291
Young_America   | 25.99  +5.02  68  3023  +227
Northeast (3)   |
Bluffton        | 22.08  +1.27  75  2990  +124
Fort_Wayne      | 25.13  +5.79  72  2959  +164
West Central (4)|
Crawfordsville  | 22.29  -0.35  71  2938   -51
Perrysville     | 19.32  -3.62  64  3163  +231
Terre_Haute_Ag  | 26.84  +3.81  64  3406  +279
W_Lafayette_6NW | 19.46  -2.02  64  3112  +331
Central (5)     |
Castleton       | 27.80  +5.79  69  3240  +147
Greenfield      | 30.09  +6.53  74  3466  +484
Greensburg      | 27.59  +4.66  79  3358  +453
Indianapolis_AP | 25.07  +3.53  61  3425  +325
Indianapolis_SE | 25.05  +3.04  70  3129   +36
Tipton_Ag       | 21.31  -0.50  62  2879  +182
East Central (6)|
Farmland        | 26.88  +5.63  74  2917  +282
New_Castle      | 30.97  +8.42  72  2652   -48
Southwest (7)   |
Dubois_Ag       | 23.68  -1.13  64  3584  +423
Evansville      | 23.51  +1.80  66  3872  +280
Freelandville   | 22.09  -0.52  51  3551  +321
Shoals          | 25.17  +0.72  62  3389  +256
Vincennes_5NE   | 19.42  -3.19  51  3718  +488
South Central(8)|
Bloomington     | 24.16  +0.89  66  3377  +203
Tell_City       | 19.64  -5.29  48  3813  +346
Southeast (9)   |
Scottsburg      | 25.34  +2.05  81  3497  +279 
-------------------------------------------------------------
DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period).
GDD = Growing Degree Days.
Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches.
Precipitation Days = Days with precipitation of 0.01 inch or
more.
Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. 

Copyright 2001:  AWIS, 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 or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955.