in-crop-weather


State
Indiana Crop Weather

Week Ending Date  
May 16, 2004

Issue
IN-CW2004


Agricultural Summary
     
Showers slowed field activity for many farmers while others worked
around the precipitation during the week, according to the Indiana
Agricultural Statistics Service. The rain spurred growth and 
development of major crops. Stands of emerged corn look good. Most
farmers have now finished planting of their corn acreage. Soybean
planting made good progress last week. Soybean planting is one week
behind the record pace established in 2001, but is 10 days ahead of
the average pace. First cutting of hay crops continued, mostly in 
the southern regions. 


Field Crops Report
     
There were 4.1 days suitable for fieldwork. Ninety-three percent of
the intended corn acreage is planted compared with 60 percent for 
last year and 70 percent for the 5-year average. Seventy-one percent
of the corn acreage has emerged compared with 41 percent last year 
and 45 percent for the average. By area, 94 percent of the corn is 
planted in the north, 96 percent in the central region and 86 percent
in the south. Sixty-six percent of the intended soybean acreage is 
planted compared with 24 percent last year and 46 percent for the 
average. By area, 71 percent of the soybean acreage is planted in 
the north, 74 percent in the central region and 42 percent in 
the south. 

Virtually all of the winter wheat acreage is now jointed. Sixty-five
percent of the winter wheat is headed compared with 54 percent last 
year and 57 percent for the average. Winter wheat condition is rated 
84 percent good to excellent compared with 82 percent last year at 
this time. Setting of tobacco plants is 6 percent complete. 

Major activities during the week were tillage of soils, applying
anhydrous ammonia, spreading fertilizer, spraying herbicides, 
repairing equipment, moving grain to market, hauling manure and
taking care of livestock. 


Livestock, Pasture and Range Report

Pasture condition is rated 13 percent excellent, 66 percent good, 
18 percent fair and 3 percent poor. Livestock are in mostly good 
condition. Spring calving is nearing completion on some farms. 


                    Crop Progress Table
-----------------------------------------------------
                     : This :  Last :  Last : 5-Year
     Crop            : Week :  Week :  Year :  Avg
-----------------------------------------------------
                                     Percent
Corn Planted            93      87      60      70
Corn Emerged            71      44      41      45
Soybeans Planted        66      48      24      46
Soybeans Emerged        31      NA       9      20
Winter Wheat Headed     65      29      54      57
Tobacco Plants Set       6       1       3       6


                    Crop Condition Table
-------------------------------------------------------------
                     : Very :      :      :      : Excel-
     Crop            : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :  lent
-------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Percent
Pasture                  0      3     18     66     13
Winter Wheat 2004        0      2     14     65     19
Winter Wheat 2003        1      2     15     56     26

                                     
   Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table
-------------------------------------------------------
                     : This  : Last  :  Last :
                     : Week  : Week  :  Year :
-------------------------------------------------------
                            Percent
Topsoil
  Very Short             1       3       0
  Short                  8      14       0
  Adequate              73      71      31
  Surplus               18      12      69
Subsoil
  Very Short             3       4       0
  Short                 15      17       4
  Adequate              73      71      50
  Surplus                9       8      46
Days Suitable          4.1     4.6     1.0

Contact information
--Greg Preston, State Director
--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

                  GROWING POINTS OF INTEREST 

* Recovery from early season damage to corn is often dependent on the
  health of growing point region. 

There is something about 30 mph winds and sand/grit/soil blasting
across corn fields at seedling height that makes one curious about
the ability of corn to recover from early season damage. The same can
be said following a thunderstorm accompanied by strong winds and 
damaging hail. Whenever corn is damaged early in the growing season,
growers are sometimes faced with the decision of whether or not to 
replant the field. 

One of the most important, and most difficult, steps in making a 
replant decision is estimating the surviving plant population in the
field. Corn is remarkably resilient to above ground damage early in 
the season, yet growers often underestimate the ability of corn to
recover from such damage. Consequently, much of the replanting that 
occurs each year is a waste of money and effort. Use the worksheet 
in my replant publication (AY-264-W) to estimate yield and dollar
returns to corn replanting. 

The health and condition of the corn plant's growing point (apical
meristem) plays a major role in determining whether a damaged corn 
plant will recover or not. A plant damaged above ground but with a 
healthy, undamaged growing point will usually survive. However, 
damage to the growing point area will either kill the plant or 
severely stunt its recovery. 

The growing point is that meristematic area of the corn plant where
leaves and, eventually, the tassel are initiated. Morphologically, 
the growing point area is located at the top of the young plant's 
stalk tissue. Prior to stalk internode elongation, the growing point 
is initially located 1/4 to 3/4 inch below the soil surface, near the 
crown of young seedlings at growth stages VE (emergence) to about V4 
(four leaves with visible leaf collars). 

The growing point remains below ground until V5 to V6. Stalk 
internodes begin to elongate shortly before V5, eventually elevating 
the growing point above the soil surface. From this point forward, 
the growing point becomes increasingly exposed and vulnerable to 
above ground damage. 

Prior to V6, while the growing point is below ground, corn can 
tolerate quite a bit of above ground injury from "single event" 
damage by frost, hail, wind, cutworm feeding, sandblasting, tire 
traffic, 28% N solution burn, etc. However, repeated injury to young
plants (e.g., multiple days of sandblasting) or extended periods of 
sub-optimal temperatures (i.e., "darned" cold weather) and cloudy 
conditions following the damage may prevent photosynthetic recovery
(renewal of green leaves) long enough to eventually kill the plant 
even though the growing point is technically not injured. 

While corn younger than V6 can tolerate a fair amount of above ground
frost damage to exposed leaf tissue, lethal cold temperatures (28 F 
or less for several hours) can "penetrate" the upper soil surface
(especially dry soils) and damage or kill the growing point of a 
young corn plant. Corn younger than V6 is also susceptible to below
ground damage from soil insects, disease, and flooding or ponding. 

Human nature being what it is, most growers can't avoid walking 
damaged corn fields the day of or the day following the injury to
begin assessing the consequences of damage to their corn field. 
Unfortunately, most of the time a fair assessment of the recovery
potential of damaged plants cannot be made that soon. Damaged corn
fields need to be left alone for several days, sometimes up to a 
week, after the damage occurs to give the plants some time to exhibit
visible recovery. 

Splitting open a damaged corn plant is a time-honored practice when
assessing the consequences of early- season damage to corn. The stalk
tissue near the growing point region should remain firm and 
yellowish-white, as should the growing point region itself. Discolored
or mushy tissue near the growing point usually spells trouble for the
injured plant. Injury that occurs close to the growing point area 
(e.g., hail damage, stinkbug feeding) may alter normal hormonal 
activity and eventually cause deformed regrowth of stalk or 
leaf tissue. 

Visible recovery of leaf development from the whorl of surviving 
plants will be evident within 3 to 10 days after a damage event, 
depending on temperature and soil moisture conditions. Warmer 
temperatures and adequate soil moisture encourage rapid recovery, 
while cooler temperatures and/or drought stress slow the rate of 
recovery. Given sufficient time, surviving corn plants will exhibit
new leaf tissue expanding from the whorls, while dead corn plants 
will still look, well dead. 

Select References: Nielsen, R.L. (Bob). 2003 (rev.) Estimating Yield
and Dollar Returns to Corn Replanting. Purdue Univ. Coop. Ext. Service
Pub. No. AY-264-W. Available on the Web at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/
ext/pubs/AY-264-W.pdf. (Verified 5/4/04). 

Don't forget, this and other timely information about corn can be 
viewed at the Chat 'n Chew Cafe on the Web at http://www.kingcorn.org/
cafe. For other information about corn, take a look at the Corn 
Growers' Guidebook on the Web at http://www.kingcorn.org. 2004, 
Purdue University. 

R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN.  Email: rnielsen@purdue.edu. 

                 
                    Weather Information Table
     
               Week Ending Sunday May 16, 2004
---------------------------------------------------------------
                | Past Week Weather Summary Data   
                |---------------------------------
 Station        |      Air      |            | Avg  
                |  Temperature  |  Precip.   |4 in.  
                |---------------|------------|Soil 
                |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days |Temp 
------------------------------------------------------------- 
Northwest (1)   |                                
Chalmers_5W     |87  42   69  +8   1.47    5   65
Valparaiso_AP_I |88  40   67  +9   2.41    5     
Wanatah         |86  37   66  +9   2.51    6   69
Wheatfield      |89  41   68 +10   2.32    5     
Winamac         |86  40   68  +9   1.27    5     
North Central(2)|                                
Plymouth        |85  43   68  +8   2.61    5     
South_Bend      |88  42   69 +11   1.75    6     
Young_America   |88  43   69 +10   1.07    5     
Northeast (3)   |                                
Columbia_City   |85  40   68 +11   0.64    5     
Fort_Wayne      |84  49   69 +10   0.42    4     
West Central (4)|                                
Greencastle     |85  51   68  +6   2.31    5     
Perrysville     |88  50   70 +10   2.07    4   70
Spencer_Ag      |85  51   69  +8   1.86    4     
Terre_Haute_AFB |86  53   70  +9   0.71    3     
W_Lafayette_6NW |88  42   69 +10   1.19    4   73
Central (5)     |                                
Eagle_Creek_AP  |83  51   68  +7   0.84    4     
Greenfield      |84  48   68  +7   1.14    3     
Indianapolis_AP |85  52   69  +8   1.30    4     
Indianapolis_SE |84  49   68  +7   0.99    3     
Tipton_Ag       |85  49   68 +10   0.42    3     
East Central (6)|                                
Farmland        |85  48   68 +10   0.92    3     
New_Castle      |83  47   66  +7   0.87    3     
Southwest (7)   |                                
Evansville      |85  54   71  +7   2.00    4     
Freelandville   |84  52   69  +7   1.50    4     
Shoals          |85  54   70  +8   1.67    4     
Stendal         |85  54   70  +7   2.15    4     
Vincennes_5NE   |87  52   70  +8   1.49    4   67
South Central(8)|                                
Leavenworth     |85  54   69  +8   1.64    4     
Oolitic         |83  53   68  +7   1.18    4     
Tell_City       |86  55   71  +8   1.43    5     
Southeast (9)   |                                
Brookville      |87  53   69  +9   0.60    3     
Milan_5NE       |85  52   69 +10   1.12    5     
Scottsburg      |85  55   69  +7   1.41    4     
---------------------------------------------------


                     Weather Information Table

                 Week ending Sunday May 16, 2004
----------------|--------------------------------
                |        Accumulation           
                |--------------------------------
                |      April 1, 2004 thru       
 Station        |       May 16, 2004         
                |--------------------------------
                | Precipitation   |GDD Base 50oF
                |--------------------------------
                |      |     |    |     |
                |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN   
-------------------------------------------------
Northwest (1)   |  
Chalmers_5W     |  4.07  -1.66  12   355   +67
Valparaiso_AP_I |  4.19  -1.75  13   348  +121
Wanatah         |  4.27  -1.42  15   309  +118
Wheatfield      |  8.26  +2.71  24   333  +125
Winamac         |  4.42  -1.05  17   349  +105
North Central(2)|
Plymouth        |  5.21  -0.61  16   322   +63
South_Bend      |  3.10  -2.34  16   382  +171
Young_America   |  3.21  -2.19  12   382  +144
Northeast (3)   |
Columbia_City   |  3.78  -1.61  17   323  +131
Fort_Wayne      |  3.57  -1.57  15   362  +138
West Central (4)|
Greencastle     |  3.96  -2.24  16   363   +42
Perrysville     |  4.88  -1.08  12   435  +159
Spencer_Ag      |  5.29  -1.24  18   388  +108
Terre_Haute_AFB |  2.55  -3.73  11   465  +146
W_Lafayette_6NW |  3.63  -2.18  11   400  +156
Central (5)     |
Eagle_Creek_AP  |  2.92  -2.86  14   418  +110
Greenfield      |  3.32  -3.02  16   373  +101
Indianapolis_AP |  3.57  -2.21  15   453  +145
Indianapolis_SE |  3.50  -2.65  14   396  +106
Tipton_Ag       |  2.83  -3.09  13   348  +134
East Central (6)|
Farmland        |  4.08  -1.42  17   348  +142
New_Castle      |  3.61  -2.80  15   286   +74
Southwest (7)   |
Evansville      |  5.64  -0.90  16   551  +118
Freelandville   |  3.74  -2.79  16   460  +119
Shoals          |  5.92  -0.94  21   464  +133
Stendal         |  5.21  -1.94  14   513  +131
Vincennes_5NE   |  4.88  -1.65  18   504  +163
South Central(8)|
Leavenworth     |  7.89  +0.78  18   457  +119
Oolitic         |  5.52  -0.99  20   402  +105
Tell_City       |  7.84  +0.48  19   557  +160
Southeast (9)   |
Brookville      |  5.30  -1.01  17   373  +123
Milan_5NE       |  6.18  -0.13  23   393  +143
Scottsburg      |  7.98  +1.44  21   440   +95
------------------------------------------------------------- 
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 2004:  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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The INDIANA CROP WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is
issued weekly April through November by the Indiana Agricultural 
Statistics Service, 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 Indiana Agricultural
Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105,  
West Lafayette IN  47906-4145.                           

Source: Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service