in-crop-weather


State
Indiana Crop Weather

Week Ending Date  
May 11, 2003

Issue
IN-CW1903


Agricultural Summary 

Rain and wet field conditions halted field activities during most of the
week, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service.
Thunderstorms and strong winds occurred in some areas during the week
causing damage on some farms. Standing water exists in low lying areas
of many fields and flooding is occurring along river bottom land. Soil
moisture has improved from the recent showers in most areas of the
state. Corn planting is 2 days ahead of average. Soybean planting is 5
days behind the average pace. Early emerged corn fields were looking
good, but some replanting may now be necessary in drowned out areas.                  
                         

Field Crops Report 

There were .6 days suitable for fieldwork. Fifty-eight percent of the
intended corn acreage is planted compared with 11 percent last year and
54 percent for the 5-year average. By area, 68 percent of the corn
acreage is planted in the north, 64 percent in the central region and 25
percent in the south. Thirty-two percent of the corn acreage has
emerged, compared with 4 percent last year and 25 percent for the
average. Twenty- one percent of the soybean acreage is planted compared
with 3 percent last year and 31 percent for the average. By area, 30
percent of the soybean acreage is planted in the north, 23 percent in
the central region and 3 percent in the south 

Ninety-four percent of the winter wheat acreage is jointed compared with
99 percent last year and 99 percent for the 5-year average. Thirty-five
percent of the winter wheat is headed compared with 35 percent last year
and 40 percent for the average. Winter wheat condition is rated 79
percent good to excellent compared with 62 percent last year at this
time. 

Major activities during the week were tillage of soils, spraying
chemicals, repairing equipment, moving grain to market, hauling manure
and taking care of livestock. 


Livestock, Pasture and Range Report 

Pasture condition is rated 15 percent excellent, 58 percent good, 21
percent fair, 5 percent poor and 1 percent very poor. Pastures and
forage crops continue to improve aided by the recent rain and warmer
temperatures. Livestock are in mostly good condition. Spring calving
remains active. 

                               
                    Crop Progress Table
--------------------------------------------------------
                          : This : Last : Last : 5-Year
     Crop                 : Week : Week : Year :  Avg
--------------------------------------------------------
                                     Percent
Corn Planted                58      50     11     54
Corn Emerged                32      11      4     25
Soybeans Planted            21      17      3     31
Winter Wheat Jointed        94      83     99     99
Winter Wheat Headed         35       8     35     40
Tobacco Plants Set           2       1      0      2

       
                    Crop Condition Table
--------------------------------------------------------
                   : Very :      :      :      : Excel-
     Crop          : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent
--------------------------------------------------------
                                  Percent
Pasture               1      5      21     58     15
Winter Wheat 2003     1      3      17     55     24
Winter Wheat 2002     1      7      30     49     13


   Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table
-------------------------------------------------------
                   : This  : Last  :  Last
                   : Week  : Week  :  Year
-------------------------------------------------------
                           Percent
Topsoil
  Very Short          0        1        0
  Short               1        6        0
  Adequate           27       55       13
  Surplus            72       38       87
Subsoil
  Very Short          0        6        0
  Short               7       16        0
  Adequate           56       61       27
  Surplus            37       17       73
Days Suitable       0.6      3.6      1.0
Contact information
--Greg Preston, 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


    HERBICIDE RESISTANCE GROWING LIKE WEEDS, SPECIALIST SAYS

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Farmers applying popular herbicides to their
fields one day might receive an unwelcome chemical reaction: weeds
ignoring the products altogether. 

Scores of crop-damaging weeds are developing immunity to even the
strongest herbicides in farmers' arsenals, said Bill Johnson, Purdue
University Cooperative Extension Service weed specialist. What's
more, fewer chemical methods for controlling the undesired vegetation
are being introduced to replace them. 

It all adds up to trouble for producers, but all is not lost if 
farmers change some current practices, Johnson said. 

"We are developing glyphosate-resistant weeds at a rate of about one 
new species per year over the last four years," he said. 

"There are about 250 species of herbicide-resistant weeds in the 
world. The highest number is in areas where production row-crop 
agriculture is most intense and relies almost exclusively on
herbicides for weed control. That would be North America, Australia 
and Europe." 

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, considered the king
of herbicides. So dominant is Roundup that 83 percent of United States
soybean acres are expected to be planted to Roundup-tolerant varieties
this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Indiana
farmers are projected to plant 91 percent of their soybean acres to
Roundup Ready varieties. 

Statewide, several weeds are demonstrating resistance to herbicide
ingredients and brand-name products, Johnson said. 

"In Indiana we have glyphosate-resistant marestail; jimsonweed 
resistant to atrazine; giant and common ragweed resistant to First 
Rate, pigweed resistant to Scepter, Classic and Pursuit; and 
lambsquarter resistant to atrazine." 

Herbicide resistance in weeds started slowly in the 1970s and picked
up steam in the early 1980s. Between 1990 and 2000 the number of 
confirmed herbicide-tolerant weeds worldwide jumped from about 125 to
more than 240. 

The rapid increase in weeds unaffected by herbicides was caused, in
part, by the use of herbicides with identical control methods known 
as modes-of-action - on both soybeans and corn, Johnson said. The same
is now happening to herbicides with acetolactase synthase (ALS) 
inhibitors. ALS inhibitors kill weeds by preventing them from
producing essential amino acids necessary for growth. 

Weed-control chemistry isn't keeping up with weed physiology, Johnson
said. 

"For the most part we haven't lost active ingredients in corn or 
soybean production, but we're not getting new active ingredients
introduced, either," he said. 

"In the 1980s and through the early part of the 1990s, we probably 
were getting one or two new herbicides with a relatively new 
mode-of-action every couple of years. We haven't gotten a new 
mode-of-action introduced into research programs in probably four or
five years." 

Developing effective new herbicides is a time-consuming and expensive
task, Johnson said. 

"There's probably a misconception out there that companies can turn 
on the spigot and turn out a new active ingredient, when in fact it 
takes probably $100 million and 10 years of research to get a new 
product to the marketplace," he said. 

Although weeds are gradually winning the control war, farmers still
have a fighting chance. Johnson recommends producers avoid using
similar mode-of-action herbicides on two or more crops. Also, planting
soybeans in narrow rows helps minimize weed emergence later in the
crop season, and can be effective with corn, as well. 

"One of the best things we can do is rotate crops," Johnson said. 
"We rotate crops for insect and disease problems, and we need to
rotate crops for weed problems. Most of our corn and soybean crops
in Indiana are rotated. However, there are certain areas where 
soybeans are grown continuously. 

"The other thing we can do - if soil erosion is not a big problem - is
introduce tillage back into our systems. That could be some primary
tillage in the fall, some secondary tillage in the spring or simply
using a rotary hoe and cultivator in the crop. There aren't too many
weeds that have developed resistance to being torn out of the ground
by a piece of steel." 

Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu 

Source: Bill Johnson, (765) 494-4656, wgjohnso@purdue.edu 

Related Web sites: 

Purdue University Weed Science Page:
http://www.btny.purdue.edu/weedscience/ 

International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds:
http://www.weedscience.org/ 

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu of Botany
and Plant Pathology, Purdue University. 


                 
                    Weather Information Table
     
               Week Ending Sunday May 11, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------
                | Past Week Weather Summary Data   
                |---------------------------------
 Station        |      Air      |           | Avg  
                |  Temperature  |  Precip.  |4 in.  
                |---------------|-----------|Soil 
                |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp 
------------------------------------------------------------- 
Northwest (1)   |                                
Chalmers_5W     |86  42  62  +4   4.37     6   60
Valparaiso_AP_I |84  45  62  +5   4.24     5     
Wanatah         |83  43  60  +5   4.40     5   63
Wheatfield      |86  47  62  +5   4.26     5     
Winamac         |84  48  61  +3   3.34     5   60
North Central(2)|                                
Plymouth        |82  47  61  +3   2.84     5     
South_Bend      |79  46  61  +5   3.63     5     
Young_America   |85  50  63  +6   3.88     5     
Northeast (3)   |                                
Columbia_City   |79  47  62  +6   4.95     6   58
Fort_Wayne      |81  50  63  +6   4.34     6     
West Central (4)|                                
Greencastle     |85  47  64  +4   4.29     6     
Perrysville     |88  49  65  +7   3.34     5   62
Spencer_Ag      |83  47  65  +7   3.75     7     
Terre_Haute_AFB |85  51  66  +6   3.54     5     
W_Lafayette_6NW |87  47  64  +7   3.15     5   63
Central (5)     |                                
Eagle_Creek_AP  |84  52  65  +6   4.20     5     
Greenfield      |84  49  65  +7   4.57     6     
Indianapolis_AP |84  53  66  +7   3.73     5     
Indianapolis_SE |83  47  65  +6   3.59     6     
Tipton_Ag       |84  45  63  +6   7.23     6   66
East Central (6)|                                
Farmland        |85  45  64  +8   3.57     5   61
New_Castle      |81  36  63  +6   3.57     6     
Southwest (7)   |                                
Evansville      |83  54  70  +8   3.40     6     
Freelandville   |81  48  66  +6   6.40     7     
Shoals          |83  47  66  +7   4.23     7     
Stendal         |83  48  67  +6   4.16     6     
Vincennes_5NE   |83  48  66  +6   4.68     7     
South Central(8)|                                
Leavenworth     |82  46  67  +7   3.99     6     
Oolitic         |83  45  66  +7   4.86     7   61
Tell_City       |85  48  69  +7   3.87     6     
Southeast (9)   |                                
Brookville      |85  52  68 +11   3.48     6     
Milan_5NE       |83  44  66  +8   4.43     7     
Scottsburg      |82  46  67  +7   3.87     6     
------------------------------------------------------------- 

-------------------------------------------------------------                                                            
                |        Accumulation           
                |      April 1, 2003 thru       
 Station        |       May 11, 2003         
                | Precipitation   |GDD Base 50oF 
                |      |     |    |     |
                |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN  
-------------------------------------------------------------
Northwest (1)   |
Chalmers_5W     | 8.81  +3.75  21   278   +59
Valparaiso_AP_I | 8.01  +2.67  16   267  +100
Wanatah         | 8.61  +3.48  17   224   +87
Wheatfield      | 8.45  +3.44  15   270  +121
Winamac         | 6.24  +1.32  16   273   +93
North Central(2)|
Plymouth        | 6.68  +1.46  15   248   +56
South_Bend      | 7.69  +2.73  16   278  +125
Young_America   | 5.89  +1.10  19   302  +128
Northeast (3)   |
Columbia_City   | 7.57  +2.72  19   244  +109
Fort_Wayne      | 7.52  +2.93  16   266  +103
West Central (4)|
Greencastle     | 6.95  +1.59  20   303   +58
Perrysville     | 6.48  +1.18  16   343  +136
Spencer_Ag      | 7.27  +1.56  19   342  +129
Terre_Haute_AFB | 6.79  +1.28  17   363  +119
W_Lafayette_6NW | 7.29  +2.15  20   326  +146
Central (5)     |
Eagle_Creek_AP  | 6.57  +1.44  17   357  +124
Greenfield      | 7.88  +2.26  19   335  +135
Indianapolis_AP | 6.73  +1.60  17   368  +135
Indianapolis_SE | 6.71  +1.35  16   337  +120
Tipton_Ag       | 9.64  +4.32  15   261  +107
East Central (6)|
Farmland        | 5.60  +0.71  15   290  +143
New_Castle      | 5.19  -0.49  16   256  +104
Southwest (7)   |  
Evansville      | 7.47  +1.75  18   468  +122
Freelandville   |10.07  +4.43  18   391  +126
Shoals          | 8.26  +2.33  16   397  +138
Stendal         | 8.74  +2.46  16   435  +135
Vincennes_5NE   | 8.19  +2.55  18   402  +137
South Central(8)|
Leavenworth     | 8.09  +1.78  20   409  +144
Oolitic         | 8.79  +3.10  18   376  +148
Tell_City       | 8.93  +2.36  16   509  +195
Southeast (9)   |
Brookville      | 5.55  +0.07  15   377  +191
Milan_5NE       | 7.67  +2.19  21   350  +164
Scottsburg      |10.26  +4.47  18   389  +121
------------------------------------------------------------- 
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 2003:  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