A hectic spring planting season has led us now to a growing season that is showing great promise of a spectacular crop in some areas, and a not so stellar crop in other areas. The late planting, cool soils and average heat unit accumulation since planting, is responsible for slow crop development.
Where many producers normally have good pollination occurring just after the 4th of July, fields now in the third week of July are just starting to pollinate with lots of variation in development of the corn crop = fields in full shed, and some brown silks, to fields in V-4 and a long way from tasseling.
Now we are experiencing what some have forecast as being the hottest & driest weather of the summer. Daily high temperatures are projected to be in the mid-high 90’s F, and lows in the 70’s F. Corn will finally be getting its share of heat units. However, this will occur with little or no widespread precipitation.
A few comments regarding this weather situation:
- Maximum water use by corn occurs during tasseling, and in many areas, the better soils have held the overabundance of spring rains in the soils.
- There is almost always enough pollen to go around, and pollen shed occurs in the morning, during cooler temperatures and under less moisture stress.
- When heat/moisture stress occurs, pollen shed is usually not affected, while silking can be delayed. Newer hybrids have a much closer interval between pollen & silking than older hybrids. Severe heat/moisture stress may result in shorter ears and less tip fill.
- Leaf rolling (a response to heat/moisture stress) will become more evident, as temperatures climb and soil moisture is depleted. It is projected that 12 hours of tightly rolled leaves can result in 1% diminished yield capacity.
- The good news – history has shown that a 6-7 day heat wave does not generally affect the yield trend lines.
Crop Progress - Corn - Selected States – July 17th, 2011
|
State |
Very Poor |
Poor |
Fair |
Good |
Excellent |
2011 Silk/Tassel |
2010 Silk/Tassel |
|
Illinois |
4% |
8% |
27% |
49% |
12% |
62% |
87% |
|
Indiana |
3% |
10% |
34% |
42% |
11% |
31% |
78% |
|
Iowa |
1% |
2% |
16% |
52% |
28% |
32% |
78% |
|
Kansas |
11% |
14% |
33% |
35% |
7% |
52% |
98% |
|
Kentucky |
1% |
1% |
18% |
51% |
29% |
45% |
79% |
|
Minnesota |
2% |
6% |
24% |
54% |
14% |
11% |
59% |
|
Missouri |
7% |
9% |
21% |
50% |
13% |
74% |
72% |
|
Nebraska |
1% |
3% |
14% |
59% |
23% |
34% |
68% |
|
Ohio |
2% |
8% |
35% |
45% |
10% |
7% |
71% |
|
Wisconsin |
2% |
6% |
19% |
54% |
19% |
11% |
43% |
Soybean Planting - Selected States – Selected States – July 17th, 2011
|
State |
Very Poor |
Poor |
Fair |
Good |
Excellent |
2011 Blooming |
2010 Blooming |
|
Illinois |
3% |
7% |
28% |
53% |
9% |
45% |
61% |
|
Indiana |
4% |
9% |
34% |
43% |
10% |
31% |
63% |
|
Iowa |
1% |
2% |
15% |
53% |
27% |
61% |
67% |
|
Kansas |
8% |
15% |
34% |
38% |
5% |
31% |
36% |
|
Kentucky |
0% |
2% |
20% |
58% |
20% |
30% |
65% |
|
Minnesota |
2% |
6% |
26% |
53% |
13% |
33% |
59% |
|
Missouri |
3% |
7% |
29% |
49% |
12% |
34% |
33% |
|
Nebraska |
2% |
3% |
15% |
60% |
50% |
41% |
50% |
|
Ohio |
1% |
6% |
34% |
51% |
8% |
11% |
61% |
|
Wisconsin |
1% |
5% |
21% |
57% |
16% |
28% |
46% |
