Cooler Weather Still Causing Issues in Indiana Corn
Farmers in SE Indiana missed the heavy rains of last week, but cooler than normal temperatures are causing some concerns with newly planted corn. DuPont Pioneer field agronomist Brian Bush was in Ripley County on Thursday where he said planters were rolling, “They are planting like mad here. Some guys have been out of the fields for two weeks so they are ready to finish things up.” Bush said most of the corn has been planted and about 95% of the soybeans are in.
Most crops in this area were in need of some moisture, and the inch or so of rain that fell was just what the new crop needed. But Bush says the cooler weather is causing some issues with early crop development, “We are seeing a lot of yellowing from sulfur deficiency. I have been on a lot of service calls and assure growers this is only cosmetic and will resolve itself with a few days of 80 degree temperatures.” He told HAT he is recommending that perhaps next year growers consider adding some sulfur with their starter fertilizer.
He noted there have been some insect infestations, including black cutworms. Also, corn borer activity is picking up and may be an issue for growers who have planted non-GMO hybrids. Bush is recommending growers finish planting all crops before any more of June slips away.
The warm up that Bush says the crops need is going to be slow in coming, according to Hoosier Ag Today chief meteorologist Ryan Martin. “Well, we will warm up relative to what we saw Sunday and even Monday of this week, but if you’re looking for some days to go way above normal to try and make up for some heat units, I’m going to be a disappointment,” Martin said. “I’m going to say that’s not happening. My forecasts I’ve been trying to trend to normal to below, and earlier this week we got the NOAA 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks they post every week. Both of those are coming in below normal for our region here. I don’t think we see any heat build all summer, and I think we’re going to be very slow to take temperatures above normal here in the month of June as well.”
