A Tale of Have and Have Not for Indiana Crops

A Tale of Have and Have Not for Indiana Crops

David Cosgray
David Cosgray

While many Indiana fields are looking good some fields in NW Indiana are suffering from drought. It is a tale of have and have nots says David Cosgray, with DuPont Pioneer. He told HAT NW Indiana, north of SR 16, has not received the kind of rain needed to produce a good crop, “There are some areas than have not seen much rain at all. Some areas have only received 4 inches of rain since the beginning of the growing season.” He added that, with the sandy soils in these areas, the fields need ½ to an inch of rain a week and that has not been occurring. This is especially serious during the pollination period.

But South of that line, the rains have been timely and the crops look great. “These areas have been getting ¾ to an inch of rain a week and there is plenty of nitrogen in the soil; and the good corn looks phenomenal,” said Cosgray. “Some farmers are going to have their best crop ever.”

Cosgray says, for the most part, disease issues have not been a serious problem, but with canopy closure gray leaf spot could begin to be an issue, “Especially in the areas where we have good crops, the conditions are right for gray leaf spot, so we are not out of the woods yet.”

He said the biggest problem in soybeans is some serious weed issues, like weed escapes and weed resistance, “We are going to have some ugly fields this fall.” He cautions against using strong weed control products while the plants are flowering.

Listen to the complete report here.

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