August Rain Too Late for NE Indiana Corn
For most of the summer, Southern Indiana has had too much water while in Northern Indiana there has been very little rain. While some timely rain has come to the area in the past week, DuPont Pioneer agronomist Lance Shepard says the yield damage has already been done, “We have already had quite a bit of kernel abortion in corn due to drought stress as well as heat stress.”
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour found good corn yields in Allen and Grant Counties. But Shepard says the further north you go the worse things look, “As you move north toward the Michigan line on the sandier soils, we are seeing about 25% of the ear has aborted so we are going to lose about that same amount in yield.” Shepard did say recent rains will help with grain fill and may improve test weights of the corn there is.
He notes the rain will help the soybean crop which is in the midst of pod fill and that the soybean crop is mostly looking good, “We are seeing some disease, but, for the most part, the pressure is much less than last year.”
He said the wide planting window may pose some challenges at harvest as crops will be at much different stages of development. He urged growers to walk their fields and estimate yields and observe where they have weed escapes.
