More Heat Needed to Boost Emergence
Farmers in NW Indiana got a lot of planting done over the weekend, but a week of cooler temperatures may keep the crop from emerging. Statewide, Indiana has 38% of the corn planted; but David Cosgray, with DuPont Pioneer, says the percentage is higher in NW Indiana because of a weekend filled with activity, “I think in this area we have close to 70% of the corn planted and around 30% of the soybeans planted.” A weekend of good field working conditions covered the northern part of the state; but rain, hail, and cool temperatures limited fieldwork in central Indiana.
The warmer sunny conditions that the northern part of the state saw not only helped planting progress but also helped crop development. But the forecast is calling for below normal temperatures for the next week, and Cosgrave is worried about emergence on the newly planted crops, “My big concern is getting this crop out of the ground.” He added that corn that has emerged has been yellowish in color due to the lack of heating units. Temperatures statewide have averaged 2.5 degrees below average at 55 degrees this past week. HAT meteorologist Ryan Martin says rain is in the forecast most of this week with continued below normal temperatures. He does hold out some hope for an improvement next week, “From Sunday through all of next week, we look to be dry. We should see south winds return and some significant drying will finally return to the Hoosier State.”
While some areas of Central Indiana have very little planted, Cosgray says it is still too early to consider changing hybrids. “Growers with 114 day hybrids, I would still go ahead and plant them up until about the 26th of May,” he stated.
Listen to the complete interview on the crops section on HAT’s website and agronomy tab on HAT’s app.