Through the parts of Indiana that include Lafayette, Frankfort, Logansport and then north up into Pulaski County, the corn crop is off to a good start. USDA’s crop condition score Monday was 73% of corn in the state at good to excellent.
Specialty Hybrids local field sales representative Grant Gudeman said the corn crop is mostly at that level or even better.
“We have an excellent stand of corn,” he said. “We got excellent emergence and we had excellent early season vigor. It did seem like it took corn a little bit of time to tap into the nitrogen, but once it did it’s really got a good green color right now.”
He added a recent wave of hotter weather has helped.
“We don’t enjoy these days as much, but the corn sure has enjoyed it.”
At the current rapid pace of growth, Gudeman says it could be just a couple of weeks before corn is chin to forehead tall.
“So now is the time to kind of be planning for some of those foliar diseases that we see pop in around the first of July, which would be northern corn leaf blight and/or gray leaf spot. So, we recommend talking to your seed dealers and know what hybrids that you planted that are susceptible to some of those foliar diseases and start planning for a fungicide application at about that VT time frame.”
The soybean update is a crop that is all over the spectrum, and he sees thinner stands overall because of early season stresses that have taken a toll. Some additional rains will help activate herbicides so they can go to work on weeds that are also benefiting from current growing conditions. But, overall, Gudeman is optimistic that a large part of Indiana is home to some good corn and soybeans.
Hear more in the full interview:
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