In central and southern Indiana spring of 2017 was off to a great start. USDA’s Monday crop report confirmed it. Over half of the corn crop was planted in those areas, well ahead of the 5-year average. Corn emerged was 30% in the south, and twenty percent of the soybeans were planted.
Then it rained, and it wouldn’t stop. DEKALB Asgrow technical agronomist Matt Parmer described the change in fortunes from one of the best starts in recent memory.
“Corn planting was really nearing completion in southwest Indiana,” he said. “Corn stands for the most part were uniform. There weren’t really a lot of issues but then the huge rain event over this past weekend dumped anywhere from three inches on the light side to ten inches in areas. Posey, Gibson and Dubois County took the brunt of that. They’ve got flooded fields and road closures and even cancelled proms. So now we’ve got the rivers rising and we’re patiently waiting to see what’s going to be replanted.”
He said the earliest you can evaluate fields’ replant needs is about five days after the water goes off, so right now it’s too early to tell.
“We had almost 90 degree air temperatures at Evansville on Saturday, but I took the soil temp this morning and it was 49 degrees. So the corn and soybeans planted last week are sitting in anaerobic, cool, wet conditions and we’ve got more rain in the forecast. We’re not going to turn any wheels this week for sure, so we’re going to work on our patience virtues for a little bit.”
Parmer told HAT some of the early planted corn was up to the 3-leaf stage and featured some of the best dark color he’s seen for April. But down the road he is concerned about nitrogen loss from denitrification in the soggy fields. But overall, Parmer is optimistic that replant requirements might not be so widespread.
Hear more from Matt Parmer:Matt Parmer on SW Indiana April deluge
(Photo Courtesy of Kevin Kalb, Dubois, Indiana)