Better Weather, Better Crops, Still Some Problems
Better weather has allowed planting and replanting to move ahead. While things are looking better, some problems may persist. Eric Miller, with DuPont Pioneer, says a mostly dry weekend and a hot and dry week ahead is allowing plant ’17 to head toward conclusion, “Most of the corn planting got finished for the first time and first time replant. Right now some growers are considering if they want to try a 3rd re-plant.” He added, in NE Indiana soybean, planting could be wrapped up by the end of this week. USDA says 91% of Indiana corn and 75% of Hoosier soybeans have been planted.
Miller says the warm, dry weather has helped the early planted crops to revive and thrive, “Especially for the corn planted in the Easter time-frame, it is really making the transition from the seed to the root system. You can really see the signs of the plants reaching into the fertilizer band.” The USDA reported on Monday that 46% of Indiana corn was rated as good to excellent while 49% was rated fair to poor, a slight improvement over a week ago.
While the soils are drying and the flooding is reseeding, Miller says we are still deal with the impacts of a very cold and wet spring, “We still need to monitor for seedling blight issues. Parts of the field that stayed wet longer have been showing more signs of seedling blight.” He added that thin stands may also present problems with weed control as we move through the growing season.
Listen to the complete DuPont Pioneer agronomy report under the agronomy tab.