April had very few dry, sunny days. But just a few days of hot, dry weather could quickly turn things around.
“It was very cold early on, but the last week and a half, two weeks have been really ideal planting conditions,” said Jonathan Lotz, a Corteva agronomist for south central and southeastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania's in-ground corn percentage is 23%, higher than the five-year average of 14%, according to the latest USDA crop progress report.
Maryland has 51% of its corn planted in the ground, higher than the state average of 33% for this time of year, and 24% of its soybeans planted, also faster than its five-year pace. There is.
65% of wheat is set. The average for this period is 32%.
Ohio producers are also ahead of schedule, with corn planted 26% higher than the five-year average of 12% and soybeans planted 20% higher than the 10% average for this time of year. Wheat mating rate was 92%, which is also above his five-year average.
Michigan has 16% of its corn planted, which is about average, and 13% of its soybeans, which is also about average. The sugar beet planting rate is 75%, higher than the five-year average of 62%.
severe cold in new york
Of the 500,000 acres surveyed by the Western New York Crop Management Association, executive consultant Dave DeGolier estimates that about 15 percent of corn is planted. “That's generosity,” he says.
“It's been really cold and rainy here,” he added. However, it is likely that well-drained fields were planted first.
Many farms in the state have transitioned to early planting of soybeans, with many producers planting beans last week.
Winter wheat has emerged from its winter slumber in pretty good shape, and Degolya is hopeful of another big yield this year. “We had record yields last year,” he says. “Last year looked rough, but it's rebounded nicely. Some producers were producing an average of 100 bushels per acre last year.”
Unlike areas further south where double cropping of soybeans after wheat is common, this is difficult to do in New York State due to the short growing season. Some farms plan to grow warm-season grasses such as sorghum-sudangrass or sow another cover crop before next year's corn, Degolya said.
Forage harvesting is underway and some producers are removing winter triticale. This is followed by heavy grass, with the first mowing of alfalfa usually at the end of May.
Confirmation of emergence
“Everyone was looking forward to a little bit of rain because we had hard ground to put our planters in, and it was really, really pretty because we had hard ground to put our planters in,” Lotz said. says Mr.
Many of the producers he works with agree with the idea of planting soybeans early. The idea is that soybeans are much more forgiving than corn, so planting beans early will give you a yield advantage.
“The earlier you start, the corn yields tend to be neutral until later in the season, mid-to-late May,” Lotz says. “So people are definitely starting to switch towards planting both earlier. But even if conditions aren't perfect for corn, it's actually a good idea to roll with soybeans first to some extent. ”
Anyway, the corn that was in the ground came out in no time. Lotz believes that a warmer-than-usual winter has caused soil temperatures to rise.
“On top of that, when you get faster emergence, you tend to get a more even and even emergence, which is one of the first parts of the whole yield side,” he says.
However, no two farms are the same. This is an important time to observe emergence to check whether the planter has done the job correctly and, if not, to make changes to fields that have not yet been planted.
“If it's on the ground, even in the spike stage, one of the first things we do is really look at how uniform the spikes are. That's very telling,” Lotz said. says Mr. Say.
If your plant hasn't spiked yet, dig it up a little.
“The easiest way I know of is to look for planter marks and actually take something like a flat-bottomed spade and just a few inches from that row, three or four inches across. “Dig in. Pull back slowly,” he says. “Then you'll pretty much fall apart where the planter furrow was. And you'll know where that seed is in the furrow. A very quick and easy way to check the uniformity of planting depth. It's also an easy way to check the health of your roots.
flag trouble spots
Using GPS to ping a location or tagging photos with coordinates is a good way to see what's going on. It's a good idea to have an orange flag and Sharpie handy.
“For example, if we see something that we think might be a little off before the actual spike occurs, we create a geotagged reference, but we also want to flag that.” says Lotz. “Once that comes to the surface, it's very easy to quickly come back a few days to a week later and see if it really happened.”
Young and Vulnerable: Slugs feed on young corn and soybeans, especially in no-till fields.
Look for slugs
“The only concern I have right now is that this is perfect slug weather. That’s not true for the whole country, but in the areas I cover, slug is just a four-letter word and no one They are also afraid of slugs,” Lotz added.
No-till fields can provide good habitat for slugs, and young-growing corn and soybeans can provide feeding grounds for slugs.
Pennsylvania Slug Projectis funded by the Pennsylvania Soybean Commission to track the state's slug population weekly and post updates online. Slug infestations can be devastating. In 2021, slug infestations forced many growers in the southeastern part of the state to replant their crops.
Penn State Extension recommends planting at the right soil temperature to speed germination and seedling growth. It is also very important to keep the grooves tightly closed to prevent slugs from easily eating the seeds and seedlings.
It is recommended to use traps to scout. Bait can be used as a rescue treatment, and Extension recommends using bait if more than one slug has been captured and there is severe feeding damage from slugs.
Slugs are molluscs, so insecticides are not effective, but they can kill some beneficial pests that can provide some control. These slimy creatures will eat almost anything, but tend to prefer soybeans and cruciferous cover crops the most. Corn is only an option if you have nothing else to eat.
Metaldehyde-based baits can also be used, but are often not economical and can be washed away by heavy rains.
Some growers control slugs by spraying crops at night with a nitrogen solution that acts as a poison and kills the slugs. A common approach is to use a 30% urea-based nitrogen solution, mixed with an equal amount of water and applied at 20 gallons per acre. This must be repeated several nights in a row for proper control.