Dry conditions have caused early-season concern for farmers across the Midwest.
After many farmers were able to plant in good conditions, the rains have been few and far between, which could take the top off yield estimates despite the ability to get timely fertilizer applications in.
“If we hit the V5 or V6 growing stage, we are starting to determine yield,” said Eric Wilson, an Illinois agronomist with Wyffels Hybrids.
One aspect of the dry conditions is the impact of early-season herbicide applications not being activated.
“If you don’t have good, ideal growing conditions for those crops to metabolize that stuff in a timely fashion, you can get a little crop injury,” Wilson said. “It can make corn look a little sick, a little yellow, for the time being.”
Despite dry soil being prevalent around the Midwest, those conditions haven’t been true for all. Some have been dealing with extremely wet conditions or storm damage, which has put them in a separate bind when it came to replanting.
“The soil has been very hard — almost like concrete — because it’s been pounded on by so much rain,” Wilson said. “I think those fields had to be worked up again to get some kind of seeding.”
Hail from an early May storm made his alfalfa unfit for harvest, which forced some farmers to replant straight into it.
Wilson said for those who had to replant, seeding depth is the most crucial aspect to getting a good recovery crop. Farmers who took the time to find their moisture lines and get around 2 inches of depth should see the best results, but it may vary from field to field.
“If you need to go 2.5 or 3 inches deep to hit moisture on replanting, that’s what you need to do,” he said. “Otherwise it’s just going to sit in dry soil and further exacerbate the issue of replant because it’s not getting the heat units it should be.”
Farmers looking to get an early start on disease treatment may want to hold off, Allison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist said in an article on the Integrated Crop Management website.
“Research so far hasn’t found that a V5 application impacts something like tar spot much,” Robertson said. “The leaves tar spot would occur on are usually not protected by spraying this early.”
She said there isn’t enough research to show if an early-season application will affect crown rot.
Corn rootworm will be an issue to keep an eye on come June for areas with drier conditions, Wilson said. Those pests like the dry, warm environments, and it could allow for more larvae activity this summer.
“If you’ve had pressure in your area before, like with lots of corn-on-corn acres, I would be watching for activity,” he said. “Reach out to us or someone else and get sticky traps so we can see what kind of pressure is out there and help make decisions for the next year as well.”
