How are crop stands looking?

[gil.gullickson]

All,

I went out of Des Moines a little bit on Saturday and the corn stands looked kind of ragged. Of course, this is just a small part of the world. Looks like cold/wet weather of past few days has been rough on them, but I suspect some sunshine/warm temps will take care of it. 

How are crop stands looking in your areas?

Thanks,

Gil Gullickson

Crops Technology Editor

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

I think stands are looking good around eastern Iowa.  Corn is emerging well and showing good growth.  Soybeans are up and can be rowed.

The planting window was from mid April to almost right now, so we're going to have quite a range of emergance dates, especiallyl for soybeans.

[Blacksandfarmer]

Gil, corn stands here on the Michigan/Indiana line are fair. Cold weather and herbicide injury have taken their toll on this corn crop. I believe the corn can come out of its sickly looking spell and yield ok, but I think a few bushels will be lost. Soybean stands are looking good. I would say my area is 100% done with corn planting and 90% done with soybean planting.

[ECIN]

All photo's   - first field I planted My 4th - 3 rd - reason the field looks yellow - it will grow out of someday - when every the sun shines again .

[sw363535]

Nice ECIN,  hope they all look that good......... Ya that striping will subside as the roots grow.....

We had heat this last week for three days and the first planting is suddenly bigger than yours... Out here on the other side of the action we have had record rainfall for May as well.  But all gentle and we are replanting a few drown out spots now.  

Mostly we are on the west side of the mean storms and have a late, but decent start..... Area is struggling with "covering" the acres between the rains, a lot of barely emerged corn.....and some still being planted...

Had one field hailed on Sunday evening... but may grow out of it.... I will try to get a picture in from phone....

The big question...... Fewer corn acres out here for sure.  for a variety of reasons..... a super wet May just one of them.

But what is planted looks stressed but decent.......

A lot of volunteer corn to deal with.

[sw363535]

First planted was about knee high

[ECIN]

Holy blank to bed - sw ! dang , thats a shame ! BTW -- hate to say this - but - them has to be the crookest rows I have even seen -  

You know - Not making fun here - but as dry as you all have been - for years out there - it's sort of funny to hear you say our working in between rains - trying to plant - hope it keeps rainin for you guys out there , you know what they say - rain makes grain -

[sw363535]

Ecin ------ Land of extremes......  You can plan a little, but we spend most of our time responding to the opportunities we get....

I think it will grow out of it,  we will split the stalk in a couple of days and see if the growing point was damaged.  We still have enough growing season to replant it if we need to.....

But those gentle rains were not normal for us, now we're back to normal....

[gil.gullickson]

ouch! hope your corn heals up, SW363535. What's been your experience in corn recovering from this, if it has happened to you before? Imagine knee-high corn has the growing point out of the ground.

Getting heat in central IA--94 yesterday and will get there again today. 

I've had striped corn like shown on this post before, but its always seemed to bounce out of it. Don't know if it is clipping yield potential early, though. That might make fodder for a story. I'll ask around at field days this summer. Never given it much thought before. I know there was this one hybird in the early 90s in MN and SD--I can even remember the number, Pioneer 3732--that would turn purple really early because it coudn't get enough P in its system, even when P was plentfiul in the soil. But it shook it off and was probably the top yielding hybrid in that area at the time. 

Gil 

[sw363535]

Yes, gil,   the pioneer lineup had that tendance for the early purple.... especially in our low organic soils.  But as you say, it was being planted for a reason..... good finish....

If the growing point is not damaged, there will be new leaves in a week or two and it will come back well....    Once the growing point is 8 inches off the ground hail gets pretty damaging.... ---  I'll report what the result is....

Hail,  The drought years ...none.  But in normal years when we get half our 20" rainfall in April, May, June we will have a strip of it nearly every year somewhere in the area...  

With two prominant crops---- Corn(or milo as well) on irrigated acres, and wheat on dryland (and some irrigated)  there is a two week window coming --- (June 15-July 4)  when it is possible to loose both crops to hail, if you get one similar to this one....

The corn is too big to grow out of it and the wheat is mature and in a "shatter" stage, ahead of the combine...

While it is desireable to farm within eyesight of home,  the risk gets pretty high of loosing it all once in a while.....