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By Roger Elmore and Lori Abendroth, Department of Agronomy
The storms last Sunday, May 25, and again on the May 29 and 30 have unloaded extraordinary amounts of rain in many parts of Iowa. Soils in the majority of the state are likely saturated. Low lying areas of fields whether they are tiled or not, are covered with ponds and areas along streams and rivers are flooded. It is not an attractive sight for producers!
The week of May 19 through May 26 was slightly cooler than average. Favorable field conditions allowed corn and soybean planting to catch up. About 60 to 70 percent of soybeans are planted statewide.
By Elwynn Taylor, Department of Agronomy
There are several sources of weather information available to help farmers make informed crop production decisions.
To see the forecast for your ZIP code go to www.weather.gov. Click the general location of interest within the U.S. map. Now click your “exact” location (if you miss it a bit you get a chance to put in your ZIP code.)
By Elwynn Taylor, Department of Agronomy
The La Nina of the past several months as determined by the 90-day average Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) has ended. The SOI is a measure of the atmospheric pressure deviation from normal and directly influences meteorological conditions in numerous distant locations. The SOI diminished to 0.8 standard deviations on May 19, 2008.
By Roger Elmore, Elwynn Taylor, and Lori Abendroth, Department of Agronomy
By Bob Hartzler, Department of Agronomy
Weeds likely are emerging with corn in many fields due to the lack of a preemergence herbicide. Whether this was planned or due to weather constraints, it is critical to control weeds early in order to protect yields.
By John Sawyer, Department of Agronomy and Matt Helmers, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
By Daren Mueller, Department of Plant Pathology
There have been some changes in the availability of fungicides for soybean. Here is a quick summary.
Alto® (cyproconazole, Syngenta Crop Protection) has been fully registered for use on soybean by EPA. The product will be available for use on soybean in Iowa when the new label is approved by the state. Until then, this product will only be available through its Section 18 label for soybean rust.
The last week found Iowa farmers able to get to the field, and crop planting progress advanced notably. Although the week followed the seasonal temperature trend, being a bit cooler than average, the rain held off for the most part.
Emerged corn can now be found across Iowa, and soybean planting is well underway.
By Marlin E. Rice, Rich Pope, and Jon Tollefson, Department of Entomology
A significant flight of black cutworm adults (moths) arrived in Iowa the weekend of April 18, based on pheromone trap capture data across the state.
