OVERVIEW

Dry weather conditions continue in much of our coverage area. Nobody is talking drought, but the USDA/NOAA Drought Monitor Map shows "Abnormally Dry" areas in portions of the Delta states and Alabama. We’re hearing reports that fieldwork and burndown applications are on hold in a few cases while farmers wait for rain. Corn planting has stopped in parts of the South Carolina while growers wait for rain.

Corn planting ranges from finished to still underway, depending on the area.

Soybean planting has started in parts of the Delta and, in fact, and some soybeans are up.

Stripe rust in wheat is being reported into northeast Arkansas now. But this week’s warm, dry conditions are not considered favorable for its development.

ALSO OF NOTE 

Louisiana Crops Newsletter, 4-15: Soybean plant populations, residual herbicides in soybeans, cotton.

Mississippi: When Is It Too Late To Plant Corn?, 4-11. Central Mississippi Field Notes.

Arkansas: Factors Influencing A Farm's Crop Mix, 4-15

Wayne Dulaney, Dulaney Seed Co., Clarksdale, Miss.: "A lot of corn is up around here, but a good bit has yet to be planted from Clarksdale north. We’ve learned in this part of the state that our later planted corn tends to be our best. It comes out of the ground growing well. We’ve only planted 300 acres of corn on our own farm, so far, and it’s up. Last week we planted rice because the ground wouldn’t close up right when we tried planting corn. With rice, you’re barely cutting through the crust. But with the gumbo, it was so gummy that we couldn’t close it up where we were planting corn. There’s that old saying in the Delta about gumbo, ‘Too wet before lunch, too dry after lunch.’

Dewey Lee, Georgia Extension Grain Specialist: "It’s gotten warm and dry. We had a little rain the other day but not as widely scattered as we would have liked. We’re working toward finishing corn planting, mainly in the central and northern parts of the state. Where the majority of the crop is planted in south Georgia, they’re essentially done. They finished up last week in the very southern part of the state, and I’ve driven by a lot of fields where corn is just now (4/13) emerging. We also are irrigating corn. That is what’s so crazy. After all the rain and weather delays, we’re now having to start the pivots so early. Every day lately we’ve had bright, sunny days, with windy afternoons, and that’s really moving the moisture away from the fields.

William Birdsong, Extension Agronomist-Row Crops, Headland, Ala.: "It definitely feels like summer. We’re dry, but it’s spotty. Some rain came through last Thursday (4/8), and a number of locations received 5 tenths to 1.5 inches, even 2 inches in rare spots. But a lot of places only got .1 to .15, and that was gone in 2 days. We’re having a good bit of wind, which really promotes drying. The small grain crop is suffering for lack of rain. Land prep and burndown applications have almost ceased in some areas because it’s so dry. There is subsoil moisture. But as far as getting seed started, we don’t have good conditions in many areas. A little corn has yet to be planted. Some people actually started planting cotton, and I heard that one producer started planting peanuts."

Pawel Wiatrak, South Carolina Corn and Soybean Specialist, Blackville, S.C.: "We need rain in many places. It’s too dry right now (4/13) to continue planting corn, and there’s not much chance for rain in the next several days. We’ve planted a little more than 60% of our anticipated corn acreage, so far, and I think that’s close to average. No soybeans have been planted yet. Growers in some areas, particularly Newberry County in the Midlands part of the state, have had good luck with MG IV soybeans and might actually start planting within 10 days. Generally, though, we don’t recommend that and actually recommend an MG V or maybe an early MG VI in late April and early May."

Ron Levy, Louisiana Extension Soybean Specialist: "Growers are still planting soybeans in the north part of the state where they got an inch or so of rain recently. But most of the state is still too dry. We were hoping for more rain, but it didn’t develop or amounted to very little. Summer, you might say, has arrived. As soon as we do catch a rain, soybean planting will be in full swing. People are just finishing ground work, and a lot of burndown has been going out, so there shouldn’t be anything to hold people back once the moisture is adequate. We do have some soybeans up in plots at the station (Alexandria area) and some in the Madison and Shreveport areas where people caught rain earlier and were able to plant some in March."

Erick Larson, Mississippi Extension Grain Specialist: "People who haven’t finished planting corn are going full speed now. Some growers in the south Delta, in particular, are done. And some producers will actually finish planting soybeans this week. Tom Allen (Extension Plant Pathologist) saw stripe rust popping up at Stoneville in some varieties, which we kind of expected since it’s been a problem west and southwest of us and is typically carried to the northeast by wind. If we have conditions conducive for it, it could turn up on susceptible varieties. Wheat is approaching heading, and we could have potential problems if stripe rust does manifest itself. But it typically prefers cooler, moist conditions, and we’ve gotten out of that weather pattern now. Most folks are describing their wheat as entering the boot stage now (4/13)."

Wendell Minson, Bootheel Crop Consultants, Dexter, Mo.: "My growers should have maybe a third of their corn planted by Saturday. We’ve been sick all year about how the wheat looks. With all the poor conditions in the fall and winter, it’s 10 to 14 days behind. We’ll put out fungicides in the next couple of days (from 4/13). We have some septoria but no rust. But I’ll be shocked if we don’t find rust this year in the wheat. If we have it, rust typically attacks us right about heading. With all the rust south of us, it would only take a little moisture with some heat to have all kinds of disease here. We have some wheat with good potential that could go 85 bu/acre. But most will be 65 or so. The scab got us last year. We had good potential last year, then got rain in the last week of April, and scab took off. Our oldest wheat – just a small part of our crop – is maybe at mid flag."

Jason Kelley, Arkansas Extension Grain Specialist: "The wind is blowing, and it’s 83 degrees (4/14). We don’t have much corn left to plant. Some growers have been done, in fact, for quite a while, and most of the others will finish by the weekend (4/17-18). I’m hearing about a few cutworms around and a few issues with stands from the last rain where ground crusted. But, overall, attitudes are decidedly upbeat. This is sure a better start than we’ve had in the last 3 seasons. The corn has good color.

Bill Brooks, Mid-South Farmers Cooperative, Alamo, Tenn.: "We’re close to 50% finished with corn planting. We’ve actually had a little cotton planted this week. One guy jumped out there and started planting 400 to 500 acres, so we’ll see what happens. With the corn, some was planted 2 weeks ago. It’s had good heat units and is up to a pretty decent stand. Land prep and burndown, though, are the main things on the front burner right now. Some MG III soybeans will go in the ground in the next week or two (from 4/14). We’ve got great soil moisture from all the rain this winter and spring, which is why we’re a little later planting corn. The ground is pretty wet in places."

Edward Twidwell, Louisiana Extension Wheat Specialist: "It’s been in the 80s for 8 to 10 days, and the wheat is moving right along. Stripe rust has been a problem, of course, and we’re seeing some leaf rust on susceptible varieties, but I don’t know how widespread it is. Wheat is still 7 to 10 days behind normal but is trying to catch up from poor conditions over the winter. I don’t think the wheat needs rain right now but may in another week or so. That’s hard to believe, considering that we were drowning out a month ago."

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"We’re spraying a few fields for stripe rust now. It seems mainly to be in the southern part of the state. Supposedly, some has been found in northeast Arkansas. If you’ve got a susceptible variety that far north, you might have to treat. But with 80 to 85 for the highs and wind steadily blowing, we don’t exactly have ideal conditions for strip rust. Wheat is behind, of course. Heads are just popping out in the earliest fields. Over the last 2 weeks, the wheat has really turned around and looks much better than it did a month ago."

"The majority of our wheat is just starting to head. For this time of the year, we’re 7 to 10 days behind normal. We’re finding just a little leaf rust and aren’t facing the problems that we’re hearing about in Louisiana and Texas with stripe rust."

"A bunch of soybeans are going in the ground now (4/13). A few were planted last week before the rain, and some of those are coming through. I looked at some wheat this morning that’s just starting to tiller pretty good and starting to joint. No flag leaves are out yet. We’ll probably see some pretty good flagging next week."