Illinois Crop Update – June 9, 2023
Russ Higgins – Extension Commercial Ag Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Dry (soil is dry, plants may be browning or stressed, water bodies are low)
Many areas in Northeastern Illinois are experiencing a level of drought conditions. Corn is wrapping in some fields during the day in response to temperatures and lack of moisture. Soybean growth has slowed, and most are hoping for more favorable conditions before applying post herbicides in this crop. When applied under the dry conditions post corn herbicide conditions were less than ideal. We encourage growers to evaluate the effectiveness of the applications within 1 to 2 weeks. Wheat in the area appears to be hastening to maturity, it may be an early wheat harvest in northern Illinois.
Figure 1: Soy in dry soils – Grundy County June 7, 2023
Figure 2: Corn Field 7 days after post herbicide application
Kathryn Seebruck – Extension Commercial Ag Educator
Lee County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
A couple of much needed rain events late last week and early this week brought some relief to the very dry conditions we were starting to see in the region. POST herbicide as well as side-dressing applications have been ongoing this week. Some weed species spotted (mostly at field edges) include morningglory, giant ragweed, field bindweed, Canada thistle, and waterhemp. Late-planted corn is at the V6-V7 stages, and soybeans are at V2-V3.
Nick Seiter – Extension Field Crop Entomologist
Champaign County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Dry (soil is dry, plants may be browning or stressed, water bodies are low)
I’ve started to receive a few reports of damage from early season caterpillar pests, including true armyworm, black cutworm, and variegated cutworm. Concentrate your scouting efforts on fields that border wheat, other small grains, or had a grass cover crop for armyworm, and fields that had sub-optimal winter annual weed control or a legume cover crop for the cutworm species. If you find larvae, note the sizes – larger (> 1 inch) larvae do the most damage, but are also the closest to pupating and “cycling out” of the damaging stage. Populations of larvae with mixed sizes or that include predominantly smaller larvae will be with us for longer.
Nathan Johanning – Extension Commercial Agriculture Educator
Monroe County
Soil Conditions: Severely Dry (soil is very dry, water bodies are very low, vegetation is stressed)
Our area still continues to be dry. A few areas have got spot showers, but most have only left a tenth or two at most which only brings some short-term relief. Overall, crops do look fairly good for the lack of moisture, but week to week growth is slow with limited water. Crops do show some stress in the middle of sunny days especially with the fairly low humidity levels but recover during the evening. The driest areas are still in the central part of the county only having received a 0.5″ of rain in the last two months. Wheat is rapidly drying down, I have not seen any harvest yet, but do expect to see some combines starting to roll in the next week if the weather pattern stays the same. Here’s to another week hoping for more widespread rain for all that need it the most!
Talon Becker – Extension Commercial Agriculture Educator
Franklin County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
Temperatures have been a bit cooler, overall, this past week, although minimal precipitation in the area have contributed to soils continuing to dry. Crops still look healthy, in general, but there are fields where spotty areas of stressed plants can be seen. In the heat of the day, rolled corn leaves can be seen on hilltops and other drier areas. However, stress is not visible in all fields. With a somewhat drawn out planting season in south central IL, corn in the area ranges from V2-V7. Earlier planted soybeans are generally somewhere in the V2-V4 range, although some freshly planted fields can still be seen. Wheat is drying down quickly, and harvest is likely only a week or two away for some.