July 22, 2005
Spotty rainfall offers little relief to Indiana farmers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Even with the rainfall that some areas of Indiana have had in the past few days, it's still a case of the haves and have-nots when it comes to precipitation.
"Local dry pockets still exist where little to no rain fell while neighbors received beneficial rains," said Ken Scheeringa, associate state climatologist at Purdue University.
The lack of rain in some places has affected crops. The National Agricultural Statistics Service report this week stated that 24 percent of Indiana's corn crop is rated poor to very poor. Only 39 percent of Indiana corn is in good to excellent condition compared with 75 percent one year ago.
"The pollination period is the most vulnerable time for corn," said Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist. "The corn pollination period in Indiana is ending, and rainfall now won't reverse any drought damage that has already occurred.
"I have seen some fields that the corn is completely rolled," said Nielsen. "The leaves have started to die at the top and at the bottom."
This week, areas of Indiana received spotty patches of rain. The hope for abundant rainfall from Hurricane Dennis stalled out in southern Indiana due to a couple different factors.
"Initially Dennis moved northward and ran into a very dry, hot air mass, which evaporated much of its moisture," said Scheeringa. "Dennis also had no upper support or pressure of another storm to push it along."
There is still the chance of variable rain showers, but Scheeringa said the drought is not going to be short term.
"Dennis finally moved to our east, allowing more sun to peek through to heat up and mix the remaining tropical moisture over Indiana," said Scheeringa. "This mixing was enough to trigger the heavier showers in certain parts of Indiana."
Nielsen said farmers can look for potential yield losses the longer the crops are under stress.
"There isn't a whole lot that farmers can do right now," said Nielsen. "It is mostly wait and see till the end of the season. At that time, farmers can get a better handle on yield potential. This will influence marketing decisions."
Soybeans are a slightly different story. The soybean plant is more drought-tolerant than the corn plant, and it also doesn't display extreme signs of drought, such as leaves rolling, said Shawn Conley, Purdue Extension soybean specialist.
This week, 19 percent of soybeans in Indiana are rated poor to very poor. Forty-three percent of Indiana soybeans are good to excellent compared with 69 percent one year ago.
"Under these dry conditions we are also seeing increased incidence of manganese and potassium deficiencies that affect photosynthesis," said Conley. "There are also reports of drought-related pests such as spider mites and soybean aphids appearing in Indiana fields."
Soybean plants flower for 30-40 days. If the plant is stressed during that time period, it can drop some blooms and produce more later. If the plant is under stress for the entire flowering period, there will be a decrease in seed and pod size, Conley said.
"Soybean plants can compensate for stress. Soybeans are more flexible with stress, and they can avoid it by altering seed number per pod, seed size, as well as pod number," said Conley. "In many ways, the soybean plant can manipulate itself throughout the season."
However, Conley has seen some areas of Indiana where soybean plants are not surviving the drought.
"We have witnessed pockets of soybean plants dying in sandy areas in fields where rainfall has been extremely deficient," said Conley.
Writer: Natalie Federer, (765) 494-8406, nfederer@purdue.edu
Sources: Bob Nielson, (765) 494-4802, rnielsen@purdue.edu
Shawn Conley, (765) 494-0895, conleysp@purdue.edu
Ken Scheeringa, (765) 494-8105, kens@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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