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Observations on the
weather
By Sam Custer
5.6 inches of rain later, we are at a standstill. There has been
significant drying the past couple of days but we have a ways to
go. Remember, patience is critical now, getting on to your wet
fields will cause damage for this year and next also.
Then came the cold. I recorded ground level temperatures of 28.3
and 25.8 on Sunday and Mondaymorning at between 5:00 and 6:00.
Yesterday I saw signs of the frost damage in our wheat, corn and
soybeans.
What should you do with your wheat? Significant damage could have
taken place if your wheat was flowering. We walked the OSU
Performance Trial Wheat north of Greenville and it appears that
although the flag leaf was burnt by the frost, the wheat was not yet
flowering. Hopefully those of you in the southern part of the
county that are flowering did not get the cooler temperatures.
Corn – It looks bad if it got hammered by the frost. Remember the
growing point is below the soil surface. It will come back and be
fine in the next week or so.
Soybeans – Burnt leaves, probably ok. If the plant appears soft
below the hypocotyl arch it is probably dead.
Replant? Don’t get in a hurry. Evaluate your fields.
I am sure some of you will need to spot plant some areas that were
affected by erosion or extended periods of ponding of water.
Soybeans are very adaptive. I have three years of research here
in Darke County that show that actual plant counts of 50,000 plants per
acre will yield within a few bushels of your optimal planting
population soybeans will.
Check out this week’s CORN and Beef newsletters. They have
critical information for you to review.
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