June 20, 2008

Douglas Anderson, Extension Educator in Keith, Arthur and Perkins counties: Corn is very, very short and is going to have to catch up to be knee high by the 4th of July. It's been cloudy and cool and we need sunshine. We can still use some rain. Planting is on going. Some acres were shifted from corn to beans and some bean acres were shifted to forages due to the late planting date. Wheat looks good in most parts and the hail was pretty isolated. Disease has been spotty in wheat but we've had our share of rust and loose smut.

Karen DeBoer, Extension Educator in Cheyenne County: The wheat condition is fairly good and cool temperatures have been good for pollination. There have been a few reported cases of wheat streak mosaic virus, but the crop has been relatively disease- and insect-free so far. We can expect harvest to begin in the eastern portion of the southern Panhandle around July 11-15. We have had a few reports of hail damage, from slight to severe, especially in far eastern Cheyenne County, southern portions of Garden County and northwest Deuel County.

Bob Klein, Extension Cropping Systems Specialist, West Central REC, North Platte: Winter wheat in west central and southwest Nebraska is mostly in good to excellent condition. The exception is some continuous wheat and continuous cropping. Continuous winter wheat fields have the most diseases. The wheat crop is about 8 to 10 days behind normal and yields could decrease if the grain fill period falls during a period of higher temperatures. Temperatures above 85°F reduce the grain fill period and hence reduce yields even though adequate soil water is present.

Remember at harvest to leave as much stubble as possible because corn and most other crop yields increase as the amount of crop residue increases. In western Nebraska stripper headers can be used to help increase the amount and life of the residue.