University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources

July 28, 2006

Field updates

Doug Anderson, Extension Educator in Keith, Arthur and Perkins counties: Conditions are drying up. In the northern half of Keith County the leaves of dryland corn are rolling and looking very stressed. Fields in southern Perkins County have caught some timely rains and are looking okay and beans are holding their own. Irrigators are running their pumps and trying to keep up. Grasshopper numbers were hurt slightly by some rainy weather but there are still a frightening amount of hoppers in northern Keith and Arthur counties.

Delroy Hemsath, Extension Educator in Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties: The area has not had any moisture for several weeks and with the windy conditions, corn is beginning to show the effects. The next few weeks will be critical. Where water is available, producers are irrigating. Sandy soil areas where the water is gone are now showing the most impact. Soybeans are in the blooming and pod set stage and have stopped growing due to the lack of water. It is getting critical that they get rain soon. Pastures are basically not producing any cool season grass.

Drew Lyon, Extension Dryland Crops Specialist, Panhandle REC: We received some nice rains in June, but not much since then. The hot, dry conditions have stressed crops. Sunflowers and proso millet fields are showing drought stress in spots. Irrigated crops look good, but there is lingering concern as to how the hot dry temperatures may have affect corn pollination.

Al Dutcher, State Climatologist: Expect 100°F+ weather over the weekend, particularly in northwest and north central Nebraska, where highs of 105-110° are expected. The rest of the state will see temps of 100-105°F. Heat indices of 105-115° are expected for southeast Nebraska, but less wind is expected in eastern Nebraska. There is an increased chance of precipitation and lower temperatures for the middle of next week.

Charles Shapiro, Extension Soils Specialist, Northeast REC: Haskell Ag Lab caught a one-inch rainfall last night with isolated showers; otherwise it’s been dry. Producers feeding forages need to be alert to potential increased nitrates in the forage.

Bob Wright, Extension Entomologist, Lincoln: Grasshoppers are building in numbers in pastures at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center and starting to move into plot areas. High numbers of western bean cutworm moths were caught earlier this summer and some fields in south central Nebraska were treated in the last couple of weeks. Second generation corn borer moth flight is increasing at Clay Center. Bt corn refuge fields should be scouted for corn borer egg laying.

Keith Jarvi, Integrated Pest Management, Northeast REC: Bean leaf beetle adult numbers are increasing in northeastern Nebraska and some fields are being considered for treatment. Soybean aphids can be found in many fields, but their numbers have not been increasing much recently. Some fields are being treated. Second generation corn borer moth flight is starting but is pretty low in numbers.

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Copyright 2006 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. All rights reserved.
Published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperating with the counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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