Wheat development is on schedule as it is currently at the Feekes 7 stage of development. Two nodes on the stem are now above the soil line. Feekes 8 or the flag leaf stage will appear five to ten days later depending on temperature regime.
Winter rye is in the boot to heading stage in the Malone area. Several growers have begun harvesting rye for forage. Some rye fields appear to have an excellent forage yield, while others should have been terminated weeks ago.
Corn has been emerging 8 to 10 days after planting. So far, the emergence and uniformity of the stands have been excellent.
To measure the planting depth of corn, the entire plant including roots and seed needs to be dug out of the soil. Measure the length of the mesocotyl and add 0.75 inches to that measurement to get planting depth. The mesocotyl is the structure located between the seed and the crown or the nodal root area of the corn plant. Please refer to the picture attached in the email.
Soybean emergence for several fields was a concern especially those that were planted early into wetter soil. Soil crusting was noted in several fields as soybean plants were struggling to penetrate or push through the hard, compacted soil. Thankfully, a beneficial rain fell that helped to soften the soil allowing the soybeans to push through.
Looking at this week’s weather forecast the “Ice Men” will be arriving this week, one week later than normal. However, our number one enemy arrived 7-10 days earlier than average this year. Waterhemp was found emerging in no till fields that had weed escapes last year due to the challenging weather and crop growing conditions. The waterhemp was 0.5 to 1 inch in height already. According to research at Purdue, waterhemp needs about 425 GDU with a base of 48F for emergence while Minnesota research says 350 GDU are needed for emergence. The Fond du Lac area has accumulated almost 300 GDU as of the 14th. It appears that waterhemp may be emerging with fewer GDUs this year and as a result is emerging earlier in the season.
Slug activity continues to be nearly nonexistent in the traps placed in fields with cover crops with intense pressure last year in the Malone area. The statewide study is roughly halfway through the weekly slug counts.
The week of May 12th featured some early summertime weather with highs in the upper 70’s and low 80’s. The three “chilly saints” were nowhere to found last week.
This week I would like to continue with the discussion of plant genetics with a focus on genetic diversity. Genetic diversity refers to the range of different inherited traits within a species. In a species with high genetic diversity, there would be many individuals with a wide variety of different traits. Genetic diversity is crucial for a population to adapt to changing environments such as disease, insects, weather patterns, soil conditions, etc. Genetic diversity is akin to your retirement plan. - By Kevin Mueller, Senior Agronomist, WI CCA of the Year
The United States early in its history had seen the importance of collecting plant germplasm from this nation and around the world. (Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for plant breeding, preservation, and research.) Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were huge believers in collecting seed from countries where the US had ambassadors stationed.
By Kevin Mueller, Senior Agronomist, WI CCA of the Year
