Trent Brandenburg
notes some corn damage already from the extended dry period. According to the National Weather Service in Lincoln, “Much of central Illinois (except for Springfield) is running 7-17 inches behind 2011 precipitation totals for the first half of the year, with Paris and Lawrenceville nearly 20 inches below last year”
Trent estimates that less than 5% of his corn plantings have tasseled, but 30% will be tasseled by the end of next week. As the tassels emerge and the critical pollination period begins, continued dry weather will pose an increasingly serious threat to this year’s corn yield.
His soybeans have emerged well but are not growing much because of the dry weather. Trent has completed his corn side dressing and, fortunately, got eight-tenths of an inch of rain just after, so the nitrogen is in the root zone thanks to the rain. Weed spraying in the soybean fields was completed last week. “The weeds aren’t growing, either,” Trent observed.