Mother Nature is finally cooperating, and planting is off to a great start. A common question is, “After planting how long before I can see corn?” Once corn is in the ground, you can expect to see emergence around 100 growing degree days after planting. The Table below lists the approximate growing degree days for various corn growth stages.
New this year! I will have a weather station set up by some of our research plots near Centerburg. Click here to access our local weather data. This weather data should be able provide information to assist with many of your daily activities such as: spraying records, crop growth & development, insect scouting, anticipated disease pressure, and many more.
Series
weather this spring especially over the last couple of weeks has rapidly progressed forage maturity. Harvesting forages at the proper time for the livestock you are feeding is critical to farm profitability. Poor quality forages must be supplemented to maintain livestock. In the southern part of the state, many forage grasses are in head while in the northern part of the state, some varieties of Orchard grass and barnyard grass are in head but most are still in the vegetative stage but will be in head within a week.
means rapid forage growth, but it also means rapid weed growth. Due to the variability of spring weather, there are often only a few opportunities to control emerging summer annual weeds, winter annuals missed in the fall, and biennials that are small enough to effectively control. To manage weeds before they become a problem in forages, it is important to scout and plan accordingly. Forage is a broad category, and the spring weed control plan can look very different between species and operations. The problem weeds and whether control is necessary are going to be different between permanent pasture systems and alfalfa fields, and highly dependent on the consequences of specific weeds.
fall period for alfalfa has been said to start about six weeks before the first killing frost, which is roughly around the first week of September for most of the Midwest. This hard stop in harvest schedules is supposed to ensure plants store enough energy in their roots to survive the winter, but with improved alfalfa varieties, variable stand conditions, and warmer weather patterns, how critical can this period really be?
Preharvest intervals indicate the amount of time that must elapse between the herbicide application and crop harvest. Failure to observe the preharvest interval may result in herbicide residue levels in the harvested portion of the crop in excess of established limits. Also, livestock grazing or foraging treated soybean is not allowed on the labels of many postemergence soybean herbicides. Table 1 contains information regarding preharvest intervals and grazing restrictions for a number of postemergence soybean herbicides.