Hot, Dry Weather Stresses Crops
Published: Friday, July 10, 2020
The following is from the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week end-ing July 5.
Hot, dry weather persisted throughout most of the state, though scattered early week rains brought relief to some areas. Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels decreased from the previous week.
The av-erage temperature for the week was 78.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 4.8 degrees above normal.
The amount of rainfall varied from none to 1.57 inches over the week. The statewide average precipitation was .62 inch-es.
There were 6 days suitable for fieldwork.
Spotty rains left some fields saturated, while others were showing signs of drought stress by the end of the week. The more significant rain events were confined to the southern part of the state.
Corn silking was running behind the five-year average, while soybeans were blooming just ahead of schedule. Crop conditions decreased slightly for both corn and soybeans.
The dry weather allowed for significant progress with winter wheat harvest and hay cutting. Livestock were reported to be in good condition, but pasture conditions also suffered from the hot and dry weather.
Other activities for the week included pesticide applications and scouting fields.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 7 percent; short, 38 percent; adequate, 51 percent; surplus, 4 percent.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 6 percent; short, 36 percent; adequate, 55 percent; surplus, 3 percent.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2019 and 5-year average) showed: corn silking, 7, 2, 1, 14; soybeans blooming, 26, 10, 1, 21; winter wheat ma-ture, 91, 70, 84, 92; winter wheat harvested, 48, 22, 42, 57; alfalfa hay, second cutting, 41, 18, 15, 38; other hay, second cutting, 22, 8, 11, 27.
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