Last Day to Enter the 2024 NY Soybean Yield Contest!
Today, August 14 is the final day to enter the NY Soybean Contest. The entry process is only online and can be found at https://nycsga.memberclicks.net/2024yieldcontest#!/.
Corn Update
Corn maturity is moving along ahead of schedule, and it should be clearer by the end of the week when the first fields are going to be chopped. I am hearing of ears that are starting to dent. The USDA NASS Crop Progress and Condition report for NY on August 11 had 84% of the corn silking. This is up 20% from last year. Ears are filling fast as 13% of the corn is in the dough stage. The weekly report also has corn conditions at 0% very poor, 4% poor, 8% fair, 62% good and 26% excellent. Up a little overall from last week.
Tar Spot Found in NWNY
Well, we knew it wasn’t going to be long with the weather conditions this summer. Fields in both Niagara and Wyoming County were confirmed yesterday as positive for tar spot. This is the earliest we have found it in NY which matches up with everything else being ahead of schedule. Most of our corn is past the R3 stage which is the recommended application period. I believe both locations had tar spot close by last season.
Soybean Update
Soybeans continue to look good and most I looked at this week were R5 (bean in the pod 1/8” in length on one of the top four nodes) and getting close to R6 (seed within pod that fills the pod capacity at one of the top four nodes). I have been getting questions on how long each R stage lasts. Here are some quick numbers. From R5 to R6 takes an average of 15 days. From R6 to R7 (one pod on the main stem is brown) takes an average of 18 days. From R7 to R8 (95% of the pods are brown) takes an average of 9 days. (S. Naeve, Extension agronomist, University of MN). It could take another 5 to 10 days to reach 15% moisture depending on drying conditions.
Still not seeing soybean aphids in our area. However, I am getting reports from the north country that aphids are building and close to threshold.
The USDA NASS Crop Progress and Condition report for NY on August 11 had 72% of the soybeans blooming. This is 4% ahead of the 5-year average. Soybeans setting pods this week was at 39%, up 8% from last year. The weekly report has soybeans conditions at 0% very poor, 5% poor, 18% fair, 59% good and 18% excellent.
White Mold is Now Very Prevalent
I am finally starting to see the first signs of white mold infections. The top couple of leaves on infected plants are starting to wilt and turn brown. If you look at the stems below the infection is very obvious. I worry that it is going to get a lot worse. Make sure you keep track of these infected fields for future rotational decisions and harvest plans this year. I was also able to find the apothecia stage (mushrooms) just last week in a field that had already been infected earlier. The conditions are so perfect that they continue to sporulate and makes matters worse.
Next report will be August 21.
