Harvest is not far off for some of the early-planted fields in Douglas County, but with the extended planting season, there are still plenty of green fields as well in the county. All corn fields surveyed were at least at R5 (dent) with 50% milk line, and several were just reaching R6 (black layer) or within a few days of it. Soybean fields generally ranged from late R6 (full seed) through R7 (beginning maturity), and I spotted a couple fields within a couple more warm days of R8 (full maturity).

The corn and soybean crop in McLean County is looking good as many fields are nearing maturity. All corn fields surveyed were somewhere in the R5 (dent) stage with full ears, although a couple fields showed some bare ear tips. Low to moderate levels of stalk rot symptoms were visible in several fields surveyed. Minimal corn foliar disease was observed, although tar spot was found at low levels in a couple fields in the north and eastern parts of the county. The majority of soybean fields surveyed are in the later half of R6 (full seed), but a number of fields in the county are progressing into R7 (beginning maturity). Soil moisture conditions were good, with no standing water observed but moisture available at or just below the surface in fields surveyed.

The corn and soybean crop across Ford county is progressing well, with most fields reaching the later stages of grain fill. The drawn out planting season is still apparent, with a range of crop maturity observed across the county. Some bean fields are beginning to drop leaves (late R6) while others are still filling pods (R5). Of corn fields surveyed, most were in the early to mid dent (R5) stage, but I found a few fields still in dough (R4). Soybeans fields visited showed minimal signs of disease. This was also true for most corn fields, although a couple fields I visited in the northern part of the county were showing signs of tar spot (confirmed by the Plant Clinic), among other foliar diseases. Soil moisture conditions in fields surveyed were good, with the crop showing little to no moisture stress despite base temps in the 90s during my survey.

Following the storms that came through the areas late last week, soils have plenty of moisture in the northern Vermilion County area. There was standing water visible in some small ponds in headlands, but these were few and far between. Crop health looked good, overall, but corn fields are starting to show some areas with late-season nitrogen stress with variable ear size and tip fill. Signs of what appears to be Physoderma stalk rot (visual identification only) were also present in a number of corn fields (https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/encyclopedia/physoderma-stalk-rot-of-corn). In fields surveyed, corn was at late R4 (dough) to early R5 (dent). Soybeans generally ranged from R4 (full pod) to R5 (beginning seed), with a few fields edging closer to R6 (full seed). Weed control was variable. Most corn fields I walked into were relatively clean, but soybean fields showed a range of weed control efficacy.

As we move into the later stages of grain fill, the corn and soybean crop in Douglas County is currently looking very healthy, overall. During my drive around the county, I saw very few soybean fields with drowned out areas. Soybean maturity in fields surveyed ranged from R5 (beginning seed) to R6 (full seed), with some more mature fields starting to show leaf senescence in the lower canopy. Most corn fields surveyed were in late R4 (dough) to early R5 (dent) and had full ears with minimal kernel abortion at ear tips. Soil moisture conditions were good, with drying in the top couple of inches but still plenty of plant-available moisture in the root zone.

This past week has brought some drier weather to east central Illinois than the week prior. In the eastern half of McLean County, soil moisture conditions looked good, overall, during my survey. Most fields have started to dry in the top couple of inches of the soil profile, but some parts of low-lying and/or poorly drained fields still had soils that were at field capacity. Compared to some of my surveys in recent weeks in neighboring counties, I saw very few soybean fields showing spots of plant stress due to waterlogging and/or soil-borne pathogens. A few of the corn fields I visited were showing early signs of stalk rot in some plants, although this seemed to be largely limited, at this time, to those wetter fields I mentioned earlier. Something else I saw in several of these wetter corn fields was corn ears containing both brown, senesced silks and unpollinated silks. The tassels in these fields did not appear to be shedding any viable pollen, which may mean it’s too late for these silks/ovules to make grain. Most corn was in the late R3 (milk) to early R4 (dough) range, but I did find one field at early dent (R5) and another still at blister (R2). Soybeans ranged from R3 (beginning pod) to late R5 (beginning seed), with most falling in the latter half of that range.

It’s been another wet week in Champaign County. While starting my survey in the southern half of the county on Wednesday (7/31) this week, yet another front was moving through the area with more rain in the forecast for the coming days. Although we have seen frequent storms, the Illinois Soil and Water Survey weather station in Champaign received only approximately 1 inch of rain in total in the past 7 days, with perhaps a bit more in the southwest portion of the county. In that part of the county, there were a few fields with flooded out areas, but crop loss from outright flooding or diseases associated with waterlogged soils appears to still be relatively minimal, with most corn and soybean fields in the area still looking very healthy. Soils were obviously wet as I walked through fields, but still firm and not waterlogged in most areas. Corn fields surveyed ranged from R1 to R3, and full-season soybean fields surveyed ranged from R2 to R4. The one field of double-crop soybeans I found was just starting to flower.

This week, I went east and surveyed the southern half of Vermilion County. Overall, the corn and soybean crop looked healthy, and soil conditions were near ideal to only mildly wet in most areas. However, there were some low-lying soybean fields showing pockets of stressed plants showing symptoms of root rot and a few instances where the plants have died. This has been a common observation of my past few reports in surrounding counties with differing levels of severity. In southern Vermilion County currently, crop loss appears to be lower than it is a bit further west and southwest. Most soybean fields I stopped at were at late R2 to early R3. Japanese beetles are easy to find in most fields, but defoliation levels were still well below threshold in fields I stopped at. Most corn was R1-R2, and as noted in Nick Seiter’s post, a few of the fields surveyed had corn leaf aphid colonies present.

Compared to my last trip around Coles County at the end of May, conditions are considerably wetter now in mid-July with an estimated 5-6 inches of rain since the beginning of the month, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center. Most fields are at or near water holding capacity, and although not widespread, standing water could be seen in areas of low-lying fields at the time of this survey (7/16). That said, much of the corn and soybean crop still looked healthy and will likely continue that way if the current forecast holds, and no significant rainfall is experienced in the area over the next 5-7 days. Most corn fields were at least showing tassels, and the most advanced fields were around R2. Most soybean fields are somewhere around R2-R3 with a few stragglers still in late vegetative or early reproductive stages. I saw one field of double-crop soybeans emerged and at V1-2. Insect damage still appears to be minimal, but Japanese beetles and some corresponding defoliation (< 5%) were seen in a number of soybean fields. Except for in the areas of standing water, disease symptoms were also minimal at the time of the survey. Although if wet conditions persist, that may change in the coming weeks.

Most of the corn and soybean crop in Ford County is looking healthy after some needed rain from the remnants of Beryl, although it may have been a little more than ideal for a few fields. Low lying areas where farmers struggled getting a crop planted and established this spring once again have standing water. However, the extent of observed ponding was relatively minimal at the time of this survey, with most fields saturated but not too tacky when walking through. A small proportion of the corn fields are at R1, but most are still a leaf or two away from VT. There are also a handful of fields still in the V8-V10 stages. Soybeans ranged from V3/V4 to R2, with most fields showing at least a few flowers. Weed control looked good, overall, in corn. Soybean fields were more variable. With a few exceptions, most fields looked relatively clean from the road, but recently emerged waterhemp seedlings and/or escapes that were not controlled by herbicide applications could be found pretty easily when walking through a number of soybean fields.