Recent high day and nighttime temperatures have local farmers and crops stressed. In my immediate area in Northeast Illinois the opportunity for “Bonus fill” of kernels experienced last year appears very unlikely as the R6 (dent) corn hastens to maturity. Fields with greater water holding capacity are faring much better than lighter soils, but even those are showing some remobilization of nutrients from lower leaves in the canopy for the ear. Soy are nearing R6, having a green seed filling the pod at one of the top 4 nodes on the main stem with an open trifoliate.

Much needed sunshine returned and with it HEAT. Pod shed was seen in many fields after an overcast and fairly wet previous 10 day stretch. SDS continues to show up in many fields. Reports of white mold are starting to trickle in as well. Corn is 1/2-3/4 milk line. This heat will speed up maturity. Local elevator tours showed an estimated average of 215 bu/acre.

Here in my 3 county area (DeWitt, Macon & Piatt), soybeans for the most part are in Full Seed or R6 stage. Most all corn fields are in the Dent or R5 stage with the milk line clearly visible. Soybean Vein Necrosis Virus (SVNV) is showing up in area fields should not affect yield and is caused by juvenile soybean thrips damage earlier in the season.

Extreme heat starting today. Earlier planted corn is 1/4-1/2 milk line so I would anticipate less damage to it. Later planted corn is not dented yet, there could be damage done resulting in major tip back.

Soybeans have potential. Lots of pods, mostly 3 beans each.
Corn is very variable. You name it- it’s out there. Great ears. Short ears. Normal ears. Unpollinated ears. No ears. Tipped back ears. Next week and the high temperatures are a concern. The corn has been repeatedly stressed. Will it actually reach maturity or just up and die? Probably some of both.

I visited fields in western Champaign County this week. Soil conditions are starting to dry in the top inch or so, but there is still plenty of moisture below the surface. Disease in both corn and soybean fields appears to still be minimal. That said, I did come across a couple small pockets in two soybean fields with symptoms consistent with sudden death syndrome. Soybeans are between R5 (beginning pod) and R6 (full pod), with new growth still occurring. Corn fields I visited were in late R4 (dough) into R5 (dent). Representative ears from different fields showed variable ear sizes and degrees of tipback.

Again, sounding like a broken record, hit or miss on rainfall for areas in NE Illinois. This past week some fields received inches while others received tenths. While management decisions are dwindling this late in the growing season, we can still learn from field visits. An area in a soybean field that from the road I predicted to be SDS or BSR turned out to be White Mold. While scouting I’m also noting vines becoming more visible, most on field edges, predominantly morningglories, but also Burcucumber. The morningglories can be frustrating during harvest, but Burcucumber can wrap on the reel and bring harvest to a stop. If you find areas with significant amounts of Burcucumber you may consider a harvest aid treatment. We are almost R5 for both crops, near dent stage in our corn and at or near beginning seed in our soybean. Continued low insect and disease pressure in fields I have visited.

Soils in southwestern Champaign County are now well saturated following several rainy days since last weekend. The Midwestern Regional Climate Center estimates 2.5″ to 4″ across the county, although the true range may be slightly larger. A few corn fields in the area are still showing a good amount of goose necking from high winds earlier in the season and may present harvest challenges if not harvested before stalks loose too much of their integrity. Several corn fields also showed a fairly high level of ear to ear size variability within small areas of the field. Corn in the fields I visited were at early R4 (dough) to early R5 (dent). Soybean fields are well into R5 (beginning seed) with some fields closer to R6 (full seed). There is also some new pods starting to form following the return of soil moisture.

Crop conditions are good. Soybeans are looking better than the corn on average. Lots of tip back in the corn but there are bigger kernels than usual so the yield drop may not be as bad.

Weekend rains delivered much needed relief from severe drought stress. Locally totals ranged from 1.5” to 5.5”. These rains will allow soybeans to hold pods and begin filling the lower pods. It was especially important for corn to allow grain fill without cannibalism of the plant.