Black cutworm larvae should be approaching cutting size in most of Illinois – it’s a good time to scout fields where winter annuals were a problem at or around planting. We are right at 50% egg hatch for corn rootworms in central Illinois, so larval feeding will be occurring over the next several weeks.

Dry conditions the past few days have allowed many to catch up on planting, with most farmers in the area finished or close to finished. Corn is at about the V2-V3 stage, and soybeans are in the VC stage or still have yet to emerge. Some replants have occurred due to soil crusting. Heavy winds on May 21 kicked up topsoil over fields that have been tilled.

Drying out this week in Northeast Illinois, planters are rolling, in instances planting fields for the first time, and replanting in others. Fields that held ponded water are noticeably uneven in emergence and early season growth. As the growing season progresses it will be interesting to follow the development in these fields. Earlier planted corn has reached V4 to V5, most soy I scouted are somewhere between just planted and V1, one fully developed trifoliolate. I plan on visiting an early planted soy field later this week and will be interested in its stage of development. Again, I posted another Waterhemp image this week demonstrating the rapid growth of weeds with improving growing conditions.

Field conditions have dried out over the past week, and with a lot of sunny days, many were out planting. Around 80% of fields have been planted in Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, and Putnam counties. Corn that was planted earlier is at VE-V1, and soybeans are at VE-VC.

Last weekend conditions started drying up enough to allow field activity to kick off throughout southern Illinois. Since last report, early beans have been emerging and reaching ~V1-V2.

Also wheat has begun senescing throughout the region, about 1-2 weeks ahead of the usual pace. This could translate to an early harvest and double crop but weather over the next 3-4 weeks will have the final say.

With temperatures being in the mid 80s to near 90s, conditions dried up nicely to give a window for guys to wrap up their planting over the weekend and early this week. Many farmers have early corn post herbicide applications going out this week. Thanks to the recent rainfall that we had, this region no longer shows up as abnormally dry on the U.S. Drought Monitor map.

Conditions across Logan, Menard, and Sangamon counties in the last week have allowed many farmers to catch up on their planting. While there were some small pockets of rain in certain areas, no major accumulations were observed. The last few days have brought a lot of warm weather to the area, and some rain is in the forecast. The crops that have been planted and emerged look healthy. Corn acres that were planted earlier are mostly in the V2-V3 stage, and earlier-planted soybeans are in the V1-V2 stage.

Field conditions around Douglas County during my transect on Tuesday (5/21) were quite variable. I saw several fields with pockets of standing water, some in emerged crop that will likely require replant. But then, a couple miles down the road, there were planters running and dust flying in the high winds that were experienced by much of the state that day. I would estimate that 60-70% of fields I observed were planted, with 30-40% emerged. Most emerged corn and soybeans were still at early stages, but I did come across a few V4/5 corn fields that were planted prior to our recent wet spell. The majority of unplanted fields, tilled and no-till (so far), with and without grass cover crops (primarily cereal rye), had a burndown application or a first spring tillage pass, but there were a few exceptions in some wetter areas. Post-emergence weed control will be needed soon in several fields.

It has been a whirlwind of a week. Cooler weather to begin the week and growers taking advantage of windows of opportunities to plant and finding fields that will plant.
Finishing the week with what was supposed to be a dry spell, but areas ended up getting rained out!

The heat has the early April planted crops growing fast. The corn has grown 2 growth stages in a week. Weeds are also coming on strong in the corn and it was just sprayed with post herbicides. The soybeans remained clean. The wet holes in soybeans that were replanted on Mother’s Day have already emerged. No signs of disease or pests. Many had a chance to get in the field again.