After a very hot and humid week, LaSalle County received some much-needed rainfall on Tuesday night. Crops were exhibiting considerable heat stress before this, but overall, they’re now looking much healthier. Additional rainfall is in the forecast for Wednesday night and potentially into the weekend, though temperatures will remain in the high 80s to 90s. Corn is reaching V6–V7, and most soybeans are at V2–V3. There is a wider range of growth stages among soybean fields, with some recently replanted; one scouted field was already at R1. No significant pest or disease issues have been observed yet, although Japanese beetles were present in many soybean fields. Recent reports confirmed Tar spot in Bureau County, so growers should stay vigilant and continue scouting.

The high temperatures over the last week have caused many corn fields to grow at a rapid pace. There is hardly a corn field that isn’t knee-high—one week before the Fourth of July. At the University Research Plot in Hartsburg, IL, corn is at the V9–V10 stage, with other fields in the area at V7–V8. Soybeans have faced a tougher challenge with the high temps. While some fields are handling the heat well, many are showing signs of stress, including cupped leaves. There are no additional signs of insect or disease pressure yet, but continued high temperatures will likely lead to more issues.

The heat this week has certainly helped move the crop along in Champaign County. And despite a couple of pop-up showers, it has also helped dry out fields enough for post-emergence herbicide applications, which were needed—and probably a couple of weeks past due—in several soybean fields. Soybeans with good early-season weed control remain relatively clean. Many soybean fields are starting to flower (R1) or have reached full flower (R2), but there are still plenty of later-planted fields in earlier vegetative growth stages (V2–V3).

Early corn is about head high, around V14–V15. Brace roots are just starting to emerge in these fields, which will help in some cases where plants are still leaning from last week’s strong windstorm. Later corn is generally in the V6–V8 range and starting to grow more rapidly. I passed one wheat field already harvested during my survey and a few others that were fully mature (Feekes 11.4) and not far from harvest themselves.

Although the heat and break from the rain were needed for many farmers to wrap up early-season field operations, conditions could quickly tip toward the dry side with rapidly growing (and transpiring) crops. As always, timely rains will be critical to replenish soil moisture and minimize stress during these hot summer days.

Central/West-Central Illinois Crop Report 6/23/25

A drive through WC/C IL late last week showed a sizable fraction of the soybean crop still fighting to get past the “early-season” uglies—the typical yellow-green look we see every year. That story began to shift over the weekend as heat drove further root development, turning the countryside (in many places) a more satisfying dark green.

As we would expect, given variable planting dates, crop development remains diverse. The bean crop currently averages 6 to 7 nodes, with the earliest-planted fields showing 10 to 11 nodes and the latest-planted showing 3 to 4. Rows in many areas have begun to canopy, and our first batch of flowers can now be observed in several locations.

Weed control has been a recent point of discussion. Some of those conversations have included concerns about damaging the first flush of flowers, particularly where weed pressure has been more difficult to manage.

The southeastern portion of this area is experiencing what Southern Illinoisans know too well—the rain never wanted to shut off, and now it seems to have disappeared.

Japanese beetle emergence began last week, and grape colaspis adults will soon follow.

In other row crop news, tassels began emerging in our earliest-planted corn fields over the weekend. Most of the corn crop is still several leaves away from the reproductive stage, but kernel establishment is approaching quickly.

Wheat harvest will soon knock on the door, and hay bales are beginning to dot fields across the area.

After the strong storms that passed through the region yesterday (June 18), most fields in northern Vermilion County are saturated, with a little standing water in low-lying areas and compacted headlands. The storms also brought strong winds, but fortunately, the damage to crops seems to be minimal in that part of the county.

Most corn in the area was leaning, but there were only a couple of areas where the crop was nearly flat. The affected corn was on the more advanced end of the crop growth range in the region, which is around the V8 to V10 growth stages. However, I saw minimal greensnap, so much of that corn, which is currently horizontal, will likely recover — albeit with a goosenecked stalk. Later-planted corn, generally in the V3 to V4 range, was affected little by the winds.

Soybeans ranged in growth stage from V1/V2 to R1, with some earlier-maturity soybeans starting to open their first flowers. Weed control in both corn and soybeans was mixed, with the wet conditions likely contributing to an inability for farmers to get timely postemergence herbicide applications completed.

I found a couple of wheat fields during my survey, both of which were in the Feekes 11.2 growth stage, with kernel starches at a “soft dough” consistency.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to visit a field with probably the worst grape colaspis injury I have seen. Note the phosphorus deficiency symptoms on the lower leaves of many plants and the aggregated nature of the injured plants. Usually, we see this in fairly isolated areas of a field—often at the high points—and several nearby fields had this more limited injury. But in this particular case, much of the field was affected. When you see this kind of injury above ground, dig up the plant and look for larvae, which resemble tiny white grubs. Some plants in this field had as many as eight or nine larvae on them, and we found at least one pupa. These should cycle out into adulthood soon.