The recent rains from the remnants of Beryl delivered much needed rains to my 3-county area with totals ranging from 1.25 to 3.7 inches. This has been in US Drought Monitor categories: Abnormally Dry to Moderate Drought. At this moment, the corn varies from pollination (R2) to nearly VT stage. All soybeans are blooming with some setting pods. Currently, corn leaf diseases are hard to find and soybeans are suffering some leaf feeding from Japanese beetles.

Driving around Warren County, a large percentage of corn is tasseling. Soybean fields are averaging R2/R3. We’ve had about average rainfall for the area I’m in and just keeping an eye out for diseases as the weather has remained humid with cooler overnights. Quite a number of crop dusters have been out and about around the county.

Some side-dressing is still occurring on later planted corn, and beans are currently being sprayed. Some are struggling to finish wheat harvest due to the wet weather we keep getting. Not all areas have been affected similarly with rain, but the range is between just enough and too much to the point of creating drowned out low areas; we have not experienced much dry weather this season. A lot of corn is tasseling and fungicide applications are due to begin if they haven’t already, with no insect or disease issues yet being reported. With the consistent wet weather we’ve been experiencing, it is recommended to scout regularly for occurrence of disease.

A very, welcomed inch of rain came last week and crops have been relieved from drought stress. Even though the extreme heat has ceased, the humidity is high. Diseases such as Septoria brown spot in soybeans and gray leaf spot in corn have started to show on lower leaves. Japanese beetle feeding has increased. April planted corn is almost pollinated and soybeans are R3.

The cooler, wet weather is conducive for disease production. Monitor for disease species and sign of progression. Many fields are close to optimum fungicide application timing.

Not much has changed in the way of crop growth across Logan, Menard, and Sangamon counties over the last week. Nearly all of the earlier-planted corn has tasseled, with the rest of the corn crop not too far behind in some areas. Soybean growth remains strong as well. Some insect damage can be found on leaves, but nothing that will affect yields at this moment.