It was a good sign to see that the corn canopy was collecting as much sunlight as possible with little sunlight hitting the ground. We can’t complain, but would love more rain for corn grainfill. The insecticide application eliminated Japanese beetles and most disease. If you visit field edges where fungicide coverage was a scarce, you will find tar spot on lower leaf and gray leaf spot moving up the plant. Soybeans are hanging in there with no more insect pressure thanks to a recent insecticide application. Septoria brown spot is in the lower canopy.

Crop is moving along. The high temperature next week are going to be tough with no moisture in the forecast. Corn stalks have moved the potassium from the lower nodes towards the ears, weakening stalks.

This week, I visited fields in central Champaign County. With much of the recently forecasted rain missing the area, soils are starting to dry up again. Digging down in a few field, there is still some moisture present a few inches below the surface, but that too is starting to dry. Plants do not looked stress at this point in time, but that could change quickly with a warm week ahead of us an minimal chances for rain in the current forecast. The vast majority of corn fields I visited had finished pollination, and were generally at blister (R2) or milk (R3) stages. Soybeans were generally at beginning pod (R3) to full pod (R4). Weed control was variable, with most pressure coming from waterhemp, and a few morning glories here and there. From the road, many soybean fields still look rather clean, but waterhemp pushing through the canopy is also starting to become a more common sight in the area.

Nice weather for corn pollination. Still need consistent rain showers of .75-1.5” per week to maintain yield potential. Soybeans are R2-R3.
Insect pressure is moderate.

Wheat harvest has mostly wrapped up in NE Illinois. This week fungicide applications started in earnest, I observed fields sprayed by plane, helicopter, ground rigs and a drone! Many growers simply include a fungicide application in their management plan; however, we still encourage scouting to determine disease pressure before committing to a fungicide application. Being aware of requirements and favorable conditions for certain diseases. Examples include Northern Corn Leaf Blight and Tar Spot, both require extended periods of leaf wetness (6 – 7 Hours) for establishment. With recent rainfall many have noted early morning mist settling over some fields, facilitating the leaf wetness requirement. For those still considering an application, the Fungicide Efficacy Guides (from Land Grant Universities) have been updated for 2023 and can be accessed at https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/news/fungicide-efficacy-guides-updated-for-2023
Will the dry weather in June and resulting shorter corn plants have an effect on final yield? One of the things I have noted scouting some corn fields is the amount of light reaching the ground. In my experience during good growing seasons very little light reaches the ground at R1. As the picture demonstrates, that is not the case in all fields this year.