We received more than .06” of moisture last Thursday, which further delayed planting. Drying winds helped make conditions fit for fieldwork on Monday. A lot of tillage equipment has moved this week, with some planting underway. We planted two Latham® corn plots on Monday, and the soil temperature near Osage was only 52 degrees at 1 p.m. We recommend a consistent soil temperature of 50 degrees before planting corn, and it’s hard to believe that we’re pushing that in mid-May!
Talk about fluctuating soil temperatures! Temperatures in our field by Osage varied by 16 degrees in 24 hours:
April 29 36 degrees at 9 A.M.
April 30 52 degrees at 8:30 A.M.
Remember, we recommend waiting until soil temperatures in a region reach between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit before you plant soybeans or 50 degrees before you plant corn.
Soil temperature is more critical when planting soybeans because soybeans can germinate in a soil environment of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the air temperature after germination hits 28 degrees Fahrenheit or less, the young seedling can be killed with the growing point of the plant right at emergence.
Everybody has pretty much finished with harvest. Tillage work is underway and farmers are putting down lime. We received some good precipitation this past week, with rainfalls ranging from 1 to 1 ¾ inches. Bring it! We need more of those nice, soaking rains.
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