Southwest Michigan field crops update – May 23, 2024
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EmailWarm, dry weather leads to significant planting progress. Winter wheat began and finished flowering. Colorado potato beetle egg masses found.
Weather
This past week was warmer and drier than normal. In the next week, temperatures are predicted to decrease, and there will be many possibilities of precipitation. Tonight (May 23) will see about 0.25-0.5 inches in most areas, and early next week will have several days with high possibilities of moisture. Overall, about 1.5 inches of precipitation is forecast for the next seven days. Temperatures will begin to cool over the weekend and will level off early next week, which will cause soil temperatures to level off and most likely decline a little as well.
Crops and pests
Soybeans and corn made great planting progress this last week with several dry days. According to the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service survey, corn was 50% planted and soybeans 42% planted as of May 19. At this point, the weather has held well enough that southwest Michigan is probably significantly beyond those numbers now. Crops continue to emerge and progress vegetatively. While there aren’t reports of widespread black cutworm damage, scouting should continue for it and for seedcorn maggot.
Winter wheat began to flower late last week and has finished flowering. Fungicides to prevent fusarium (head scab) went out on several fields. At this point, the wheat will begin to fill its kernels. Stripe rust and cereal leaf beetles are present in parts of the state. In general, cereal leaf beetle is sufficiently suppressed through biological controls present in the fields, but in recent years, more cereal leaf beetle damage has been noted. This may be due in part to growers adding an insecticide into their fungicide applied at flowering, which reduces biological populations. Growers should wait until cereal leaf beetle is at threshold to treat, which is one larva per stem.
Potatoes range from recently planted to tuber initiation. The insecticide seed treatment on earliest planted potatoes has lost enough efficacy that several Colorado potato beetle egg masses and live adult beetles were found early this week. Sweeps of potato fields have found light populations of potato leafhopper, which is a pest in both potatoes and alfalfa. Populations are expected to increase as June approaches.
Alfalfa cutting began last week and continues. Potato leafhoppers are present now and expected to pick up as we move closer to June. Scout young seedlings and regrowth about a week after cutting using a sweep net. Potato leafhopper feeding causes hopperburn (v-shaped yellowing pattern on leaves) and can lead to stunting, but visible symptoms often occur after damage is already significant and is not treatable.
Black cutworm moths are present in the state. Bucket traps in Berrien (near Berrien Springs, Michigan) and St. Joseph counties have caught the following:
|
Date |
Berrien |
Centreville |
Sturgis |
|
4/8 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
4/15 |
0 |
12 |
4 |
|
4/22 |
0 |
16 |
3 |
|
4/29 |
4 |
10 |
3 |
|
5/6 |
5 |
46 |
0 |
|
5/13 |
8 |
25 |
0 |
|
5/20 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
True armyworm moths are present in the state. Bucket traps in Berrien (near Berrien Springs) and St. Joseph counties have caught the following:
|
Date |
Berrien |
Centreville |
Sturgis |
|
4/8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4/15 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
4/22 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
4/29 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
|
5/6 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
5/13 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
|
5/20 |
1 |
0 |
20 |
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Dry bean planting, presented by Michigan State University Extension dry bean specialist Scott Bales, was the topic for the Field Crops Virtual Breakfast this week. Recordings of this and all the Virtual Breakfast meetings are closed-captioned and available at the Field Crops Virtual Breakfast webpage and the MSU Extension field crops team social media platforms: Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Twitter.
