There have only been a few small grains related Crop News posts so far this growing season. This isn't because there is nothing happening in small grains. If anything, it is the opposite. It is just that this contributor has been a tad bit busy in the field.
The season's start was again later than most years and only a week to ten days ahead of last year's record late start. The similarities, however, stop there as record-breaking heat and lack of precipitation are pushing this year's crop to a breakneck speed.
Observations to date indicate that emergence and initial stands are generally excellent, that the crop is tillering but not as extensively as last year, that early-season tan spot is absent in all but a few instances, and that cereal aphids have reached the southern and west central parts of the state, that there have been multiple army worms flights already with at least one of them reaching Roseau county, and that the risk models for FHB indicate a low risk for the winter wheat and winter rye that has reached or is reaching anthesis (or Feekes 10.51).
The two scouts that are funded through your wheat check-off started last week and found grasshoppers more than anything else. The other noteworthy find was cereal leaf beetle in a field in Mahnomen and a field in Norman counties. If confirmed that would probably be a first for Minnesota. Dr. Janet Knodel, Extension entomologist at NDSU, indicated that CLB has migrating east across North Dakota in the past few years. Expect to see more details about this pest in follow-up articles.
Starting this week, I'll resume my regular contributions to Crop News.
Meanwhile, keep fingers and toes crossed, find a four-leaf clover, get a new rabbit's foot, and/or any other good luck charm you grew up with as rain can not come soon enough for almost all crops across much of the state.
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