The following report is a compilation of ideas and resources from a recent Flash Drought webinar hosted by UW-Madison’s Division of Extension Crops and Soils team on June 9. The content was put together by Natasha Paris, Sam Bibby and Joshua Kamps.
This May was the fourth driest on record. The speed with which the drought came on and led to the designation of “flash drought” led State Climatologist Steve Vavrus to call this time “remarkable.”
Corn
Corn agronomist and UW-Madison Prof. Joe Lauer says we are not really behind average yearly rainfall yet due to the wet April we experienced.
Lauer says it’s not time to panic yet, noting several years have started out dry like this and have turned out to be record crop years. He reminds us that corn will not use much water during early vegetative stages. As long as the roots can keep up with the receding moisture line in the soil, we should be okay for some time. It is possible that hot, sunny days may interfere with this and that leaf curling early in the day is a sign that the stress is getting worse.
Soybeans
UW-Madison Prof. Shawn Conley, who is also a soybean and small grains agronomist, says soybeans need very little water prior to the R1 stage, and a drought in August is far more detrimental to soybean yield.
Conley encourages farmers to skip an early season fungicide application for “plant health” if it’s dry. He advises producers to check if unemerged seeds never germinated and still have potential or are dead from drying out after germination. In the latter event a replanting could be necessary if the herbicide program allows. He also noted that soybean aphids and two-spotted spider mites could be issues, but that at this stage some vegetation loss in soybeans is acceptable so hold off on insecticide applications.
On the small grains side, Conley says drier than normal conditions could lead to good wheat yield due to low disease pressure and lodging.
Alfalfa
Marta Moura Kohmann, UW-Madison Assistant Professor with Extension’s Forage Systems Agroecology, notes that if alfalfa is small and stunted/dormant/drought-stressed in early vegetative stages, then we should wait to cut as yield will be low.
Moura Kohmann says if the alfalfa is at or near bloom but has gone dormant and over 10 inches tall, then cutting it can be economical and the forage will provide decent feed. If there is not enough for a harvest but it has gone dormant at reproductive stages, then removing the dormant forage prior to regrowth can be beneficial to ensure higher quality forage for the next cutting. She says alfalfa is unlikely to regrow until soil moisture is replenished.
Find this advice and more: https://cropsandsoils.extension.wisc.edu/articles/the-flash-drought-of-2023-ideas-and-resources/
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