Drought '99 Ohio State University Extension Ohio Crops Could Use Some Consistent Rain, July 1, 1999 By Kyle Sharp COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Despite recent scattered showers, crops in central and southern Ohio still need the most rain, and farms throughout the state could use more moisture, said several Ohio State University Extension agricultural state specialists and county agents. From April 1 through June 27, rainfall is more than 3 inches below average statewide. While the northwest part of the state has received near normal moisture, precipitation in central, south central and southeast Ohio is about 5 to nearly 6 inches below average. The rest of southern Ohio, east central and parts of northeast Ohio are between 2.5 and 4 inches less than normal. Although limited rain and high temperatures have resulted in the loss of some corn, most stressed plants are "holding on," said Peter Thomison, Ohio State University Extension corn production specialist. "A lot of the state's corn hasn't reached the point of development where yield potential will be seriously affected," he said. The two-week period prior to corn pollination is critical because poor moisture could cause yield losses of 3 percent to 4 percent per day at that point. Drought stress during pollination could cause 8 percent to 10 percent losses per day. But, most fields are still two to three weeks away from pollination. "Many fields in Ohio were planted early enough that they could have pollinated by the end of June with normal moisture. But their growth has been slowed and stunted by drought," Thomison said. "If we don't get more rain this or next week, pollination in severely affected fields may be delayed. That could be beneficial because it allows more time for rain, but it also pushes pollination and grain fill back into late July and August, typically the hottest and driest part of the growing season, which usually hurts yield potential." Ohio growing conditions in 1994 were similar to this year, but the corn crop was salvaged by rain in late June and cool August temperatures, he said. So while the state's corn will probably be shorter than normal, most of it can still rebound with timely rains. Cornfields where plants have grown evenly are most likely to still reach normal yields. But in uneven fields, some smaller plants may be stunted and produce no harvestable ears because they cannot compete with larger plants for moisture, sunlight and nutrients, Thomison said. Yield loss may range from 5 percent to 20 percent in these fields. "Weather conditions at this point are critical throughout the rest of the growing season," he said. "We need moderate temperatures and average to above-average rainfall through July and August for the corn crop to maintain close to normal yields." Soybeans generally resist drought better than corn, so soybean yield potential in the state should still be pretty good, Thomison said. Corn is considered more vulnerable to drought because its pollination period only lasts 10 days to two weeks, while soybeans bloom for three to four weeks. This allows soybeans more time to get adequate rainfall and recover during their reproductive period. Ohio's hay fields and pastures probably have seen the most impact from the drought. The grasses shut down and stopped growing in much of the state in May, after the first cutting of hay and early season livestock grazing, said Mark Sulc, Ohio State University Extension forage specialist. Only some well-managed, rotationally grazed pastures are seeing some growth, but it is slow at best. "It's been five weeks since the first cutting in many grass fields, and the regrowth isn't worth cutting yet," Sulc said. "Often the second cutting is ready to go after only four weeks." There looks like there could be a decent second cutting for alfalfa -- one of Ohio's most drought-resistant crops -- but third cuttings could be slim. "Even good alfalfa stands were starting to show drought stress early last week. Alfalfa will go dormant when cut under severe drought stress," Sulc said. "Late-emerging alfalfa and grasses that were seeded in mid-April to late April aren't going to make it if we don't get more consistent rain soon." The dry weather has particularly impacted hay and pasture in southern Ohio. "We're not even to the normal dry part of the year, and we're already out of forage," said Ed Vollborn, grazing leader at Extension's South District office. "We're about two weeks away from the hay shortages we experienced during the drought of '88. Many of the deep water and springs are drying up and people are hauling water to their cattle, and that hasn't happened since '88." The drought of 1988 is comparable to this year because it also was an early season drought. Farmers grazing livestock will need to be creative with their pasture options and use temporary fence to graze areas that normally wouldn't be grazed, Vollborn said. Plus, emergency forage crops such as millets, sorghum-Sudan grass and turnips can still be planted if it rains soon. In central Ohio, east of Columbus, yield potential is starting to slip away for most crops, said Howard Siegrist, agriculture and natural resources (ANR) agent at the Licking County Extension office. "It's starting to get depressing. We keep getting promises of rain, and then the fronts fall apart. They just can't seem to make it east of Columbus," Siegrist said. "Fruit size has been reduced dramatically, and alfalfa, hay and pasture fields are drying up like they do sometimes in August." The corn in the area is trying to hit its major vegetative growth spurt before reaching the reproductive stage, but without any rain -- Licking County is about 5 inches below normal -- it's in shutdown mode, he said. It can probably hold on about another two weeks. "It's extremely dry here and we need rain, but many of the area's tomato and sweet corn growers are getting by with irrigation," said Hal Kneen, Extension ANR agent in Meigs County. "About 60 percent of our acreage is irrigated, which is one of the benefits of living next to the Ohio River." But vegetable producers without irrigation may not have much of a crop, if any, if their fields don't get rain soon, Kneen said. Farmers in Harrison and Jefferson counties have lost yield on second and third cutting hay, pastures, and in corn and soybean fields with poor soil, said Ken Simeral, Extension ANR agent for those counties. "We need a couple good inches of rain to perk things up. If we get rain within the next week, the crops in good fields should come out OK," Simeral said. "If you're going to have dry weather, it's better to have it now, early in the growing season, than later when corn is silking and soybeans are blooming." Tobacco transplanted into fields, or set, early in Brown County is surviving fairly well. But later settings have had some plants die, and some fields have already been reset, said David Dugan, Brown County Extension ANR agent. The second settings are now in need of rain. Mother Nature has been kindest to western and northwest Ohio. "We could use an inch of rain, but crops are looking pretty good," said Dennis Baker, agriculture and community development agent at the Darke County Extension office. "There's little stress on the corn and soybeans. We had some hail damage a couple weeks ago, but we came out of that pretty good." Hay fields and pastures also are looking good, with second cutting under way for most of the county, Baker said. "We're set for respectable crops as long as we still get timely rains throughout the rest of the summer," said Ed Lentz, agronomy specialist at the Northwest District office of Ohio State University Extension. The northwest part of the state was slightly short on moisture until about an inch of rain hit most of the area the weekend of June 26-27. Corn was planted early and had time to establish a good root system, so most fields look good, Lentz said. Soybeans look average at best because they were planted later and didn't benefit from early rains. But they have the most potential to recover later in the season with timely rains. As for how the current dry weather could impact crop yields and pricing at harvest in September and October, it's still too early in the growing season to begin to speculate, said Carl Zulauf, Ohio State University agricultural economist. "You don't have a crop-destroying drought in June because crops are not yet in their critical production stages," Zulauf said. "The situation bears watching, but a month from now we could be talking about having too much rain in Ohio." -30- All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868   | C.O.R.N. | Newsletter | Ohioline | Publications |