Talon Becker 
IL Extension
tbecker2@illinois.edu

Talon Becker 
IL Extension
tbecker2@illinois.edu

TALON BECKER UPDATES

Region 5 | July 7, 2023 | Douglas

Talon Becker
tbecker2@illinois.edu

Caption: Soybeans at late R2 and early R3 – Douglas County, July 7, 2023
Caption: Moderate waterhemp and grass pressure in replanted corn – Douglas County, July 7, 2023
SYNOPSIS

This week, I took a drive into Douglas County to check out crop conditions. As is the story around much of the area, there are a lot of uneven corn fields as well as stunted soybeans still some ways from closing their canopy. In the fields I visited, soil moisture was variable. Some were relatively dry in the top inch or two, while others appeared to be at or near field capacity. Soybeans ranged from very early R1 to early R3. Most corn was tasseling or within a leaf or two of doing so. Some was in full flower with silks several inches long. Fields in full flower right now appeared to have more even growth across the field, while those that may have been planted a bit later or experienced drought stress a bit earlier ranged from V10-11 to R1 on plants within several yards of each other. Weed pressure, notable waterhemp, was also moderate to significant in areas of corn fields where corn plants were shorter.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES CURRENT CONDITIONS IN THIS COUNTY?
Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
IF CONDITIONS ARE ON THE DRY END, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING US DROUGHT MONITOR CATEGORIES BEST FIT CURRENT CONDITIONS
Near Normal (Dnada)