The field corn is in the early doe stage. The kernel substance is between starch and milky. Although some of the kernels didn't fill the entire husk, and one appeared slightly curved, for the most part the corn shows good earfuls. They are expected to be harvested late September or early October.
The popcorn likes the hotter weather, but not over 85 degrees. It does not prefer the cooler nights that we've been experiencing lately. Since it is the latest cornfield to be seeded, it may be a buffet for insect and deer damage. The popcorn will be of the red and yellow variety.
Some of the lower layer of leaves on the soybean plant shows septoria leaf spot. The taller plants are showing signs of soybean aphids. Soybeans can take about 60-70% defoliation and still produce a crop that can be harvested.
The other soybean field with younger (and smaller) plants is now in the 3rd and 4th trifoliate leaf stage. The plants are outgrowing the signs of spotting, and also curling from thrip damage that was mentioned last week. Since this field was a no-till field, insect damage and disease (fusarium and septoria) early on seemed more prevalent.
In the demonstration plots the pepper plants, with some added fertilizer have bounced back. The garden-in-a-bag plants have been doing better with water and fertilization. The strawberry plants were sprayed again for powdery mildew. For the first year they look good.
Below are the summaries for the insects caught in the three insect traps.
- Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 3 Japanese beetles, 2 black cut worms, 1 each of chafer beetle, click bug, sap beetle and noctuid.
- Trap 2 (Fall Armyworm) –2 Fall armyworm, 1 each of chafer beetle and wasp.
- Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – 2 Bumble bees, 1 each of lightning bug and stink bug.
