What is in this article?:
- Soil moisture improves 2011 crop outlook
- Grain sorghum
- Soil moisture improves in South Texas
- Temperature important for planting decisions
- Check optimum date for each crop
Recent rainfall has improved the outlook for the upcoming crop growing season, as just a few weeks ago we were very dry in the upper 3-4 inches of our top soils and those wanting to plant spring wheat were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if the rains would ever come.
Now that they did come and continued for several days, some spring wheat will not be planted due to wet soils and the inability to plant, thus the decision to look at other crop options has been made.
With wet soils, it is hard not to get excited and want to put seed in the ground, but we need to be patient, and wait until optimum conditions exist for quick emergence before we pant expensive seed. Moreover, weather forecasts indicate cooler than normal temperatures for the coming weeks.
Corn, typically the earliest spring planted crop, responds primarily to temperature and is not controlled by day length, so calendar date is not as important as the soil temperature. Good germination and emergence are expected when the soil temperature at the 2-inch depth is 55 degrees F by 9:00 a.m. for three consecutive days.
The normal last freeze date in the Corpus Christi area is February 9, and most folks begin planting corn here around February 14. Corn can typically withstand frost with little economic injury early in its growth stage; however, severe frosts later in corn development can be quite destructive.
Sunflowers will germinate readily at 45-50 degrees F, and can be planted successfully earlier than corn. Sunflowers are more tolerant to frost than corn and plants with fewer than six leaves are usually resistant to frost. Those early planted sunflowers, i.e. early February, could be mature and ready to harvest by early June.