By Hans Schmitz, Technical Assistance Specialist
Indiana Ag Nutrient Alliance
There’s planting season, then there’s replanting season. For some parts of the state, there was re-replanting season. Now we’re running out of options for fields that have experienced a fair amount of precipitation in a short amount of time. All around the state, ponding has occurred in low areas. Some fields have been luckier than others and stayed underwater a short enough time period to see minimal plant stand reduction, like in the rolling hills. Some fields have been maddeningly unlucky, like much of our river bottom ground or fields with minimal, although obviously not entirely negligible, slope. What options do we have left for bare spots or bare fields?
First, take note of where the problems exist. Could tile, WASCOBs, or dry dams fix the issue? If so, and cash flow permits, investigating tying some drainage solutions to other NRCS practices might make a good EQIP or CSP application. Although pattern tile might be a good solution where whole fields have a hard time draining, contour tile is still a viable option for some problem areas in an otherwise well-drained field.
The path of least management is to leave the drowned portions to the weeds and let the combine, sprayer, mower, or tillage equipment terminate whatever growth occurs post-harvest. Weeds that get a good start this time of year go to seed relatively quickly, however, so feeding the weed seed bank may not be ideal.
We are still well into the window for a successful cover crop planting of warm season plants. Sorghum-sudan can be planted now for a hay cutting before the first freeze. Cover crop mixes that include buckwheat, the millets, teff, sunflower, cowpeas, flax, or phacelia all have a good window for summer planting in July. All are a good alternative to giant ragweed or Johnsongrass that grow quickly in the heat. Keep in mind that cover crop mixes have winners and losers depending on the weather, but don’t discount a single species because it did not play well with others this year.
A very short season corn (70-80 day maturity) might still be an option for those who want to cut silage. The first frost in most of Indiana wouldn’t let that kind of corn reach black layer, but there’s a chance it could get into dent before the weather stops its growth. The Corn Growing Degree Day Tool at https://mrcc.purdue.edu/tools/corngdd can help you decide whether this is a viable option.
In some situations where the sprayer via ground rig, ATV, backpack, or drone can access the lost areas, applying a herbicide to create a chemical fallow condition will keep the weeds away. In this scenario, planning for the next cash crop should take into consideration plantback restrictions for some of the herbicides with more residual activity than others, particularly on ground that might have a winter crop or cover crop.
Finally, on ground where water soluble nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus may have been doled out early at crop maintenance rates, scouting and planning on how to apply rescue treatments if deficiency symptoms begin to appear is a recommended practice. Tissue sampling to see potential deficits before they appear may be warranted.