Record temperatures have some farmers sweating about the viability of their crops in August. Farmers in Lowndes County, however, aren”t hurting as badly.
William Darnell, who has about 250 acres of cotton in Caledonia, was worried about his crop toward the beginning of the summer. Darnell planted in mid-May but didn”t get much rain until after July 4. Luckily for Darnell, however, a few rains toward the end of the summer have jump started his crop.
“The plant was trashed and hurting for a while, but my cotton turned around from being nothing to being one of the best crops I”ve seen in a while,” Darnell said. “I”ve talked to farmers over in the Delta, and they”re in worse shape than we are. They”ve already started harvesting because it”s so hot. It”s pretty much where you”re at and when you planted.”
The heat is indeed uppercutting the Delta, where most of the state”s row crops are planted.
“They”re having a difficult time with the heat,” said Bruce Erwin, the manager at Lowndes Farm Supply. “With nighttime temperatures not getting below 80 degrees, it”s hard for the vegetables to bloom and keep the fruit on them.”
As many as five records were set in the first week of August. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in Stoneville announced that temperatures across the state were about two degrees above normal, while heat levels in Batesville, Rolling Fork and Verona were three degrees higher. In Waynesboro, however, it was six degrees hotter than average during the last week in July.
Languishing crops also have drought to blame for their poor performance.
“By Aug. 10, the state average was just .79 inches of rain,” said Nancy Lopez, a physical scientist with the USDA.
Researchers at the Mississippi State University Agriculture Extension Service have been tracking the progress of specific crops across the state and announced their findings in a press release today.
Soybeans are a difficult plant to accurately read because some farmers” crops are ready to be harvested, while others are just becoming mature.
“Soybeans can tolerate extremely hot temperatures, such as those this summer has brought, but high temperatures are tough on pollination,” said Trey Koger, a soybean specialist with the MSU Extension. “This is especially true when nighttime temperatures stay in the upper 70s to low 80s.”
Soybeans that were planted early and have not been irrigated are yielding about 40 to 50 bushels an acre, which Koger said is a fair to excellent rate.
Researchers are categorizing the state”s cotton crop as “good to excellent,” but this new wave of August heat has had some negative effects, causing the plants to shed fruit from their upper leaves. Darrin Dodds, a cotton specialist at the MSU Extension, said lower fruit that doesn”t shed could form underdeveloped seed pods.
Rice is doing even better than cotton, with 76 percent of the state”s growth being listed as “good to excellent” condition.
Nathan Buehring, an Extension rice specialist, said much of the crop escaped being scorched because it was planted early in the season.
“There has been some concern about the small percentage of late-planted rice that was heading during the recent high heat,” Buehring said. “Most of the earlier-planted rice had finished pollination before the 100-plus degree temperatures arrived.”
Finally, corn is also looking positive largely because most of the crop matured before temperatures skyrocketed, and the heat has only helped the crop dry.
“Most of the corn in the state has reached physiological maturity, so the hot, dry conditions are actually enhancing the dry down of the crop,” said Erick Larson, an Extension grain crops agronomist.
In the Delta, however, harvests are likely to be less than ideal because many fields there rely on natural irrigation, and drought hit that area the hardest.
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