MOISTURE FURSTRATES HARVEST

JACKSON - Wet fields are hampering the fall harvest and planting of winter wheat in Missouri.

September 1993 was the second wettest in more than 70 years in Cape Girardeau. So far this month rain at the airport totals 2.58 inches.

Meanwhile, local agricultural officials say adverse weather conditions this year have also lowered corn yields in Cape Girardeau County and in Bootheel counties. Last year's corn produced record yields.

The latest Missouri Crop and Weather report for the week ended Oct. 17 said only 36 percent of the state's soybeans had been combined, compared to a 45 percent average. Only 39 percent of the corn crop had been harvested, compared to the average of 71 percent by mid-October.

Wet weather and muddy fields have also delayed harvesting of grain sorghum. As of Oct. 17, only 41 percent of the state's crop was in. Normally, 59 percent of the crop is combined.

In the Bootheel, cotton is faring somewhat better. The report said 55 percent of the cotton has been picked, compared to the average of 57 percent.

The delay in the corn and soybean harvests has also delayed planting of winter wheat across Missouri. As of mid-October, only 31 percent of winter wheat had been planted. Normally, 49 percent is in the ground by this time.

In Southeast Missouri, about 90 percent of the corn has now been harvested, down somewhat from the overall average of 98 percent by mid-October. Eighteen percent of the soybeans have been combined, compared to the average of 30 percent.

Only 73 percent of the grain sorghum in Southeast Missouri has been harvested, compared to the average of 91 percent. Thirty-one percent of winter wheat has been planted so far, down from the average of 42 percent.

Gerald Bryan, agronomist with the University of Missouri Extension Center at Jackson, said a combination of weather-related problems lead to the decline in corn yields this year.

Said Bryan: "We either had too little or too much moisture at critical times during the development stages of the corn. That affected the yields and the quality of the grain as well. We also had a serious problem with aphlatoxin in the corn."

Bryan said corn in southern Cape Girardeau County that wasn't destroyed by flooding was damaged by two severe windstorms last summer and by corn borers.

"There's a lot of downed corn in the south part of the county due to wet weather, strong wind, and corn borers," he said. "Because of the mild winter, there was a larger infestation of corn borers this year. About 10 percent of the corn stalks that are broken off was due to corn borers. Most of the corn planted in that area was late because of the wet spring, so it got off to a late start.

Bryan said a lot of corn remains to be harvested in wet fields south of the Diversion Channel. North of the channel, however, all of the corn has been harvested except for corn on hill farms where the crop is being allowed to dry on stalks. "North of the Diversion Channel, the corn is of much better quality and yield," he said.

Overall, corn yields to the south of the Diversion Channel will be down 20-25 percent from last year's record yields. In contrast, northern Cape County and Perry County will have yields that are better than last year, said Bryan.

"I know of one no-till field near Sereno that's made 198 bushels per acre this year, and its all high-quality corn," he reported.

Last year corn yields in some Cape County fields produced a record 220 to 250 bushels per acre.

"This year, those same fields are running about 20 percent under that, in the area of 175 to 200 bushels," Bryan said. "The reason is the late planting due to the wet spring and wet fields. There was also a lot of standing water, or, in come cases, too little water. We had some corn fields that had standing water at one end and the other end was dry and parched."

Bryan said good weather last week helped farmers harvest about 35-40 percent of the soybean crop in Cape County.

He said: "I don't have any yield figures yet, but there were some fields that did not completely mature before last Friday's frost. And some of the soybeans planted in the southern part of the county were planted late and did not develop because of dry weather in June and July.

"The problem right now is getting combines into the muddy fields to get to the beans that are ready to harvest. The same is true for grain sorghum. It's ready to combine, but some of the fields are too wet to support a combine."

Bryan said the delay in harvesting corn and beans is also delaying the planting of the winter wheat. "We had the same problem last year at this time. A lot of farmers were late getting their crops in. Some fields were damaged by combines because they were too wet. The winter wheat was planted late or not at all.

Bryan said the good weather last week was offset, in part, by the heavy morning dew. "The dew was so heavy that it was almost like rain. Farmers couldn't get into the fields until about noon, and that reduced the amount of time for harvest each day."

Continued dry weather is forecast for all of Southeast Missouri through Friday, with cooler weather returning on Wednesday and Thursday.