Across the Mid-South, May 11, 2009: Wet and wetter

The news across the Mid-South this week is rain. Lots of rain. Some areas had begun to need a shower about 10 days ago. But the 6 to 8 inches that many areas caught was more than enough. The worst situation was where the rain totals are in the 8- to 10-inch category. Thousands of acres are flooded, and the drainage systems, large and small, are at flow capacity. Worse, rains dominated the weekend weather. And rain is predicted today on a wide area. We've received reports of heavy amounts in southeast Arkansas and the south Delta of Mississippi.

The management challenge is great. With waterlogged soil, oxygen content is very low. No doubt, there will be some stand losses due to field flooding.

Tom Barber, Arkansas Extension Agronomist, notes that cotton that is waterlogged for 36 hours may likely die. If you are considering replanting, just remember that if you can get cotton past the 2-leaf stage with a decent root system, it’s a tough plant. But it's also a tough call when it comes to replanting.

Click here to read Barber's comments.

Reports from across the Mid-South note infestations of armyworms in corn and wheat and cotton. Close scouting is needed to protect yield potentials.

Other high points from reports posted today on AgFax.Com:

Arkansas: For the week ending Sunday, May 10, all of the 36 weather stations regularly tracked in the state recorded at least an inch of rain, and 17 recorded at least 4 inches of rain, according to today's Arkansas Crop Condition And Progress report. "With reports of flooding in low-lying fields and water-logged soils, some producers have switched their sorghum and corn intentions over to soybeans," it was noted.

Kentucky: "The Commonwealth experienced yet another week of excessive rainfall, as last week was the 6th week out of the past 7 with above normal rainfall," according to Monday's Kentucky Weekly Crop And Weather Report. "Consequently, this wet pattern has caused growers throughout the Bluegrass State to be continually delayed in field operations. In fact, several counties have reported areas of excessive flooding to the point that they are underwater. Temperatures continued on the warm trend as above normal values were reported for the 3rd straight week."

Louisiana: Compared to states to its north, Louisiana had a longer window last week for field work and planting, according to Monday's Louisiana Crop Weather Summary. The report noted that: "Planting of field crops continued to progress. Rice desiccated by windy weather. Rice producers began application of herbicides. Sugarcane producers fertilized fields, and rust was reported in sugarcane."

Mississippi: "The continuous rainfall has interrupted field activities across much of the state," according to the state's Weekly Weather Crop Report. "Some producers are waiting for the weather to improve to assess any damage and discuss replanting intentions."

Mississippi Extension reports included:

• “The ground is saturated. Farmers are waiting to see how much replanting will need to take place.” — Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar
• “Muddy, soggy, flood-like conditions continue to plague planting attempts. We actually need some light showers to keep the ground soft to let the planted crops emerge.” — Jimbo Burkhalter, Tallahatchie
• “Continued scattered rains have once again hampered field activities. We need some dry weather here in the extreme Northeast part of the state.” — Patrick Poindexter, Alcorn
• “Rain has prevented any fieldwork. Producers got very little corn planted. Cotton will be late if it gets planted at all. Quoting a producer, 'I'd rather be waiting on the fields to dry up to plant instead of waiting for them to get moisture to plant.'” — Danny Owen, Tishomingo
• “We have received approximately 15 inches of rain in the last 10 days. When it finally dries up, we will have a lot of replanting to do.” — Eddie B. Harris, Humphreys
• “Everything is wet. Some replanting will occur due to packing rains preventing crop emergence.” — Bill Burdine, Chickasaw

Missouri: Some replanting is likely in southeast Missouri due to wet conditions, according to Monday's Missouri Crop Progress And Condition report. Rice planting was running 5 days behind normal, while cotton was behind 11 days.

--Tom Crumby