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Corn harvest delayed because of cool, wet springKEARNEY, Neb. (AP)--The corn harvest will be starting late in some parts of Nebraska because of a cool, wet spring that delayed the maturation of crops, a Kearney agronomist says. Warm, sunny autumn days should help the slow-developing crops catch up. Agronomist Rick Reinsch said crop maturity varies from place to place and even field to field. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in mid-September that corn maturity was 11 days behind average and soybeans four days behind. Reinsch said it seems as if late-developing crops are even further behind because of early harvests the past few years. Dawson County Extension Educator Dave Stenberg said corn is 100 to 150 "growing degree days" behind normal, which is equivalent to four July days, six days in September or 10 days in October. A stretch of warm, dry weather has helped in recent days. "We were behind 250 growing degree days a week ago," Stenberg said. "There's some corn that's mature, and they're starting on high-moisture corn. The same harvest started Sept. 8 last year." But there still is a lot of corn that is nowhere near physiological maturity, meaning producers can ill afford a hard freeze the next two weeks. But the recent warm weather won't reverse yield losses resulting from late planting during the cool, wet spring or other periods of unusually cool late-summer temperatures. Stenberg said some corn planted over a three-week period all came up at the same time because the vigor of today's hybrids allowed seeds to sprout after sitting in water. In the past, farmers would have replanted those areas. The result could be yields varying from zero to 250 bushels per acre in the same field, he said. An unusual combination of diseases also hindered corn. Among them are stock rot and two leaf diseases known as maize chlorotic mottle virus and Goss' bacterial wilt. Any damage to leaves will reduce the "factory area" required to produce sugars in the plan, Reinsch said. Gray leaf spot and southern corn leaf rust required fungicide treatments in some areas, adding to input costs. Hail damage caused "some outrageous weed situations," Reinsch said. Soybeans are in better shape, Reinsch said. He said the crop was "good but not great." "I don't see the type we had in 2004, which was spectacular," he said. 10/13/08 Date: 10/7/08
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