Crop growth on schedule, but more rainfall brings more risk

Significant rainfall this month has continued to deplete drought conditions across Iowa.

On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported nearly 96 percent of the state is without any drought or abnormally dry conditions.

Less than 1 percent of the state still is experiencing “moderate drought.” Only 4 percent of the state is considered “abnormally dry.”

The data for each week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update is collected on Tuesdays and reported on Thursdays, so it does not include Wednesday rainfall.

Three months ago, in April, only about 28 percent of Iowa was without drought conditions.

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The relief from drought conditions comes because July has been wetter than average.

“July has been particularly wet for portions of Iowa. The monthly statewide average rainfall is above normal and we’ve still got 10 days to go,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a statement.

So far this month, Eastern Iowa has had about 5.5 inches of rainfall.

Naig said Iowa’s overall crop progress has benefited from the wetter conditions.

In fact, corn inched ahead of schedule last week with a reported 18 percent of Iowa corn acres reaching the dough stage, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress and condition report.

Rebecca Vittetoe, an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomist for east central and south central Iowa, said the crops in her region of the state — Johnson, Iowa, Washington, Keokuk, Jefferson and Poweshiek counties — are on track and “looking good.”

Like drought, Vittetoe said that too much moisture for crops in the growing season can cause damage, too. Vittetoe said this is because the soil becomes overly saturated.

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“Just like we need oxygen to breathe and thrive, (crops’) roots also need oxygen to breathe and thrive,” she said. “If they're sitting in soils that are completely saturated and don't have much or little to no oxygen in them, you can really start to see them start to decline.”

Vittetoe said the increase in rainfall and humid conditions stem from the moisture stream from the Gulf of Mexico — which the Trump administration has renamed to the Gulf of America — opening up toward the region.

Although the crops in her zone of Iowa are not experiencing this, Vittetoe said that some areas in central Iowa are currently seeing this, in part because of flash flooding in north central Iowa last weekend.

“Those crops aren't going to survive for long under conditions like that,” Vittetoe said. “And so, if we keep getting those conditions, that can really, really cause those plants to struggle. You kind of see them go backward.”

Vittetoe said that over saturation also can cause disease in crops. She said she is watching for Southern Rust, a fungus that can affect corn production.

According to ISU’s Integrated Crop Management, low levels of the disease have started to pop up across the state.

To help combat the spread of disease in crops and plants declining due to oversaturation, Vittetoe said producers should regularly “scout” their fields and crops.

“Every year is different,” Vittetoe said. “It's always interesting to see what the growing season brings and learning how to manage whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. She is also a contributing writer for the Ag and Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative focusing on the Mississippi River Basin.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com