Wheat Conditions

Wheat remains in mostly poor to fair condition across southwest Kansas and the panhandles.  This past week saw much needed rain across most of the area but it is likely a case of too little too late.  Received amounts mostly ranged from .5" to 1.0" with isolated areas receiving more.  Growth stages range from fully headed in the south to boot in the north of the area.  We just went through two nights of below freezing temperatures with the second night (May 2nd) being the coldest.  Lows in Plains, Kansas and Guymon, Oklahoma reached 30 degrees and slightly colder.  Damage to the crop at this point are not known but will likely have only minor impacts.
Decisions on fungicide use need to be made over the next week to 10 days.  Factors for growers to consider when evaluating the economics of this input are:
1 - Yield Potential - Probably need to be 40 bu plus
2 - Variety - Resistance to Stripe and Leaf Rust
3 - Forecasted Weather - Wet / cool will be most favorable for disease development
4 - Disease Pressure in areas south of Kansas - At this point light or non existant
5 - Cost of control
Bottom Line - At this point it appears that 2011 will not be a rust year.  That of course can change over the next few weeks.  When deciding on likelyhood of a fungicide paying for itself yield potential is the most important factor.

Other Pests
Brown Wheat Mites have finally cycled out over much of the area.  Cherry Aphids continue to infest fields at low numbers with greenbugs started.  It is unlikely that either of these pests will reach thresholds for treatment but they are important in the spread of disease.
Barley Yellow Dwarf is starting to show up in many fields with Wheat Streak Mosaic pressure much less than we would normally see.

Corn Conditions

Getting corn stands has been a struggle due to cold soil temperatures.  Residue from the previous crop has also caused a lot of problems in achieving stands.  The extremely dry winter has contributed to this problem.  With dry weather residue decomposition did not occur and we went into planting with much higher levels of residue.  Wind damage has also been a problem with residue drifts occuring in many fields causing problems for the planters and proper seed placement.  The freeze that occured on May 2nd has caused severe leaf damage to emerged corn.  This will have no impact on plant stands and the affected corn will easily recover.