Story and photos by Amy Eddings
Heavy thunderstorms Monday night. Periods of pouring rain on Tuesday. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect into Tuesday evening.
All this, after a record wet June in nearby Lima, where 12.67 inches of rain fell. It was the wettest single month since 1901, according to the National Weather Service.
Area residents may be asking themselves, “Is it time to build an ark yet?"
Farmers may want to petition Noah for a spot in the hold for their corn and soybeans. Many area fields show rows of yellowing plants.
Mark Badertscher, extension educator at The Ohio State University Hardin County Extension Office, said the yellow leaves show signs of nitrogen deficiency.
“There’s been so much moisture in the fields, there’s no place for it to go, it can’t drain,” he said. “What happens is that the corn gets so saturated that the roots do not grow. When the roots do not grow, they’re not bringing up nutrients like they normally would."
He said the corn has grown too high for some farmers to get into the fields and apply more nitrogen. Also, the soil has been too soggy to handle heavy machinery.
“It’s too late to replant that corn,” said Badertscher. But it’s too soon to tell what the effect of all the rain will have on the harvest. “Some people are talking about crop insurance claims, but crop insurance adjusters will wait until harvest time to determine the losses."
Badertscher said corn, especially ones that were planted early in the season and have had the chance to develop a good root system, can bounce back from the damp summer. Not so for soybeans. He said they can only take about two days underwater before dying off completely.
“We don’t put nitrogen on soybeans because they make their own nitrogen,” he said of the legume. “It’s got nodules on its roots that fix nitrogen. With the week roots, the nodules aren’t forming on the soybean roots and the plant is becoming deficient."
He said the fields need to drain and dry out. Now, if only Mother Nature would cooperate.
