What should be the soil temperature at planting time?
Ideally, the seedbed should be at least 68º F at the two inch depth, with dry weather and at least 50 DD-60s expected in the next 5 days.
Planting into cold soils increases the likelihood of chilling injury to seedlings, weak and variable stands and replanting. Replanting is expensive, can complicate herbicide and insecticide programs and delay maturity.
Generally this will be the last week of April or the first week of May. Some years differ and common sense must apply.
|
Thirty Year Average DD60
Accumulation By Week |
|
| WEEK | DD60s |
| April 9-15 | 28.7 |
| April 16-22 | 45.6 |
| April 23-29 | 48.4 |
| April 30-May 6 | 53.8 |
| May 7-13 | 71.0 |
| May 13-20 | 85.2 |
Publications
News
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When the calendar turns to September, many who call Mississippi home long for cooler temperatures to relieve the summer’s heat, but the state’s cotton growers want high temperatures and dry weather to drag into October.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- MSU Extension agents will be assessing agricultural damage from early-June flooding until well into July, but preliminary estimates indicate losses could break records.
The 2019 Yazoo Backwater Area flood caused $617 million in crop damage alone. It looks like the more recent flood will exceed those losses.
Heavy rainfall, primarily north of U.S. Highway 82, throughout the second week of June waterlogged crops during critical growth stages. Flooding caused complete or partial losses in many fields.
Because it is the first crop planted starting in March, Mississippi corn is in much better shape than other row crops struggling with the challenges of wet, cool weather.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi row crop growers are planning to plant more soybeans and corn in 2021 than they did last year but not as much cotton, rice or hay.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, publishes its planting intentions report each year at the end of March. This report provides a state-by-state estimation of how many acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton farmers will plant in the upcoming growing season.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Each February marks the occasion for producers to share their research and programming needs with Mississippi State University agricultural specialists in person.
To comply with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, the opportunity will be extended virtually this year.
