Hot Weather This Week

Jun 13, 2017

By Jim Noel

Last week’s forecast remains on track. After a cool week last week we expect a much warmer than normal week this week. Temperatures will run some 5-7 degrees above normal. After the recent dry period, it does look like rain chances will be increasing this week. Due to summer convection, rainfall will be quite variable, but most everyone should get something. Rainfall will likely range from 0.25 to 1.50 inches. Most will average 0.50 to 1.00 inches though.

The roller coaster ride looks to continue for the rest of June. The week of June 19th will return to cooler than normal temperatures with temperatures about 5 degrees below normal. Rainfall will average close to normal from 0.75 to 1.25 inches in many places.

Rainfall for the 2-week period on the attached image will be at or above normal in the eastern half of the corn and soybean belt.

The week of June 26th will switch back to warmer and drier than normal.

The outlook for July and August still calls for somewhat warmer and drier than normal.

Source: osu.edu

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.