Rain Brings Relief to Fruit Crops
Published: Friday, July 28, 2023
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending July 23.
Winter wheat harvest moved along last week. There were 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork.
Wheat harvest neared 50% complete. Yield reports remained mixed. Quality has been reported to be very good.
Much of the straw from fields already harvested for grain had been baled.
Producers were cutting and baling hay when weather permitted. Corn fields were tasseling and silk was appearing. Pollination will begin soon in Southern Michigan.
Fruit
Multiple rain events in the past few weeks have brought relief to fruit crops.
In the West Central, apple varieties in Oceana County were sizing well. Average fruit size for Zestar was 66 millimeters. Empire average fruit size was 47 millimeters, and Honeycrisp average fruit size was 55 millimeters. Gala fruit size was 45 millimeters.
In the Southeast, King fruit observed were sizing up to 60 mm.
In the West central, tart cherry harvest began on July 5 for some growers.
In the Southeast, tart cherry harvest continued with repeated need to take steps to repel birds.
In the West Central, peaches averaged 47 millimeters. Nitrogen deficiency was observed in peaches in the Southwest and West Central. Recent rain helped alleviate N deficiency.
In the Southeast, the earliest peach varieties were being harvested in Southern parts of the region. Freestone peaches at Fenton and Romeo were at pit hardening.
Peaches underwent a second round of growth due the recent rains.
In the Southeast, the first blueberry fields were open for u-pick. Blueberry harvest continued in the Southwest and West Central.
Vegetables
Michigan vegetable crops received some much-needed rainfall as drought conditions eased across much of the state.
Harvest was proceeding for a variety of vegetables, including cucumbers and garlic.
Celery harvest was also underway, with some farms reporting exceptional quality, while hard squash and watermelons were setting fruit.
The recent precipitation did lead to outbreaks of Phytophthora in peppers, squash and zucchini, leading producers to apply fungicides when necessary to protect their vegetables.
Fungal presence was detected in potatoes in central Michigan, but no cases of late blight had been reported in the state to date.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 7%; short, 17%; adequate, 64%; surplus, 12%.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 10%; short, 30%; adequate, 48%; surplus, 12%.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2022 and five-year average) showed: corn silking, 28, 13, 47, 44; corn dough, 2, 0, 7, 2; soybeans blooming, 49, 36, 67, 59; soybeans setting pods, 13, 5, 29, 25; winter wheat mature, 79, 67, 91, 90; winter wheat harvested, 47, 31, 63, 59; barley headed, 58, 43, 83, 77; barley mature, 14, 1, 15, NA; dry edible beans blooming, 14, 12, 64, 42; alfalfa hay, second cutting, 55, 44, 71, 63; alfalfa hay, third cutting, 1, 0, NA, NA; other hay, second cutting, 26, 19, 50, 38; oats headed, 69, 56, 93, 93; oats mature, 8, 1, 23, NA.
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