Possible
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normal for the year.) Singel said
some counties are about six inches
below normal.
According to Peter Ahnert,
meteorologist in charge at the Har
risburg office of the National
Weather Service, “The long term
Palmer Index a drought
index indicates a moderate
drought over basically all of
Pennsylvania.
“On the short term, the crop
moisture index —an index that
shows the crop need verses avail
able water is a ‘minus one’ in
the lower Susquehanna Valley,
and that’s the worst area. A ‘minus
one’ means abnormally dry and
prospects deteriorating,” Ahnert
said.
“As far as the forcast goes, here
in the lower Susquehanna Valley,
the next chance of rain is a 30 per
cent chance of a shower or thun
derstorm on Saturday (today). But
again, that’s going to be probably
scattered... we might not get any
rain at all,” he said.
Through the weekend, Ahnert
said chances for precipitation were
not good as well as slight for the
rest of the week.
Drought
Statewide, with all the dryness,
most crops are stressed; particular
ly com, soybeans, alfalfa, and
tobacco.
The vegetable crops, including
snap beans, have been brought to a
virtual halt in many places for the
lack of rain.
Early this week, a cold front
remained stationary through the
Southeast through the Mid-
Atlantic states, dumping some
excessive rain amounts along the
coastline and in the southeast
states.
But.agriculture areas in Pen
nsylvania and surrounding states,
including Maryland, Ohio, West
Virginia, and New York, only
received a sprinkling at best. Areas
in northern Lancaster Co. received
about 2/10 of an inch. Other areas
in Lancaster received about 1 inch.
And this is when the crops need
moisture the most
“All we can hope for is for a few
showers to tide us through until a
front stays around and it rains for at
least a couple of days,” said John
Yocum of the Penn State southeast
research laboratory in Landisville.
Yocum said that com, alfalfa,
and particularly soybean farmers
are concerned that not enough rain
will cause yield losses. In com,
expected yields, if the drought per
sists, could total 10 to 20 percent.
If a drought occurs later on, such
as it did in 1988 during tassling and
pollination of com, huge losses
can occur.
“If we don’t get substantial rain
within two weeks,” Yocum said,
“com stands will be in big
trouble.”
The rain early in the week was
widely scattered and variable
some areas, such as southern Lan
caster Co., received up to 2 inches.
Eastern Lancaster Co., around
New Holland, said Yocum,
received up to about an inch.
But according to Mel Brown,
Centre Co. agent, fanners will
need about 1 inch of water a week
to obtain a good stand for any of
their crops.
‘The farmers who got the first
alfalfa cutting early in May got a
good cutting,” Brown said. But he
is recommending to fanners to
wait, during the drought condi
tions, until blossom in order for the
plant to build up enough root ener
gy for further cutting.
According to Yocum, alfalfa
hay losses have amounted so far to
about 1 ton per acre. But the hay
crop, if the drought persists, will
not dry, it just will not produce
enough for a cutting.
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, June 22, 1991-A2l
And for farmers who haven’t
planted the soybeans yet, exten
sion agents are asking that farmers
avoid planting until substantial
rain arrives.
Those who transplanted tobacco
late are also seeing their crops
wither and die.
For vegetable fanners, most
plants, because of their shallow
root systems, are under stress, said
Yocum. Snap beans cannot root
without enough water. The pro
duction crops, including com, can
establish themselves under stress
because of their deep root systems.
But so can some weeds, accord
ing to Brown. “Farmers put on her
bicides after an appreciable rain
fall,” he said. But many of the her
bicides have not had time, using
moisture, to attack weeds and are
still active on the soil.
If a substantial rainfall doesn’t
come, then “timely showers” will
at least hold off a potential
drought, said Paul Craig, Dauphin
Co. agent.
“Overall, the upper part of the
county, theLykens Valley, is OK,”
he said. “Armstrong Valley looks
OK. Dauphin Co. is in good shape
up to this point”
Those who planted early,
according to Craig, were spared
the effects of a drought ‘Timeli-
ness was critical and people who
delayed planting, they suffered,”
he said.
Craig said that the crops need
about 1 inch of rain every week to
sustain production. But he predicts
a 10-15 percent yield reduction in
com.
In York Co., most areas need 5
inches of rain or more to make up
the lack of rain.
According to John Rowehl,
York extension agent, farmers |
who want to sidedrcss nitrogen on;
the com should use a dribble appli
cation rather than broadcast if
they believe they have to.
Because of the drought, the
sidedressing will do little to coun
teract the already expected 15-20
percent drop in yield potential.
“We really don’t know what to
say to them that I will be confident
will be right because of the lack of
rain,” said Rowehl.
The northern section of the
county received little relief from
the rain the past week. Lewisburg,
for instance, recorded only about
1/10 of an inch of rain. Western
York received about the same
amount and only the southern sec
tions “got a little reprieve,” said
Rowehl.
This year, at planting, condi
tions were dry fra - com, which has
little effect on the standability. But
in 1988, the drought came later, at
the silking and pollinating stages
(when the crop needs it the most)
and created a 20 to 30 percent yield
loss.
Extension agents are recom
mending that farmers, if they want
to help their com during the
drought, cultivate lightly (about 1
inch) to loosen up the soil, help the
drier soil act as a mulch, and pro
vide better root aeration. But far
mers should be careful not to prune
the com roots.
Other than that, farmers must be
patient and hope that rain comes.
“It’s on everybody’s mind,”
said Craig. “What me need more
than anything is for a two- to three
day front to get here and stay.”
There apparently is no area in
the state that has been spared some
setback in crop production because
of the unusual weather.
In Bradford County, with the
second highest number of dairy
farms in the slate, behind Lancas
ter, the scenario is repealed.
A 1 Homan, extension agent in
Bradford, said Thursday evening
that, “Depending on what crops
you’re looking at, we have a varie
ty of conditions ”
He said that, in general, com
planted prior to May 15 has been
looking good, until this past week
when signs ol drought stress began
appearing. Com planted alter May
15 hasn’t fared as well. He said he
saw similar conditions near
Bloomsburg about two weeks
prior.
“The plant populations arc quite
low in some fields The first crop
of hay looks good, but the second
growth on established has holds
looks very bad. It’s not making
much regrowth,” he said
Also, first year fields aren’t gel
ling too far. “Hay crops planted
this spring got oil to a good start
and made 9 to 12 inches, but now
has just stopped growing.
“The oat crop and other forage
crops arc almost a total loss. It’s
very poor this spring, because
temperatures were quite high early
in the year.”
He said a few farmers have
resorted to irrigation for the first
lime. Some arc watering orchards,
others are trying to get water to
their hay or com.
In the south western part of the
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