Field Station Weather Reports

This report includes the annual summary of precipitation from 2020 at the research locations represented in the 2021 field report and further details about the Kansas River Valley locations and the east central Kansas locations.


Introduction
The research program at the Kansas State University East Central Kansas Experiment Field is designed to keep area crop producers abreast of technological advances in agronomic agriculture. Specific objectives are to (1) identify top performing varieties and hybrids of wheat, corn, soybean, and grain sorghum; (2) establish the amount of tillage and crop residue cover needed for optimum crop production; (3) evaluate weed and disease control practices using chemical, no chemical, and combination methods; and (4) test fertilizer rates, timing, and application methods for agronomic proficiency and environmental stewardship.

Soil Description
Soils on the field's 160 acres are Woodson. The terrain is upland and level to gently rolling. The surface soil is a dark gray-brown, somewhat poorly drained silt loam to silty clay loam over slowly permeable clay subsoil. The soil is derived from old alluvium. Water intake is slow, averaging less than 0.1 in./hour when saturated. This makes the soil susceptible to water runoff and sheet erosion.

Weather Information
Precipitation during 2020 was almost 30% lower than average, with nine months below average (Table 1). Overall, the 2020 growing season was warmer than average, especially starting in June. The summer of 2020 had 46 days exceeding 90°F but none exceeding 100°F, which compares to an average of 30 days exceeding 90°F, in the last 3 years. There were 5 days with low temperatures in the single digits, compared to an average of 11 days in the previous 3 years. The last freezing temperature in the spring was April 18 (average, April 18), and the first killing frost in the fall was October 15 (average, October 21). There were 180 frost-free days, less than the long-term average of 185.
Rainfall from the last week of April through May made planting and field work challenging in the spring. There was adequate moisture to get corn and grain sorghum through a hot and dry June. The corn and grain sorghum hybrid trials averaged 174 and 138 bu/a, respectively. However, the lack of moisture in August lowered soybean production. The early maturing soybean variety trial averaged 48 bu/a and the later maturing trial 48.6, both well below the averages of the last several years.

Introduction
The Kansas River Valley Experiment Field was established to study management and effective use of irrigation resources for crop production in the Kansas River Valley (KRV). The Paramore Unit consists of 80 acres located 3.5 miles east of Silver Lake on U.S. Highway 24, then 1 mile south of Kiro, and 1.5 miles east on 17th Street. The Rossville Unit consists of 80 acres located 1 mile east of Rossville or 4 miles west of Silver Lake on U.S. Highway 24.

Soil Description
Soils on the two fields are predominately in the Eudora series. Small areas of soils in the Sarpy, Kimo, and Wabash series also occur. Except for small areas of Kimo and Wabash soils in low areas, the soils are well drained. Soil texture varies from silt loam to sandy loam, and the soils are subject to wind erosion. Most soils are deep, but texture and surface drainage vary widely.

Weather Information
The year was generally warmer than last year, with below average rainfall during most of the growing season. The frost-free season was 183 days at both Rossville and Paramore units (average = 173 days), with 4 and 5 days in the single digits or lower at Rossville and Paramore, respectively, which was much fewer than the average of 18 single digit days in the previous 2 years. The last spring freeze was April 15 (average = April 21), and the first fall freeze was October 15 (average = October 11). There were 38 and 41 days above 90°F at Paramore and Rossville, respectively, and none above 100°F. Precipitation was below normal at both fields for the year (Table 2), with 8 months below average. May and especially July were significantly above normal, with July rainfall 3 times greater than average. Most of the irrigation for corn was in June, much earlier than normal, with a total 4.2 inches for the corn. Soybeans were irrigated an average of 1.6 inches in August. The corn performance trials averaged 214 bu/a for the irrigated and 210 for the dryland. The soybean performance trials averaged 58.7 bu/a for the irrigated and 71 bu/a for the dryland. The sudden death syndrome foliar symptoms were first seen in early August in most fields in 2020, causing significant yield loss in soybeans in the irrigated trial due to the disease.