Things to consider in drought.
The current June 6 U.S. Drought Monitor shows that more than three-fourths of South Dakota is under abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions.
Things to consider during drought conditions: Weeds under drought conditions tend to show more tolerance to applied herbicides that those growing under optimal conditions because plants may develop a thicker wax layer on the leaf surface to conserve moisture which can obstruct the herbicide absorption.
Systemic herbicides such as Roundup and SU herbicides are known to have reduced effects during hot and dry conditions.
Weather factors can influence insect populations quite dramatically, both in favor of and against the growing crops.
One of the groups of insects to lookout for during hot and dry conditions are grasshoppers.
Both grass mite and twospotted spider mite populations can increase in response to drought conditions.
Under dry conditions, plants may show moderate to severe nutrient deficiency symptoms even when the soil contains adequate amount of nutrients needed for normal growth and development.
This will cause plants to show N-deficiency symptoms.
As grass forages are more likely to be fertilized with nitrogen, it is recommended to test for nitrates when these crops are grown under drought conditions.