Rain is something farmers often look forward to this time of year, but corn-growers have seen enough for a while.

Jim Gabriel plows up his corn field near Eudora on Thursday. Gabriel has delayed planting corn because of recent rains, which caused some flooding on his land.

Recent heavy rains and flooding delayed some farmers from finishing their corn planting, and some fields had to be replanted. Eudora farmer Jim Gabriel said last week that he had planted about 75 percent of the 2,000 acres he’d set aside for corn.

“The rains really held us up and then the river got out and did a little flooding and we had to do some replanting,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel estimated he replanted 100 acres that had flooded, including some areas submerged by the Kansas River. That acreage is in spots and not all in one or two large areas, he said.

“Some of it we still can’t get on because of the water,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel is not alone, said Bill Wood, agriculture agent in K-State Extension’s Douglas County office.

“I still see some tractors out that look like they are planting corn,” Wood said.

A week ago the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported that corn planting in Kansas was 76 percent complete, up from 49 percent the previous week.

Farmers generally like to have their corn crop planted by now, Wood said. Corn planted after May 15 starts to lose yield potential, he said. In Douglas County, farmers typically plant up to 27,000 acres of corn annually.

Extension reported that much of eastern Kansas soil is saturated with water. That could inhibit growth of a corn plant’s roots. Too much water over too long of a time means the soil is cooler and that also inhibits growth, Wood said. Young corn plants can tolerate only a few days of submersion, he said.

When the soil stays wet, plant roots don’t grow as deeply as they should.

“Any plant, if it stays wet on top, it just puts its roots out in the top inch or two of soil,” Wood said. “Then when you get into drier conditions later on it doesn’t have that deep root to pull up moisture or give it stability from winds.”

If a farmer still has corn to plant, he needs to wait until the ground has adequately dried, said Randy Price, extension biological and agricultural engineer in Manhattan.

“Tilling some soils when they are too wet can produce large, persistent clods, complicate planting, reduce herbicide effectiveness and destroy seedbed,” Price said.

Corn can be a frustrating plant, Gabriel said.

“The last few years have been rough,” he said. “A couple of years ago we had a (late) frost that killed some of it out. There’s usually a little bit every year that you have to replant, but hopefully it’s not a lot. It’s a little aggravating.”

Corn has long been noted as being especially susceptible to drought and high heat, but its hardiness is improving, Wood and Gabriel said. Corn harvests start in middle to late August. Unlike last year at this time, there is no sign of impending drought conditions.

“We got our ponds full; our creeks are running full; our soil is full of moisture,” Wood said. “We just need some sunshine.”