Agriculture
Agriculture
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volume 1 Issue 3 July 2004 An MSU Extension Newsletter serving agriculture in the Tri-County Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bringing Knowledge to Life |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| INSIDE THIS ISSUE-CLICK ON
TITLE Harvest Recommendations for Reducing Vomitoxin Levels in Wheat Drying Wheat Soybean Aphid Management Recommendations for 2004 Water Use Reporting Procedures for Estimating Irrigation Water Use Soybean Cyst Nematodes-Scout Underground 25th Ag Expo-Field Demonstrations Truck Safety Inspection 2004 MSU Weed Tour MSU Crop Management & Field Diagnostic School |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvest
Recommendations for Reducing Vomitoxin Levels in Wheat Head scab or Fusarium Head Blight can be found in nearly every wheat field. However, the level of infection is low to moderate. This means that yields may not be significantly affected by the disease but there is still potential for vomitoxin to develop. Vomitoxin creates problems for millers and grain buyers so they typically test for it at delivery. Each miller or grain buyer decides their own vomitoxin discount schedule and sets the level of infection at which they must reject loads. Wheat producers can reduce the potential for discounts or rejection by implementing proven management practices. Consider harvesting your wheat early and drying it to 14% moisture (please see the article on drying wheat in this newsletter). The formation of vomitoxin is significantly decreased as the grain dries. Harvesting your wheat early will also improve your probability of success if you plan to double crop soybeans after the wheat. You should also speed up the cleaning fan on the combine to blow the shrunken and shriveled kernels out of the back of the combine as these contain the highest levels of vomitoxin and lead to lower test weights. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drying Wheat The following information was extracted from Grain Quality Fact Sheet #11 entitled “Drying Wheat to Prevent Spoilage and Sprouting by Dirk E. Maier, Purdue University. Harvesting wet wheat can reduce vomitoxin levels, boost test weight, prevent sprouting and increase soybean yields when double-cropping. However, the wheat must be dried properly to eliminate spoilage and loss of quality. Wheat harvested at 18% or less can be dried without supplemental heat in a bin equipped with a drying fan and a fully perforated floor. If stirrers are available the grain can have a maximum moisture content of 20%. Turn the fan on as soon as the bin floor is covered and run it CONTINUOUSLY day and night, rain or shine, until the moisture in the upper layers is below 15%. The higher the temperature and lower the relative humidity, the drier the wheat will become. Once the grain moisture falls below 15%, the ambient air loses its drying potential and the fan should be only run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. when the relative humidity is less than 75%. Air flow is more restricted in wheat than it is in corn so plan ahead to ensure adequate airflow in your drying bin. A rule of thumb to use in sizing your fans is a bin filled with 10 feet of wheat will require one horsepower of fan capacity per 1000 bushels to deliver 1cfm/bu of air. When bin drying grain having moisture levels exceeding 20%, supplemental heat is required to dry the wheat quickly enough to prevent mold development and spoilage. To be safe, fill the bin no more than 3 feet deep and add air at a rate of 2 to 5 cfm/bu for 24 hours. Add between 3 and 20 degrees F of supplemental heat. High-temperature batch or continuous-flow dryers also work well for drying high moisture wheat. Because of the high airflow rates (50 to 125 cfm/bu), supplemental heat may not be necessary. If heat is added, be sure to throttle back the burner by running it for short periods of time or changing to a smaller burner orifice and running it continuously. Soybean Aphid Management
Recommendations for 2004 In December of 2003, entomologists from 11 universities plus the Canadian government met in Chicago to review data from field trials across the Midwest and develop scouting procedures and treatment thresholds for the 2004 growing season. The recommend-ations that resulted from this session are summarized in this article. Scouting Recommendations Treatment Threshold Insecticide Recommendations Application Recommendations Water
Use Reporting Information By Lyndon Kelley 1. Water application multiplied by number of applications, This system requires no additional equipment and maximizes the use of irrigation records most irrigators already keep. Calendar records of applications to each field are kept along with rate of application. The number of actual irrigated acres in the field is multiplied by the number of applications and rate.
1 acre inch = 27,154 gallons/acre 2. Pump capacity multiplied by run-time: or fuel/power use per hour Many pumping systems are equipped with hour meters or run-time timers. With an accurate estimate of run-time, a producer can calculate water use. Example- Larry has a pumping plant on the river. He monitors the hour meter to track maintenance needs and now water use. Larry used his pump’s manual to determine that his pump should produce 550 gal/min or 33,000 gal/hr. at 80 psi (his standard operating pressure). Larry checked this pumping capacity against his actual application and run-time records. On average it takes Larry 60 hours to apply one inch of water to 72 acres. Larry determined that his actual pump output (543 gal/min) was very close to the capacity listed in his pump’s manual (550 gal/min)
1 acre inch =27,154 gallons/acre 3. Flow meter: Flow meters are mechanisms installed in or on the main distribution pipe of the water supply. The actual flow is measured by impeller or sonar. Flow meters have the advantage of simplicity and can be read monthly and recorded. The disadvantage to flow meters is cost and maintenance. To maintain accuracy, meters need to be calibrated annually. Meters need to be installed in a straight section of pipe at a point in transport pipe that all water used must pass. Soybean Cyst Nematodes—Scout Underground Did you ever wonder why your soybean field didn’t have that thrifty look of your neighbors? Maybe it was a little yellow in color, plants were a bit smaller, or things just didn’t look right. Or how about those small elliptical spots where plants are stunted or dying and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger each year? One of the things that is often overlooked in diagnosing field problems is the impact that soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) can have on crop development and yields. This small microscopic worm can infest the roots of soybean plants and significantly reduce yields. Crop development symptoms can range from a simple general yellowing of the whole field where SCN are distributed somewhat uniformly across the field, to very distinct stunting or dying plants that are frequently observed as circular or oblong areas. These areas tend to follow the tillage or soil texture patterns of the field. Other symptoms include the failure of older plants to canopy at the proper time. Underground symptoms include a root system that is smaller than expected and the nodulation is greatly reduced. Small whitish spheres may be visible on the roots and look like nodules but are much smaller, about the size of a pinhead. These are the cysts, or egg sacs, that will produce the next generation of nematodes. Yield losses have been reported in the range of 10 to 40%, and in extreme cases as high as 100% here in Michigan. Now is a good time to scout for SCN and as you can tell, scouting includes looking at both the above ground and under ground symptoms. Nematodes will move only a short distance on their own so the spots in your fields that were questionable last year are probably good to check this year. They can also move considerable distances through tillage practices, water and wind movements, and newly suspected areas should be included in your scouting. The ideal time to see the cysts is about 45 days and again at about 75 days after planting. Collecting samples for laboratory analysis is very similar to that of a regular soil test and should include root samples in addition to soil. Keep in mind that you are dealing with a live organism that can die if dried out, so don’t purposely dry the sample. Standard soil moisture conditions and packaging in a plastic bag is acceptable. Samples can be collected most anytime that the soil is not frozen but summer is the best for visual observations and ease of collection. For the balance of this year the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee will be paying for the analysis of these samples at the MSU Soil Testing Lab so the cost to you is the time you invest in collecting the samples and bringing them to your local Extension office. Additional information that addresses management practices to minimize the impact of SCN is available at your local Extension office. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 25th Ag Expo—Field Demonstrations, Commercial Educational Exhibits On-site demonstrations featuring new technologies, farm equipment and management strategies, and hundreds of commercial and educational exhibits are among the featured attractions at the 25th Annual Ag Expo, July 20-22 at Michigan State University (MSU). This year’s event also includes field demonstrations focused on deep tillage and hay production. Producers will also have the opportunity to earn restricted-use pesticide applicator credits. To make Ag Expo more accessible to more visitors, the show hours on Wednesday (July 21) have been extended from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. “Ag Expo provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase both commercial agriculture and outstanding educational programs from across the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources,” says Kirk Heinze, Ag Expo director. “This 25th anniversary year, especially, we’ll have the opportunity to celebrate Expo’s proud past while looking ahead to the exciting future of the college, the university and Michigan’s agricultural industry.” Ag Expo visitors will also have the opportunity to take a shuttle bus to Dairy Days at the MSU pavilion (each day) and the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation’s home lawn care field day (July 22 only). Dairy Days features a dairy breed show and youth activities; the field day will offer homeowners tips for establishing lawns and controlling pests such as grubs and moles. On the main Ag Expo site, visitors can meet MSU educators from agronomists and agricultural engineers to foresters, veterinarians and animal scientists. They will be on hand to discuss their work and share information on various aspects of farm business management and production, new university research and MSU Extension programs. Ag Expo will feature commercial farm equipment from throughout the Midwest and several Canadian provinces on the 35-acre main exhibition site. For more information, call 1-800-366-7055 or visit www.agexpo.msu.edu. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Truck Safety Inspection Checklist Please check and repair the following items before you bring your truck(s) in for the safety inspection. These items present significant safety concerns and the officers conducting the inspections will not allow the trucks to leave the site until these items have been repaired.
To pass the actual inspection, receive your CVSA sticker and fulfill your annual inspection requirement, your trucks must not have any violations or defects on the following items:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 MSU Weed Tour What: Growers and agribusiness representatives are invited to tour the MSU weed control trials. These plots visually demonstrate the relative effectiveness of numerous herbicide treatments when applied to fields under severe weed pressure. The newest herbicides as well as older products are demonstrated in corn, soybeans and horticultural crops. This is an excellent opportunity to find out which products are the most likely to control your toughest weed problems. When: Thursday, July 15th, 2004, from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. Corn and soybean tours will be held in the morning and horticultural crop tours will be held in the afternoon. Where: MSU Botany Field Lab, MSU Campus (College Road, north of Jolly Road) Cost: $25.00 per person, includes lunch and tour book Registration: You must pre-register by Friday, July 19th, 2004 to get lunch and a tour books. Late registrations and onsite registrations may not receive a tour book and will have to purchase lunch tickets if available. Call your local MSU Extension office to obtain additional information and to register for this excellent program. MSU Crop Management & Field Diagnostic School When: Friday, July 23rd, 2004, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Where: Plant Pathology Research Center, MSU Campus (College Road, north of Jolly Road) Cost: $125.00 per person, includes lunch, handouts and other educational materials. Registration: This program is open to the first 125 participants that register. Call your local MSU Extension office for additional information and to register for this program. |
