Agriculture
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| Volume 3 Issue 1 April 2006 An MSU Extension Newsletter serving agriculture in the Tri-County Area | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bringing Knowledge to Life
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| INSIDE THIS
ISSUE-CLICK ON TITLE Are You Ready for the USDA Conservation Security Program Conservation Reserve Program General Sign-Up 33 Considerations for Early-Planted Soybeans Considerations for Early-Planted Corn Berrien County Field Crops Hotline Planting Strategies for Bt Rootworm Corn Refuge Areas 2006 CAT Alerts Available Online Corn Planter Maintenance Weed Control in Wheat Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Strategies Herbicide Resistance in Michigan Pop-up Fertilizer Precautions Soybean Rust Update Fine-tuning Your Corn Rootworm Control Strategies Reducing Thefts of Anhydrous Ammonia Coping With High Diesel Prices |
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| Dear Agricultural
Producer: Welcome to the first issue of the 2006 “Between the Rows” agricultural newsletter for farmers in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties. Our goal in producing this newsletter is to provide you with timely information that will benefit your business. This issue contains information regarding planting season topics and important USDA programs. Sincerely,
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| Are You Ready for the USDA
Conservation Security Program? The UDSA Conservation Security Program (CSP) is an important program that all eligible farmers should learn about. The program supports ongoing stewardship of agricultural lands by providing financial assistance to producers for maintaining and enhancing natural resources. CSP rewards the best conservationists and motivates the rest with financial and technical assistance. There is a possibility that the program could be available in the St. Joseph River Watershed in 2007. This may or may not happen. If it does, you will want to be one of the producers that is rewarded for past conservation efforts. A self-assessment worksheet is available online at www.nrcs.usda.gov. The worksheet lets you know if you qualify or what you need to do to become qualified for the program. You will need to compile and organize documentation of all nutrient management, pesticide management and soil and water conservation practices you implemented for two of the three previous years from the time CSP becomes available. This information will be used by USDA-NRCS staff to determine your eligibility and level of participation during a CSP interview. Please contact your local USDA-NRCS office or your local MSU Extension office to learn more about this beneficial program. Conservation Reserve Program General Sign-up 33 The UDSA-FSA is holding a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up until April 14th, 2006. The program encourages farmers to plant long-term resource conserving covers to improve soil, water and wildlife resources. Cost share assistance is available to establish the covers and the contract duration is between 10 and 15 years. To be eligible for the program, cropland must have been planted to a commodity crop in four of the six previous years from 1996 to 2001. In addition, the cropland must meet one of the following criteria: have a weighted average erosion index of 8 or higher, be an expiring CRP acreage or be located in a national or state CRP conservation priority area. In return for establishing long-term, resource-conserving covers, FSA provides annual rental payments to participants. Rental payments are based on the relative productivity of the soil and the average dry land cash rental rates. Please contact your local USDA-FSA office for more information. Considerations for Early-Planted Soybeans There is a trend toward planting soybeans early. This article summarizes the risks and benefits of early planting. Specific management practices for early-planted soybeans are also provided. One of the biggest advantages of early planting is that it provides a longer planting window for attaining maximum yields. Data from the University of Wisconsin and the Ohio State University indicate that beans planted on May 1 will yield about seven bushels per acre higher than beans planted during the last week of May. Beans planted during the last week of April have produced slightly higher yields than those planted on May 1. University agronomists have also found that the newer soybean varieties are more tolerant of adverse, early-season conditions than older varieties. The primary risk of early-planting is that the beans will be damaged by freezing temperatures. This risk is mitigated to some degree by the fact that germination is delayed under cooler soil temperatures. Soybean tissue is also more resistant to freezing temperatures than corn tissue. Typically temperatures must reach 28 degrees F for damage to occur. There is also risk that soil-borne diseases may damage soybean seed planted into cool soils. Sudden death syndrome and bean leaf beetles are also more likely to attack early-planted beans. If you decide to plant soybeans in the last week of April, you should consider the following recommendations.
Considerations for Early Planted Corn There is a trend toward planting corn early. This article summarizes the risks and benefits of early planting. Specific management practices when planting corn early are also provided. Corn seed requires about 100 growing degree days to germinate and emerge regardless of the planting date. Corn planted in mid-April may take 25 days to emerge whereas corn planted in late May will emerge in 5 to 7 days. The benefits of early planting include a longer planting window for obtaining optimum yields, higher overall yields, higher test weights, lower drying costs in the fall, and reduced lodging. Research conducted by the University of Minnesota shows that corn planted in April produces the highest yields. This remains true even if populations are reduced and the stands germinate unevenly. The risks of early planting are that the crop may be damaged by a late spring frost and replanting may be required. The risk is minimized as cool soil temperatures delay germination and emergence. Soil temperatures must reach 28 degrees F to damage the growing points on small seedlings or plants that have not yet emerged. If you plan to plant corn early, consider these recommendations.
Berrien County Field Crops Hotline The Berrien County field crops hotline will be activated on Monday, April 10, 2006. This recorded message will be updated each week with timely crop and pest management information. You can access the hotline by calling (269) 944-4126 extension 4004. We are also available to help you solve any crop or pest management problems you encounter this season. Planting Strategies for Bt Rootworm Corn Refuge Areas Farmers planting Bt rootworm corn (YieldGuard Rootworm and Herculex RW) in 2006 are required to plant a refuge area within each field or in an adjacent field. The refuge area should be planted to non-Bt corn and cover at least 20% of the acreage in the field. The purpose of the refuge area is to prevent or significantly delay rootworm resistance to Bt. Some rootworm larvae will survive after feeding on the roots of Bt rootworm corn. The best way to keep the population of these resistant rootworm beetles low is to increase the odds that resistant beetles will mate with susceptible beetles. The refuge area is important as it ensures that a large population of susceptible beetles will be present to mate with the few resistant beetles in each field. Research conducted at Purdue University indicates that a refuge area created by splitting the planter supplies twice as many susceptible beetles as a refuge planted as a single block. The refuge strips must be at least 6 rows wide. If you operate a 12 row planter, you can achieve a 25% refuge by simply dedicating the last three planter units on one end of the planter to non-Bt corn. If you operate a six row planter you can achieve a 25% refuge by dedicating half of the planter to non-Bt corn and strip-plant half of the field. The non-Bt hybrid planted in the refuge area must have a similar relative maturity rating as the Bt hybrid. The refuge area should be planted at the same time and managed in the same manner as the Bt field or area. Matching the hybrid maturity and the planting date will ensure that the corn rootworm larvae in the field and the refuge area will develop at the same rates and emerge as adults at the same time. If an adjacent field is used for the refuge, it must be owned or managed by the same grower. A ditch or road can separate the refuge area from the Bt field. Always protect the non-Bt corn in the refuge area with treated seed or soil insecticides at planting. 2006 CAT Alerts Available Online Timely crop and pest recommendations for filed crops, vegetables, fruit and landscape plants are provided in the MSU Crop Advisory Team (CAT) Alerts. The 2006 CAT Alerts are available online at www.ipm.msu.edu. Dr. Bob Nielsen, Purdue Corn Agronomist, recommends the following general guidelines for pre-season planter maintenance and adjustments.
Herbicides are applied to about half the wheat acres in Michigan to control annual and perennial weeds such as chickweed, purple deadnettle, mustard species, Canada thistle and wild garlic. Growers must be careful to avoid crop injury when applying herbicides in wheat. One of the most common examples of herbicide injury involves the use of phenoxy herbicides such as 2,4-D, MCPA and Dicamba. These herbicides can cause severe crop injury and yield loss when applied before tillering or after the first node is detectable on the stem. The easiest way to find the first node is to pinch the base of the stem and slide your fingers up the stem. The first node will feel like a hard bump about one inch above the soil. Do not apply any of the phenoxy herbicides after you detect the first node. Wild onion and wild garlic are two problem weeds in wheat. They aren’t very competitive to the wheat. However, they cause dockage or even rejection at delivery if the bulbs are present in the wheat. Control measures for onion and garlic differ so it is important to be able to tell them apart. The leaves of garlic are hollow and round whereas the leaves of onion are flattened and not hollow. Harmony Extra is effective on wild garlic and provides only fair control of wild onion. Purdue University weed scientists recommend 2,4-D for controlling wild onion. Do not reduce the application rates when attempting to control garlic and onion. Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Strategies Understand what happens to the nitrogen
fertilizer you apply. Select your nitrogen fertilizers and understand their management requirements. Identify the most economical nitrogen application rate Table 1. Corn: Nitrogen Price Ratio
Table 2. The most profitable nitrogen rate (lbs N/acre) at various yield goals
and corn to nitrogen price ratios.
Adjust the nitrogen application rate for all possible nitrogen credits. Table 3. Economic returns from pre-sidedress nitrate testing
Apply nitrogen fertilizers at the optimum time Table 4. Probabilities of realizing an economic return from nitrification inhibitors
Herbicide Resistance in Michigan By: Dan Rajzer, Cass Co. CED I recently had an opportunity to send a grower’s sample of velvetleaf seed to the MSU’s Diagnostic Services lab for herbicide screening. We were concerned that there may be glyphosate resistance developing in the area because the plants didn’t respond to the summer’s spray program as we had hoped. Fortunately we did not find true resistance, (standard herbicide application rate yielded only 70% control) but like other weeds in the area (i.e. common lambsquarter) we did find that velvetleaf will vary in tolerance to the standard application rate and often requires more than this for good control. Herbicide resistance will continue to play an important role in our weed management
plans. In Michigan we have nine weed species that show resistance to triazine herbicides,
six that are resistant to ALS inhibitors and one resistant to 2,4-D. One of the weeds that
we are watching closely is Marestail or horseweed because of its resistance to glyphosate.
In 2002 horseweed was identified as showing glyphosate resistance in two counties in the
Northcentral Region, one in southeast Indiana and one in southwest Ohio. By 2004 it had
spread to east central Indiana and west central Ohio, approximately 75 miles from the
Michigan border. All known cases of glyphosate resistance had common management practices
such as frequent use of glyphosate, little or no use of alternative herbicides, and
long-term no tillage practices. Why are we concerned with this weed? Because of the widespread use of glyphosate in field crops and its expanding adaptation to additional crops, horseweed may be an early indication of potential problems. Currently, horseweed glyphosate resistance can be found in twelve states. There are fewer active ingredients being introduced into the market place than in the past, increasing our dependence on current technology. Also, horseweed is one of the first weeds to show multiple resistance; resistance to herbicides with differing modes of action such as ALS inhibitors, photosynthesis inhibitors (triazines), and EPSPS inhibitors (glyphosate). This could severely limit our options for weed control if we are unable to rotate herbicides. Michigan will continue to monitor the spread of resistant horseweed and is interested in hearing of any fields where you may suspect a problem. The spread of this weed suggest that southern Michigan may be vulnerable in the near future. If you have a potential problem, please contact your local MSU Extension office so seed samples can be collected for testing. There are several management practices that can be implemented to minimize the spread of resistance weeds. Some of these include; rotate herbicides with different mode of actions; apply herbicide mixtures; scout fields for weed escapes; rotate crops; combine chemical and mechanical control; and clean equipment to prevent seed spread. Some corn growers are interested in placing their fertilizer closer to the seed than the traditional 2 x 2 placement. If you plan to place your starter fertilizer near the seed you should consider the following information. Fertilizer placed in direct contact with the seed has the potential to reduce germination. This is especially true when planting into dry soil. As a general rule, never apply more than 5 pounds of N plus K2O on soils having cation exchange capacities (CECs) of 5 meq/100g or less and no more than 8 pounds of N plus K2O on soils having CECs of 8 meq/100g or more. Urea, ammonium thiosulfate and boron should not be applied in direct contact with the seed as they are known to adversely affect germination. 2005 Research conducted by Dr. George Rehm at the University of Minnesota shows that zinc placed in contact with the seed can also reduce emergence in sandy soils. Here’s what we know as of March 28, 2006. During the winter months, scouting for soybean rust has focused primarily on kudzu plants in the gulf states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Rust spores were able to over-winter on this host plant and can act as a reservoir for future inoculations. Florida appears to have the most sites with a positive find at eleven sites, followed by Alabama with five and Georgia with four. Texas had one positive find on kudzu but has been destroyed with no further positive finds. Reports from Alabama indicate that the kudzu has broken dormancy in the southern part of the state but there was no infection of the new growth. The sentinel plots in the southern states include both kudzu and soybeans and are scouted on a routine basis. Sentinel plots were planted in the southern tip of Texas on March 9th. and there is no indication of rust infection. Soybean planting was expected to start in the southern part of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia this week (March 27th) and progress northward as the weather permits. The area of Texas and Louisiana hold the greatest potential for spreading the rust spores to the north central states of Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin based on the movement of southern air currents and the prevailing westerly winds in our area. Weather fronts moving through Alabama, Georgia and Florida typically turn easterly before they reach this far north, however with the hurricane season approaching almost anything can happen. Michigan will have twenty sentinel plot located throughout the state this summer to aid in the early detection of rust in our area. Fine-tuning Your Corn Rootworm Control Strategies There are a variety of options for controlling corn rootworms in 2006, ranging from soil-applied insecticides, to seed treatments, to transgenic corn, each with benefits and limitations. Since you have all your seed ordered by now, you probably have selected your rootworm control strategy for 2006. The purpose of this article is to help you fine-tune your strategy or strategies. If you ordered treated seed or plan to use soil-applied insecticides, you should be aware of their limitations. These products can move off target under wet conditions or fail to move enough to provide adequate root protection under dry conditions. They may also break down before rootworm hatch is complete leaving roots susceptible to damage. This is especially true when planting corn in April. Transgenic corn hybrids are continually producing the Bt toxin so the limitations listed above are not a problem. If you plan to plant corn in April and you need rootworm control, you should consider planting transgenic hybrids. The reliability of seed treatments and soil-applied insecticides improves when corn is planted in May. No matter what rootworm control strategy you implement, you should evaluate the results during the season by digging up some plants, washing off the roots and rating the root pruning. This will help you improve your rootworm management decisions for 2007. Reducing Thefts of Anhydrous Ammonia By following the suggestions below, you may be able to help reduce the theft of anhydrous ammonia from your farm or farm supply outlet. You may also reduce your liability should a thief be injured or cause an anhydrous ammonia accident.
Coping With High Diesel Prices Diesel fuel prices have increased more than 60% over the past year and no immediate relief is in sight. Agricultural economists and engineers at the University of Tennessee offer the following ideas to help farmers cope with high diesel prices:
The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by MSU Extension is implied.
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