Website Address: http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/
Vol. 96:11 September 20, 1996
This years ag service schools will address a number of timely topics including: new developments/technologies in crop production; crop disease management; poisonous plants; accessing agronomic documents on the world wide web, and important changes in the new Agronomy Guide. More detailed information will be available in the next newsletter.
Bill Curran
Plans are nearly complete for the 1997 Corn and Soybean Conference slated to be held on February 7, 1997 at the Holiday Inn at Grantville, just north of Harrisburg on I-81. This years program promises to be a good one and will feature Dave Cruse, an entertaining ag broadcaster from Iowa who will provide us with his forecast for the 1997 corn and soybean markets. The program will also feature a recap of the growing season for corn and soybeans by agronomist Mike Brubaker, president of Brubaker Agronomic Consulting Service. Dr Jim Beierlein from Penn State's Ag Economics and Rural Sociology Department will take a look to the future in another presentation and ask producers if they are ready for managing farms in the 21st century. Other topics on the program include the performance of Bt corn hybrids this year, a report on the activities of the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, a review of some of the new uses of soybeans, and an update on some of the added value soybean varieties that are being developed.
The conference will also include ag industry exhibitors, 5 Acre Corn Club and Soybean Yield Contest awards, and reports from the Pennsylvania Master Corn Growers and the Pennsylvania Soybean Board. More information on registration will be available soon. Mark your calendars and plan to attend.
Greg Roth
Another corn harvest season is upon us and it is time to plan accordingly. This year we have a good crop and reasonable prices so it will be particularly important to do a careful job harvesting to capture the yield and preserve the quality of the crop that we have in the field. A number of issues will be important to consider in harvesting this years crop.
For many farms, this years crop will be large so plans should be made now for storing and marketing the crop. Hopefully, most producers have considered this before now and have plans in place. Field scouting should also be completed now and those fields with potential standability problems should be harvested first. During the last two weeks, I visited a number of fields that had gray leaf spot that could contribute to poor standability. To assess standability, squeeze the stalk to check the stalk integrity. Fields with stalks that crush easily will likely have the most standability problems.
Another problem to scout for is ear molds. In a few fields, bird damage and wet weather have contributed to sporadic ear mold problems. Planning to harvest these fields early, preferably for shelled corn and removing the fines and cobs will help to reduce the potential for mold problems in feed.
Crop maturity is a key situation to monitor this fall. Some fields that were planted late will be at risk to mature before frost. Grain development should be monitored and if the crop will not reach the dent stage by frost, then a silage or high moisture ear corn harvest option should be considered because of the potential for low test weights and slow dry down. High moisture earlage is a good option for immature corn since the cobs will contribute to the yield and at higher moisture contents are digested well by ruminants. The exception to this would be when the cob and grains show signs of mold. Then, harvesting as high moisture shelled corn has been shown to reduce potential mold and mycotoxin contamination.
Monitoring crop moisture is essential to maintain the quality of the high moisture corn or ear corn in storage. Common mistakes are for high moisture corn to be harvested too dry and ear corn to be harvested too wet. In general, high moisture shelled corn should be greater than 26% moisture except in sealed silos, where it should be greater than 22% for adequate storage. Ear corn should preferably be at 21% grain moisture or less, but can be stored slightly wetter if stored in narrow bins or bins with air drying capability.
When storing high moisture corn remember to fill fast, pack well and seal well. Avoid leaving loads out overnight or, worse, making piles of wet corn that will not be ensiled quickly. Slow filling can cause the crop to heat before the ensiling process starts. Heating reduces the quality of the feed and allows yeasts and molds to proliferate. This causes layers in the silo that will be lower quality and will spoil more readily during feedout. Warm temperatures during silo filling will make wet corn heat and spoil more quickly.
While harvesting, also note harvest losses. The rule of thumb for harvest losses is that 20 kernels in a ten square foot area represents 1 bushel per acre. Ear corn losses can be estimated by counting the dropped ears in a 1/100th acre row length (two 30 inch rows 87 feet long). Each full size ear in this sample area represents one bushel per acre.
Greg Roth
Recently a plant sample was submitted to us by Doug Messersmith with the West Branch chapter of the PA Crop Management Association. It was identified as tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum). This weed is a serious problem in pastures and other crop areas and wastelands in the southeastern part of the US (especially Florida). Tropical soda apple is in the nightshade family and resembles a large horsenettle or jimsonweed plant. It is an ominous-looking weed, growing about 3 to 6 feet tall, with large thorns on its stems and leaves. The broad, hairy, leaves have a prominent white mid-rib and veins throughout. Immature fruits are green with white mottling, which resembles a miniature watermellon about the size of a ping-pong ball. As the fruit matures, it turns yellowish. Livestock generally won't eat the vegetation, however, they may consume the mature fruits providing a means of seed dispersal through the manure. If this weed spreads and is not controlled, pasture production will decline.
The spread of weeds is common from one region to another and can be accomplished by numerous means. We feel this weed was brought into the state by transporting livestock from the south. Presently, we are unsure if this is an isolated incident or if there are more cases throughout the state or region. Since most of the tropical soda apple is adapted to southern climates, it is unknown if this weed will become a problem in the northern regions. Be on the lookout for this or other new weeds being introduced into the area. If you think you spot a new weed species, report it to your local extension agent so additional measures can be taken.
Dwight Lingenfelter
There may still be the need to desiccate weeds prior to harvesting corn or soybeans. In particular, since Roundup is now labeled for use as a harvest aid in soybeans, fall control of some perennial weed species is possible.
CORN. Certain formulations of 2,4-D are registered for pre-harvest use in corn. Check the 2,4-D label for specific use. Corn must be in the hard dough to dent stage and weeds must still be alive. Several growers have attempted to use this treatment for burcucumber control prior to a hard frost. Although this treatment is less than ideal for burcucumber, it may quicken the dry down of the vines aiding in the combining process. Application may be made by high clearance equipment, by aerial application, or by hand. The rate range is 1 to 2.5 pints per acre depending on formulation and manufacturer. Do not forage or feed fodder for 7 days after treatment.
Sodium chlorate, a quick acting desiccant used widely in cotton, has a federal label as a harvest aid in both corn and soybeans. Riverside/Terra Corporation as well as several other companies sells at least two different formulations of sodium chlorate. I do not believe sodium chlorate is currently registered in Pennsylvania or in neighboring northeastern states for use in corn and soybeans. However, Terra Corporation has applied for this registration which is currently pending approval. Check with your local dealer/distributor for more information about sodium chlorate use and availability.
SOYBEANS. Gramoxone Extra may be used for drying weeds just before harvest in soybeans. Unfortunately, Gramoxone still won't desiccate black nightshade berries, but preliminary research showed that it will quicken berry drop improving grain quality. We are repeating this research again this fall and will have additional information available for next year. For indeterminate soybean varieties, plants must be mature (65% of the seed pods have reached a mature brown color or seed moisture is 30 percent or less). The rate is 12.8 ounces of Gramoxone Extra per acre and 1 quart of nonionic surfactant per 100 gallons of spray should be added. Do not pasture livestock within 15 days of treatment and remove livestock from treated fields at least 30 days before slaughter.
Roundup may be used prior to soybean harvest. As I said before, this may be a good opportunity to attempt control of perennials such as quackgrass or Canada thistle. For perennial control, be sure that the plants have healthy green leaves at application time. Some hemp dogbane that I recently observed in a soybean field had few green leaves present probably because of recent rainfall, disease pressure, and insect feeding. Apply Roundup to soybeans after pods have set and lost all green color. Allow a minimum of 7 days between application and harvest. Do not graze or harvest the treated crop for livestock feed within 25 days of application. The application rate is similar to other Roundup uses ranging from 1 to 3 quarts per acre.
The weed garden at the Agronomy Farm near Rock Springs was recently renovated and enlarged and a new weed garden was established at the Southeastern Field Research and Extension Center near Landisville. The Rock Springs garden is host to about 100 plant species, while the Landisville location has about 50 weed species. Both the Rock Springs and Landisville gardens are arranged by plant family with easy to read signs by each plant. The design of the gardens allows easy self guided tours, so please feel free to visit them at your leisure. For more information about the weed gardens, contact Bill Curran at University Park or John Yocum at the Southeastern Field Research and Extension Center.
A cover crop nursery was established last spring at the Agronomy Farm near Rock Springs. The nursery contains 25 different cover crops including some common winter annuals, summer annuals, and perennials. In addition, the nursery includes some less common species such as Hungarian vetch that could prove to be effective cover crops down the road. The nursery includes identification signs by each species and is open for viewing at your convenience. For more information about the cover crop nursery contact Bill Curran.
Bill Curran
William S. Curran
Associate Professor Weed Science
email: wsc2@psu.edu
Website Address: http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/