CMEG Crop Management Extension Group

Field Crop News

Website Address: http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/

April 11, 2007    Vol. 07:06

IN THIS ISSUE:

Weather Outlook — Paul Knight

The bitter chill will steadily moderate, but there are no signs of a warm spell in the next 10 days. A complex storm will approach the region with thickening clouds on Wednesday and periods of cold rain that should start as snow or sleet in the mountains later in the day. Sections of northern Pennsylvania (especially the northern mountains) could receive a few inches of snow on Wednesday night into early Thursday. Chilly, dull conditions will persist into Thursday with some leftover showers of rain or snow in the northwest. Some sunshine and milder air (though still not quite seasonal) are expected o n Friday. A push of very mild, moist air on Saturday will be tempered by onshore winds in eastern Pennsylvania (mainly 40’s), but western sections may reach near 70F. Another rainy period is likely late Saturday into Sunday and this will be followed by blustery, chilly weather on Monday and Tuesday, though it will not be as cold as this past weekend. Expect mean temperatures to average 4–8 degrees below normal for the next week and precipitation to average above normal (greater than 1” at most places).

Know the Record Keeping Rules if You’re Selling or Transporting Hay — Marvin Hall, PSU Forage Specialist

As of last summer, if you sell or transport hay off your farm you might be required to keep records of what, where and when.

  1. What was sold or transported. (type of hay and how much)
  2. Where it went (address of farm)
  3. When it was delivered.

This was a mandate of the Food and Drug Administration in response to perceived bioterrorism threats and the needs to track any disease outbreak to its origin. See http://spectre.nmsu.edu/dept/docs/clov/Update%20on%20Hay%20Transportation%20Regulations.pdf for more information on this rule and details of what records need to be kept.

Soybean Rust Update — Greg Roth, PSU Grain Crop Specialist

Soybean rust monitoring has been continuing through the winter. The soybean rust public website http://www.sbrusa.net/ is running and will be providing continuous updates throughout the season. Rust was found in nine counties in Florida and five counties each in Georgia, and Alabama but many areas suffered a hard freeze in February that defoliated Kudzu and in some of these areas the rust is no longer found. This week another hard frost occurred that may have reduced the soybean rust even farther in northern Florida, so this could have a significant impact on the build—up and spread of the disease this spring.

We will continue to monitor for soybean rust this year in Pennsylvania. Dr. Scott Isard in the Department of Plant Pathology and I have coordinated another sentinel plot monitoring program this year in conjunction with extension educators in ten counties. Each plot will be scouted weekly during the reproductive stages of growth. On five of the plots we will also be monitoring for soybean aphids. On two of the plots we will be doing some monitoring for soybean viruses, bean pod mottle virus and soybean mosaic virus. I plan to be providing some updates in the Field Crop News from this program as the information becomes available.

Natural Gas Leasing — Tom Murphy, Extension Educator, Lycoming County

There has been a lot of interest in the potential for natural gas exploration in several regions of PA and southern NY due to some promising discoveries the past two years. Much of this has been made possible with advances in new drilling technologies and the increasing demand for the resource which has increased its price. Because of this, there are now many energy companies and others who are operating in PA with the intention of leasing large areas of land for the purpose of potential exploration and drilling at some future time. Leases are normally desired with larger landowners first, but landholdings of many sizes will be approached. This can present a potential financial windfall for landowners that sign a lease with a good bonus and delayed rental payments, favorable leasing terms, and potential royalty payments if drilling is done and found in commercial quantities.

There are however several possible pitfalls that landowners should be aware of when considering whether or not to sign a lease. Price offered by the company asking you to lease is one of them. Lease rates often will be very low in an area when the first offers are made by companies. You never should feel compelled to sign when first approached. Talk with neighbors and others to find out what is being offered. Lease rates in the northern tier of PA have ranged from $50 to $125 per acre for a five year lease, with some running higher and some lower. Those amounts would be total payment either spread over the five year term of the lease or paid up front in one lump sum. And know what you’re signing in the lease. It is a lot of fine print with many terms you have not likely heard before. Seek some legal advice with expertise in this field of law. There are several attorneys in the area specializing in this issue. And know that you can negotiate many of the terms in the “standard” lease you will be presented, to make it more favorable to you the landowner. Never forget it is your land and if there is gas under it, that belongs to you as well. You need to partner with a company to explore for it but it should be on terms that favor both parties.

An excellent publication on Natural Gas Leasing and Exploration on Private Lands can be found at http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/chemung/natural-gas.htm. There is now a interactive website in PA where additional information can be found and you can post questions and comments. Please go to www.naturalgaslease.pbwiki.com. And lastly, contact your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office for programs offered in your area on this and related topics.

Determining Pasture Yield — Marvin Hall, PSU Forage Specialist

A new publication from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences addresses how to determine yield in pastures. This is available at your local county extension office or directly from Penn State by calling (814-865-6713). In addition, it is available on the web at http://www.forages.psu.edu/topics/pastures/yield/index.html.

Optimizing Gramoxone and Glyphosate Burndown — Bill Curran, PSU Weed Specialist

Small grain herbicides and nitrogen fertilizer carriers — Dwight Lingenfelter, Extension Agronomist, Weed Science

Harmony Extra or Harmony GT can be applied with nitrogen fertilizer solutions. If using nitrogen as your carrier, no need for a surfactant unless wild garlic is over 8 inches tall. If liquid nitrogen is diluted with water and less than 50% of the spray mix, then include a non—ionic surfactant at ½ to 1 pint/100 gallons of solution. If applying it in water use non—ionic surfactant at 1 qt/100 gallons. Tank—mixing Harmony Extra with Banvel or Buctril may result in reduced control of certain broadleaves. For 2,4–D, mixing with N—solution varies with the formulation. The ester formulation (2,4–D LV ester) can be mixed directly with nitrogen, but labels recommend good agitation. Amine formulation of 2,4–D (2,4–D amine) should be mixed with 3 to 5 parts of water before adding it to the nitrogen solution. The Buctril label cautions about potential leaf burn when mixed with liquid fertilizer, but leaves emerging after application are not affected. For MCPA, it varies some with the manufacturer. The ester formulation should not be applied with liquid nitrogen. The amine formulation varies, ranging from no mention of liquid nitrogen to application is allowed. Osprey restricts applications to no less than 2 weeks of a nitrogen application. Maverick cautions about possible leaf burn and reduced growth and states that weed control is more consistent when applied with water as the carrier. Keep in mind, that delaying your herbicide application until the late application of nitrogen is applied will result in reduced weed control. Waiting means the weeds and small grains will be larger; both reducing the efficacy of the herbicide. Also, results of a study conducted at Ohio State Univ. indicate that wheat should tolerate application of herbicide in 28% UAN well into April, as long as the restrictions on herbicide labels relative to wheat growth stage are followed. For more details about this study see this website, http://corn.osu.edu/index.php?setissueID=172#I. (This article was adapted from information compiled by Mark VanGessel, Univ. Delaware and Mark Loux, Ohio State Univ.)

Corn Populations: Pennsylvania Style — Greg Roth, PSU Grain Crop Specialist

Recently my colleague Emerson Nafzinger at the University of Illinois summarized his work with corn plant populations and recommendations in Illinois. His observations confirm some of my observations and data here as well with a few caveats, http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/bulletin/article.php?id=660.

On top yielding soils under good conditions, raising corn populations from 30 to 35 thousand per acre improved yields by 6.5 bushels per acre in Illinois. On these fields, a final stand of 35,000 plants was most profitable. We have a few exceptional soils in Pennsylvania in this category, and these should respond similarly. Some of these are river bottom soils, however, and have significant foliar disease pressure where lodging could be a problem. For these, I might be cautious about striving for populations over 30,000.

Emerson concludes a population of 30,000 plants is probably on target for many Illinois producers, as the increase in yield above this is often limited where there is the possibility of less than ideal conditions. On our good soils in Pennsylvania, with 175 to 200 bushel per acre yield potential, this 30,000 plant population target seems reasonable as well and growers seem to be adopting these.

On less productive soils in Illinois, (i.e. average Pennsylvania soils), populations of 25,000 to 30,000 have been best. These results are what I would expect on our soils that typically yield in the 125 to 175 bushel/acre range.

In dry seasons, or droughty soils with yields in the 100–125 bushel range, yield responses to increased plant populations above 20,000 were relatively flat in the Illinois study. Modern hybrids appeared to tolerate populations to 30,000 under stress with no yield reduction. My observations would support these observations, even in some of our withering Pennsylvania droughts. For most situations, a plant population of 23,000 to 25,000 might be most appropriate, providing some potential for improved yields when all goes right and also some insurance against factors than might reduce stands.

Emerson concludes that crop rotation and planting date probably don’t influence optimum plant populations very much. I’d agree, except in some of our no—till corn on corn environments, I might be inclined to drop my populations by 5 to 10 % to reduce the risk of late season lodging if gray leaf spot has been an issue or if a later harvest is anticipated.

For silage, the old rule of thumb of plant populations that are 2000–4000 plants per acre higher than for grain still seems to apply rather well. Often, in our research, economic optimum plant populations on our good soils are in the 32000 to 35000 range, but are progressively lower in more stressful soils or years.

These recommendations can vary depending on the hybrid and some site specific factors, like disease pressure, but should be a good starting point for discussions with your crop advisor.

The Silent Thief — Sjoerd Duiker, PSU Soil Management Specialist

With the spring upon us we all get anxious to get our field work done and get crops planted. Manure needs to get spread, and some want to get the fields tilled. Crops such as oats and alfalfa are ready to get planted soon. However, the soil is wet from snow melt, and frequent spring rains and low evaporation cause soil to stay wet for a while. These conditions make soil sensitive to compaction, the silent thief of crop yield. Plowing when the soil is wet compacts the soil just below the tillage tool. Clay particles are like plates and are lined up all in one direction when the soil is tilled wet, which shows up by the shiny surfaces on tilled surfaces. This is the arrangement in which the clay platelets pack most densely. Tilling soil repeatedly when it is too wet causes the formation of a tillage pan over the years. And while tillage may erase ruts, it does not completely rid the soil from compaction effects of heavy traffic. Yield reductions after severe compaction can be high, but are more typically in the 5–10% range, even if soil is tilled after the compaction event. It also takes more power to till a compacted soil whereas more tillage passes are generally needed to get a soil fit for planting, leading to increased costs of crop production. All this leads to a vicious downward cycle of soil degradation as soil is pulverized and soil structure is destroyed. No—till farmers need to be very careful about compaction as well because there is no opportunity to remove its effects. So what can you do to minimize compaction?

To understand compaction one needs to understand the principles determining its causes. First, we have to think of the soil condition. Soil is most compactable when it is in the plastic state. This is when a soil can be molded in different shapes, and can easily be determined by grabbing a handful of soil, kneading it into a ball. If the ball sticks together, the soil is in the plastic state or wetter. In the liquid state, soil acts as a fluid, or, in plain Pennsylvanian, ’mud’. Though a soil cannot be packed to the highest density in the liquid state because soil pores are filled with water, soil structure is destroyed when soil is trafficked at this moisture content and ruts are created. The bottom line: stay off the fields when the soil is in the plastic state or wetter. Soil needs to be drier than the plastic state to be suitable for tillage. Long—term management to increase soil organic matter content makes soil more resistant to compaction, whereas living crop roots make soil resist compaction more as well. Increasing biological activity in soil also helps alleviate the effects of soil compaction by creating new pores. Second, we need to think of the vehicles and tools causing compaction. Axle load causes subsoil compaction, but contact pressure causes surface compaction. Axle loads greater than 10 tons are likely to cause subsoil compaction when the soil is moist. Adding axles or reducing the load reduces axle load. Surface contact pressures greater than 35 psi can cause significant surface compaction. The inflation pressure approximates contact pressure in farm tires. The use of flotation tires or doubles can help reduce surface compaction as long as the tire inflation pressure is reduced. Tracks help to spread the load and reduce surface contact pressure, but spikes of high pressure can still occur under the rollers sustaining the tracks. By the way, running tires at their proper inflation pressure also reduces slippage, improves field efficiency, and can improve tractor power 10–20%. Respecting your soil conditions and doing what you can to avoid soil compaction can keep the silent thief of crop yields away.

Upcoming Events

During this cover crop management field day, you will have an opportunity to see and hear about the latest cover crop research at Penn State as well as observe first hand some of the tools and practices being tested. Topics will include choosing cover crops based on farming goals, how to grow or capture nutrients and the importance of carbon and nitrogen, improving soil quality, controlling cover crops including using rollers/crimpers and how cover crops can help control weeds.

This tour will be given by a distinguished group of Penn State researchers from across the college who have cutting edge projects underway focused on cover crops. In addition, Rodale Institute staff will be on hand to share their management experience in organic farming systems. Certified Crop Advisor CEU’s will be available at this event.

You must pre register with Lisa Crytser at Penn State to ensure you have a spot at lunch and on the wagons. Please pre—register by May 30, 2007 by phone (814–865–2543) or email lac8@psu.edu.

For more information check out http://www.afgc.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=42837’orgId=afgc

A number of experiments will be showcased and available for viewing including many of the new corn and soybean herbicide programs plus the latest information on herbicide resistance, cover cropping and weed management research. Certified Crop Advisor CEU’s will be available at this event.

You must pre register with Lisa Crytser at Penn State to ensure you have a spot at lunch and on the wagons. Please pre—register by July 3, 2007 by phone (814–865–2543) or email lac8@psu.edu.

The dates and topics for our annual Diagnostic Clinic have been set. As in the past, the Clinic is a one—day event conducted at the Penn State Agronomy Research Farm near Rock Springs, PA. This year’s Clinic will be held on Tuesday, July 24 and then repeated on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. The topics include cover crop selection and management, no—till planter adjustments and attachments for use in cover crops, an overview of biomass crops for alternative energy use, nitrogen management issues, and pest management topics. As always, various credits will be offered.

Registration forms will be mailed and posted on our CMEG website http://cmeg.psu.edu/ as time gets closer, so you can register and get additional information on each of the topics.

For additional information or comments about the Diagnostic Clinic contact Dwight Lingenfelter at (814) 865–2242 or by email, DwightL@psu.edu.

Contributors: Dept. Crop & Soil Science: Bill Curran, Marvin Hall, Greg Roth, Sjoerd Duiker, Dwight Lingenfelter, Ron Hoover, Jeff McClellan, Paul Knight. Extension Educators: Mena Hautau (Berks), Kevin Fry (Armstrong), Andrew Frankenfield (Montgomery), John Rowehl (Cumberland), Tom Murphy (Lycoming), Dave Messersmith (Wayne)

Editor:Dave Messersmith (Wayne County)

Upcoming Events

Real time pest and heat unit activity: http://psu.zedxinc.com/cgi-bin/site.cgi?location=2&user=psu#

Calendar of Events: http://www.events.psu.edu/cgi-bin/cal/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal209&

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