CMEG Crop Management Extension Group

Field Crop News

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

May 1, 2007    Vol. 07:09

IN THIS ISSUE:

A) Weather Outlook — Paul Knight, Pennsylvania State Climatologist

Except for one more round of showers and a few embedded potent thunderstorms, much of the next 7 days will be dry with plenty of sunshine and after a few cooler days late this week, a strong warming trend will be noticeable early next week. A cold front pushing through the region during the first half of Wednesday will be accompanied by rainfall of 0.10 to 0.40 inches (which may be the total for the next week). A disturbance along the front will approach southern Pennsylvania on Thursday with clouds and perhaps a shower in the southwest counties. Otherwise, sunshine with cool to chilly mornings and milder afternoons will be the rule from Friday through Sunday. There will be some freezing conditions in the deeper valleys of northern and central Pennsylvania on either Friday and/or Saturday mornings. A cool front on Monday will cause duller skies and a scattering of showers, but most sections of eastern Pennsylvania will miss the rain. A period of very warm and somewhat humid weather is expected about the middle of next week.

Soil Applied Herbicides and Rainfall — Bill Curran, PSU Weed Specialist

Now that corn planters and sprayers are off and running and the 7 to 10 day forecast is looking favorable for this to continue, soil applied herbicides and rainfall requirements for mobilization can become an issue. Remember, All soil applied herbicides require rainfall for mobilization. In general, a minimum a 0.5 inch is necessary for adequate activation, but this does depend on soil moisture conditions at application and some herbicides require greater amounts than others. Although not the only factor, water solubility of the herbicide can make a difference. Water Solubility is measured in parts per million (ppm) as how many milligrams or milliliters of the active ingredient will dissolve in 1 liter of water (mg or ml/l). The less soluble the herbicide, the more moisture (rain or irrigation) is generally needed to incorporate (mobilize) the herbicide. For example, atrazine is relatively low in solubility, Dual, Lasso and most of the other grass herbicides are in the middle, and products like Banvel are high in solubility. The amount of rainfall necessary to move the soil applied herbicides into the weed seed germinating zone can differ based on the chemical characteristics including water solubility. The bottom—line is that a good 0.75 to 1 inch of rainfall will mobilize all the products. Dr. Mark VanGessel at the University of Delaware did a nice job summarizing water solubility and what this means for some common corn herbicides in the April 27 University of Delaware Weekly Crop Update which is summarized in the table below. For the full article, visit the Delaware website at (http://www.rec.udel.edu/Update07/current.htm).

What about reach back? When herbicides have been applied for ten days to 2 weeks with little or no rain following application, some weeds will germinate and emerge and not be controlled. This is particularly a problem with grasses like the foxtails. Some of the newer pigment inhibiting herbicides including Balance Pro or Radius and Lumax or Lexar can provide some “reach—back” as can atrazine and other photosynthetic inhibitors on the small broadleaves and some grasses. If weeds are emerged at planting time and especially grasses, including some glyphosate in the spray mixture may be good insurance.

C) Evaluate Your Manure Management before it is Too Late — Doug Beegle, PSU Soil Fertility Specialist

Hopefully most of the manure has been spread by now and the next question is: How much available N did you really get from the manure? Unfortunately, there are a number of factors such as the weather, incorporation by rain or tillage, the characteristics of the manure, soil properties, etc that influence N availability to the crop. There are a few things that you can look at now while things are still fresh in your mind that can help you answer this question in time to take corrective action this year and provide useful information for planning next year. For this year, the main corrective action would be to adjust N sidedressing based on what actually happened. If your actual management resulted in lower than expected available N then you many need to sidedress N or change the amount of N you planned to sidedress. If your actual management indicates that you will have more available N than expected, you can reduce planned sidedress N or maybe eliminate it altogether. The following questions may help you evaluate the available N from your manure based what actually happened when you applied your manure and after. Remember that the answers to many of these questions may vary from field to field.

•Did you actually apply the rate of manure you planned?
Calibrate your manure spreader if you haven't already. (See the Penn State Agronomy Guide for details.)
•How did your actual manure analysis taken at spreading time compare to what you thought was in the manure? Was the manure injected or incorporated by tillage? If so, how soon after application?
The actual impact of tillage or injection on N availability varies with when it was incorporated following application. If it was injected the N availability ranges from 50–75% depending on the type of manure. If it was left on the surface for more than a week the N availability falls to 15–20%. See the Penn State Agronomy Guide Table 1.2–14 for more details.
•If manure was not injected or immediately incorporated, when did it rain following manure application?
If it rained within the first week this can effectively incorporate the N and increase availability. The actual impact of rain varies with the type of manure and when it rained following application. The effect of timing of rain is similar to tillage as described above. Very liquid manure will soak into soils with good infiltration resulting in slightly higher N availability.
•How cold was it following application?
If the soil temperature was below 50° the losses described above may be slowed down. So, for example, if you did tillage or got rain 4–5 days after application this may be more like 2–3 days under warmer conditions.
•If manure was applied early to a cover crop, was there good cover crop growth?
Good cover crop growth indicates that the cover crop was effectively trapping N that will be released when the cover crop is killed resulting in greater available N for the corn crop.

Even with good answers to these questions, it can still be difficult to decide if you need to sidedress additional N or not. The Presidedress Soil Nitrate Test (PSNT) or the Chlorophyll Meter Test can help with that decision. These tests are run just prior to when you normally would sidedress N and do an excellent job of telling you whether the manure has supplied adequate N or not. If the tests indicate that the N supplied by the manure was not adequate, they provide some guidance on determining a sidedress N rate. (See Penn State Agronomy Facts #17 and #53 for more details on these tests). Finally, you can use the Late Season Stalk Nitrate Test to do an end of season assessment of your overall manure N management program. This test is taken from around quarter milkline to several weeks after black layer and combined with good answers to the questions above can be very helpful in guiding management adjustment for future years.

Alfalfa Weevil Scouting — Marvin Hall, PSU Forage Crop Specialist

Alfalfa plants recently started growing rapidly after our extended winter. Alfalfa weevil has also become active with the warmer weather and scouting for this insect should have begun. Weevil larvae (cause the most damage) have “biting and chewing” mouth parts so initial damage is easy to identify as feeding (chunks missing) on alfalfa leaflets. If you see feeding damage and want to determine if they are approaching the “economic threshold”, collect an alfalfa stem from 30 spots in the field (total 30 stems) and place them upside down in a plastic bucket. Beat the stems, in groups of 10, against the bucket 15 times to dislodge the weevil larvae from the stems. Count the larvae and refer to economic threshold tables in “A Pest management Program for Alfalfa in Pennsylvania”.

Reassessing Forage Seeding Options — Mena Hautau, Extension Educator, Berks County

What if you were planning to seed pastures or hay fields this spring but it’s getting too late? This could be the case where the field is too wet, there are higher priorities elsewhere on the farm, or a field needs some establishment work ahead of seeding.

It’s more timely to plant a crop that grows well in the warm season and plan ahead for a late summer/early fall seeding. Warm season annuals, such as sorghum sudangrass, forage soybeans or millet can be planted. For example, sorghum sudangrass provides lots of versatility. It can be:

Select the brown midrib types for palatability. Make sure planting dates are staggered which results in different maturities.

The goal is to keep the field covered with a crop that produces dry matter during the warm growing season. If establishment activities such a soil testing, liming and fertilization need to be done ahead of seeding time, then plan the end life of the rotation accordingly. Be ready to seed in mid—August to mid—September when permanent seeding is best done.

For more information on growing summer annuals, go to the Penn State Agronomy Guide, Agronomy Fact Sheet #23, Summer Annual Grasses for Supplemental or Emergency Forage.

WeedSOFT Yield Loss and Tank Mix Calculators Available on the Web — Bill Curran, PSU Weed Specialist

WeedSOFT yield loss and tank mix calculators are now available on the web free of charge at the following site http://weedsoft.unl.edu/weedsoftApps.htm. These calculators are the same tools offered as components of the WeedSOFT software which typically costs users $50 to purchase. If you are not familiar with WeedSOFT, this program is a decision support system (DSS) designed to assist growers, consultants, and extension agents in making both proactive and reactive weed management decisions. WeedSOFT provides you with the treatment information you need according to your specific field conditions while factoring in economic and environmental principles. The software also contains other management tools such as the yield loss and tank mix calculators. The yield loss calculator is a tool that enables you to estimate the season— long yield loss, as well as the yield loss that has already occurred, for corn and soybeans that are at a particular growth stage. It will also estimate the additional yield loss that may occur if you delay treatment. The tank mix calculator is a tool that enables you to calculate the amount of herbicide needed for a field and the amounts to add per tank load. More information on the WeedSOFT software can be found at http://weedsoft.unl.edu/.

Biomass Fuel Opportunities for Crop Producers Emerging — Greg Roth, PSU Grain Crop Specialist

I recently attended a PA Biomass Working Group meeting where some of the recent advancements in using ag biomass in Pennsylvania were reviewed. Key feedstocks that were discussed were low value wood and grasses for biofuels. Of the grasses, switchgrass and reed canarygrass were species most discussed. Biomass can be used in direct combustion systems for residential, light industrial and agricultural operations. Biomass can be pelleted or ground to burn in furnaces. There is growing demand for pelletized biomass for use in pellet stoves or for export to Europe. Demand for pellets is growing more rapidly in Europe than in the U.S. Prices of $200 per ton may be possible for the pelletized grass or wood.

One project that is underway at the Penn State Energy Institute is to understand the issues with switchgrass combustion. In this project, switchgrass pellet manufacturing is being studied in conjunction with Andritz Sprout (http://www.andritzsproutbauer.com/), a pellet mill equipment manufacturer in Muncy. Direct combustion of switchgrass in commercial biomass furnaces and emissions has been evaluated with Advanced Recycling Equipment (http://advancedrecyclingequip.com/), a biomass furnace manufacturer in St. Marys. Ernst Seed (http://www.ernstseed.com/) of Meadville is collaborating on the trials and evaluating the potential of developing a switchgrass pelletizing operation. On campus, switchgrass pellets were successfully burned in a short term test in a Quadrifire stove.

Another project in Columbia and Luzerne County will be evaluating the potential of a mobile pelletizing unit (http://bhsenergy.com/) for switchgrass this summer. The concept of this idea is that the processing unit can move to the biomass and reduce the need for costly biomass transportation. In a related project, Benton High School is being outfitted with a biomass furnace to demonstrate the potential of using switchgrass as a feedstock.

Several biomass heating projects were discussed at the meeting. Elk Regional Hospital is planning to install a biomass furnace to supply heat and steam for the hospital using wood as a feedstock. Cost savings are estimated to be $300,000 per year due to reduced fuel costs. Kane High School has also been awarded a project to heat with biomass and anticipate saving $90,000–100,000/year.

Harvesting systems of switchgrass were discussed and goals of managing for biomass are to sustain the stand, meet other needs such as wildlife cover and then to produce good yields of high quality material. Fall and early spring harvests can both be used effectively. Fall harvests tend to be higher yielding, but higher in moisture. Spring harvests result in some loss of dry matter over the winter but provide wildlife cover and result in a drier material with lower ash content.

There are still issues to be addressed with these biomass energy systems, but I came away excited about the potential for agricultural and forest resources to be used sustainably to benefit the resource, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce fuel costs and create opportunities for Pennsylvania manufacturing as well.

Trade—in Tillage Time for No—till Planter Check—up — Mark Madden, Extension Educator, Bradford County

Heavy or persistent rains have delayed field operations throughout Pennsylvania this spring. Some producers, in the interest of timeliness, are trading their tillage plans for no—till in selected fields. Implementing a successful transition to no—till crop production normally requires planning, a refined understanding of soil fertility and pest management issues as it relates to no—till, and a good measure of equipment savvy. But in light of the current season as it is unfolding, the intent of this article is to put emphasis is on checking parts of a planter that are critical to stand establishment in no—till; key considerations that are important as you move from a plan to plant in tilled fields to planting no—till. These come from among the many points made by Scott Harkcom, Manager of the Penn State Agronomy Research Farm, at various producer meetings this past winter on corn planter maintenance and setup.

The prime goal is that the planter uniformly place seed at a desired depth accessible to adequate moisture and ensuring good seed—soil contact. The planter should also provide even soil pressure across the seed zone and drop seed at a determined rate on a uniform spacing.

Opening coulters — The down pressure on the opening coulters should be adjusted given moisture and soil conditions and to an extent no more than needed. Run the opening coulters to the same depth as the double—disk openers. Check for wear. Replace them if they are worn more than ¾ of an inch. If your planter is equipped with bubble coulters and edge is worn off of the bubbles, replace them. Be particularly careful in wetter soil conditions with this type as they can increase the risk of sidewall smearing.

Residue managers — Planters equipped with these attachments need to be adjusted specific to the conditions encountered. They serve to move residue (not soil) out of the seed row which enhances soil warming and prevents “hair—pinning” of the seed.

Double—disk openers — The goal is to create an even, open trench for the seed to be placed. Check the diameter of the disks. If the double—disk openers are worn more than ¾ of an inch, they should be replaced. Worn disks are cause for concern particularly in no—till. Three inches of contact should be maintained for each set of double—disk openers. If less than 3 inches of contact occurs between the double—disk openers, soil will infiltrate the seed trench. To check the amount of disk blade contact, insert two note cards between the disk blades and move them as close together as possible. The distance between them is the amount of contact and should always be 3 inches. If the distance is greater or less than 3 inches, adjustments need to be made.

Closing wheels — Make certain that the closing wheels run exactly on either side of the seed trench and at the appropriate down force. Excessive force can affect seed placement and seed depth and can cause counter force on the down pressure on the seed unit. Check to make sure that the seed trench gets closed. If not you may be running in conditions that are still too wet.

Additional points for general planter operation and adjustment:

If you decide to make the switch to no—till to bypass the time normally needed for tillage, evaluate the planter so that planting will not only timely but also gets the seed in the ground properly.

Job Announcement — York County Soil & Nutrient Management Educator

Penn State Cooperative Extension is accepting applications for an individual to provide programming in the broad areas of nutrient management education, soil quality and soil health, basic physical and chemical properties of soils, and agronomic application of organic residuals. A master’s degree is required with preference given to degrees in agronomy, soil science or related field and eligibility to be a certified crop advisor. Deadline for applying is May 11, 2007. Visit PSU website http://psu.jobs under Cooperative Extension for details. For an application, email bss1@psu.edu or call (814) 863-3452. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce.

Upcoming Events:

Cover Crop Research and Management Summit
June 5, 2007
Tuesday, 9:30am–3:30pm
Penn State Rock Springs Agronomy Farm, Centre Co.
Cost: $10
Lunch and handouts will be provided.

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).

American Forage and Grassland Conference
June 24–26 — in State College
For more information check out http://www.afgc.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=42837&orgId=afgc

Agronomic Weed Management Research Tour at Penn State
July 10, 2007
Tuesday, 9:00–12:00 noon
Penn State Rock Springs Agronomy Farm, Centre Co.
Cost: $15
Lunch and handouts will be provided.

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).

2007 Penn State Agronomic Field Diagnostic Clinic — July 24 and 25
July 24 and 25
Penn State Rock Springs Agronomy Farm, Centre Co.

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. August 14–16 – Ag Progress Days

Contributors: Dept. Crop & Soil Science: Bill Curran, Marvin Hall, Greg Roth, Sjoerd Duiker, Doug Beegle, Dwight Lingenfelter, Ron Hoover, Paul Knight. Extension Educators: Mena Hautau (Berks), Kevin Fry (Armstrong), Andrew Frankenfield (Montgomery), Susan Alexander (Jefferson), Joel Hunter (Crawford), Mark Madden (Bradford)

Editor:John Rowehl

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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If you have problems subscribing or wish to cancel your subscription, please contact Lisa Crytser by e-mail at lac8@psu.edu or by phone at 814-865-2543.

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