September 6, 2007
In this issue
§ Soybean Diseases-late season update
§ Mistakes made at planting will haunt you for the rest of the growing and marketing season
§ Mark your calendar for upcoming events
§ Regional reports
§ Weather
Last issue September 20
Diane Brown-Rytlewski
Plant Pathology
As the soybean rust sentinel plot scouting draws to a close
for 2007, there has been no soybean rust detected in
Recent rainfall has created conditions favorable for white mold, but so far, only low levels of it have been observed. Soybean sudden death has recently been reported in several counties. Appearing this late in the season, neither disease is likely to have a major impact on yield.
Fred Springborn
MSUE Extension educator
With wheat prices at historic highs, there is much enthusiasm about planting wheat this fall. Here are a few tips and reminders to help you maximize the yield potential of your wheat crop.
Plant clean high quality wheat seed. Laboratory testing for germination is a good assurance of the viability of the seed. Seed that has been field inspected during its growing year helps to ensure its varietal purity and that it is free of seed-borne disease. Seed treatment with a systemic fungicide will add protection from many seed-borne diseases.
Choose varieties that are high yielding and disease resistant. Consult variety trial results from reputable sources. MSU’s wheat variety trial can be found at http:/www.css.msu.edu/varietytrials/ or contact your local MSU Extension office.
Check your seeding rate and equipment. Your seeding equipment should uniformly plant 1.6 to 2.1 million seeds per acre. Seeding rates should be matched to soil type and productivity. Generally, higher seeding rates give the best return. Remember that seed size varies from seed lot to seed lot.
Check planting depth regularly and often while planting. Wheat seed should be planted between 0.75 to 1.5 inches deep. A non-uniform seedbed can cause depth to vary as the planter is going across the field. This can be due to non-uniform tillage or surface compaction. When seeding depth can not be uniformly held in the ideal range, further increasing seeding rate can help compensate.
Begin planting after the Hessian Fly Free date. Planting
early can help ensure adequate growth to overwinter and maximize tillering,
however planting before the fly free date is not advised. The Hessian Fly Free
for
Mark your calendar for
upcoming events
Composting bedded pack versus conventional bedded pack, facility design, bedding, management and economics will be the topics covered at this event. The event will be held Thursday, September 20, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Zeeland Township Hall. Contact Charles Gould to register, 616-846-8250.
Topics covered include: the MSU Farms CNMP, handling storm water runoff using intensive management, innovative biological and physical treatment strategies for milking center wash water, and the Animal Air Quality Research Facility. This event will be held Saturday, October 13, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the MSU south campus dairy farms. A news release suitable for county newsletters is available at www.animalagteam.msu.edu
For private consultants, industry and agency personnel that
want to either begin the required training for becoming a certified plan
provider or just want the overall background on CNMP development. This event
will take place November 13 through the 15, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM each
day in
Experts from across the country will share information about
the benefits and trade-offs of various animal agriculture systems and how they
interact with communities. This conference will create a basis for constructive
dialog by sharing the best available information and giving a realistic
portrayal of all dimensions of the subject. We encourage state, township and
county government officials, MSUE faculty and staff as well as all interested
Ned Birkey
It has been generally hot and dry for the past two weeks. This has allowed fieldwork to continue, such as the all important tomato harvest.
Alfalfa third cutting is coming off with generally good yields and quality. Prices of $5 per bale for third cutting are common, with persons driving by and seeing tractors and balers in the field stopping to inquire about buying hay. Some farmers have added hay acreage for next year, but there is terrific demand for acres from other crops.
Corn is denting. The rains over the past month will help kernel size and fill. Estimates of yields are wide-ranging and speculative. Corn earworm trap numbers remain high in sweet corn fields, though European corn borer numbers have dropped off. The price of seed and fertilizer for next year is a hot topic as farmers begin to make 2008 plans and think about ordering seed.
Soybeans are coming into the R7 maturing stage. Sudden death syndrome is all the talk. One of the sentinel plots was over threshold for soybean aphids last week, but the field was too advanced for yield losses and spraying. The numbers of spider mites and the general lack of soybean aphids have been the big surprises of the summer. Japanese beetles have had a great summer of feeding, and I see no reason they will not be back next summer as they have been laying their eggs in the soil this summer.
Wheat acres are projected
to increase this fall according to the fall field day talk. ADM Grain Company
said at a field day Tuesday that they do not have any corn or soybeans, or any
unsold wheat in
The demand for corn, soybeans and
wheat for 2008 has the markets bidding for acres. 2008 appears to have good
income potential for farmers, though everyone in the supply chain is poised to
take their share of the pie with higher prices of inputs. Can farmers even buy
large fertilizer storage tanks or grain bins? On-farm storage of both is
something to consider, though managing grain in storage is not something that
older or the “winter
Fred Springborn
It has been quite dry for the past two weeks with no significant rainfall in the past 10 days in the Montcalm area. High temperatures have been moderate with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s for much of the two week period.
Corn silage harvest is well underway. Much of the crop is in the dent stage. Several fields have reached blacklayer. In the insect traps, European corn borer numbers remain low. Corn ear worm moth catch has been up a bit to an average of 12 to 14 per trap.
Soybean crop development is variable from pod fill to leaf drop. Soybean aphid levels are very low.
The drybean harvest is underway with mixed yields reported. Dryland yields are generally well below average.
Third and fourth cutting alfalfa is being finished up. As forage supplies remain tight, many are pushing into the first few days of September to get just a bit more. Alfalfa will need to regrow in September to help ensure adequate root reserves for winter survival.
Mark Seamon
The drought conditions have been alleviated in most areas of
the Thumb and
Crop reports
A general visual assessment of the sugar beet crop has it looking as good or better than any other time this year. Beets have used the recent moisture to add healthy new leaves and improve root growth. The continuing challenge is to control cercospera leafspot, especially where it is being encouraged by rainfall, heavy dew and morning fog. Be sure to check specific data for a site near you. This can be found at www.MichiganBeets.com It is now time to watch pre-harvest intervals of fungicides since they vary with your product selection.
As we move through the growing season and accumulate growing degree days, it is becoming more clear which corn fields gained from the late season rainfall. Some fields have ears tipped down with dry husks, while other portions of the plant are still green. This may make natural drying more of a challenge. Other fields have a nice green color with ear husks just starting to dry.
Recent samples of corn leaves taken in
Soybeans have
shown a big change in maturity through the past two weeks with some fields
losing leaves while others are just starting to lose some green color. A few
plant health issues have been noticed over the past couple of weeks including sudden
death syndrome symptoms, manganese deficiency and bacterial leafspot. Soybean cyst
nematode symptoms and cysts on soybean roots have been difficult to find in
Jeff
Andresen
Agricultural Meteorology
Geography
Strong southerly winds ahead of a cold front across the
northern
A secondary front will move through northern sections of the state late Saturday into Sunday, bringing a lingering chance for showers. Otherwise, cooler and drier weather is likely through early Monday. Another frontal system is forecast to move through the region in the late Monday or Tuesday time frame, bringing the chance for more rainfall. Temperatures will continue at above normal levels in most sections of the state Thursday and Friday, with highs ranging from the low 80's north to near 90 south and lows in the low 60's north to upper 60's south. A noticeable cooling trend should begin by late Friday, with highs falling back into the upper 60's to low 70's north to low and mid-70's south by Sunday. Lows by late in the weekend will fall back to the upper 40's north to upper 50's south.
In the medium range time frame, an upper air troughing feature
is expected to develop across central sections of the
Further ahead, NOAA long lead outlooks for next couple of
months are vague on precipitation for