Before we started working at Michigan State University in 2003, we studied parasitoids of Russian wheat aphid (RWA) in the north central region of the Great Plains. SBA and RWA have a lot in common: both aphids are native to Eurasia, invaded North American crops, spread rapidly across many states and occurred in spectacular outbreaks. RWA decreased from initial outbreak levels to very low densities about 10 years after its invasion to the region. There was a strong association between the decline of RWA over time and increased prevalence of parasitoids attacking RWA, with only occasional local aphid outbreaks at the end of our tracking the aphid and parasitoids.

Now in Michigan, from 2003 to 2006, we monitored SBA populations in two to 11 soybean fields per year scattered in southern Michigan (Figures 1). SBA occurred above the spray threshold in many soybean fields sampled in 2003 and 2005, while the aphids stayed below the threshold in all of the fields sampled in 2004 and 2006. Aphid natural enemies (predators, pathogens, parasitoids) contribute to suppression of SBA. Studies conducted by Doug Landis’ lab (MSU) and Bob O’Neil’s lab (Purdue) demonstrated that the aphid predator complex, particularly multi-colored Asian ladybird beetle and minute pirate bug, can contribute to suppression of SBA populations. Aphid pathogens, when they occur at outbreak levels under favorable environmental conditions (warm and humid is good for the pathogens), can rapidly destroy SBA populations across a region.

Despite the diverse parasitoids found attacking SBA in Michigan, mummified aphids, as a measurement of parasitoids’ impact on the aphids, were rarely found in soybean from 2003 to 2006. Parasitism rates were particularly low (≤0.1 percent of aphids) when aphid counts were high. We occasionally saw higher parasitism when SBA occurred at low numbers using a sensitive sampling technique (Figure 2). Once aphids reach moderate to high densities, predators and pathogens are more likely to contribute to SBA suppression, but parasitoids seem to be able to find aphids at low densities.

Reports from China and Japan indicated that SBA is rarely a problem there, and some aphid parasitoids persist in soybean fields where aphid densities are very low. In Chinese studies, 10 to 53 percent parasitism was associated with low SBA densities. Unlike an aphid predator that needs to feed on many preys during the course of its development, a parasitoid requires only a single aphid to complete its development. This biological trait may be one explanation that parasitoids can efficiently exploit sparse aphids. Unfortunately, the current parasitoids and the predators have not been able to prevent aphid outbreaks in all years since the SBA invaded our area. Discovery of SBA in North America in 2000 is still a recent event compared with almost 20 years of RWA in the Great Plains. Based on the longer-term studies on SBA and its parasitoids in Asia, and on RWA and its parasitoids in the western United States, it may take some time for North American parasitoids to play a greater role in regulation of SBA.

What can a grower do in their field? While you are sampling for aphids, please check for predator and parasitoid activity. There is a guide available from Michigan State University that is applicable throughout the region and can help you identify these natural enemies. For more information on the guide, see:
http://ipm.msu.edu/natural-enemies.htm

You should start sampling when the plants are developing vegetatively and continue until the plants are filling seed pods. A magnifying lens is handy to look at small insects.

Blossom end rot is a physiological disorder caused by a deficient supply of calcium to the developing fruit. It is a common problem on tomatoes, but can also occur on peppers, eggplants and melons.

Blossom end rot appears first as a small darkened or water soaked area around the blossom end of the fruit. This spot darkens, enlarges and dries out as fruit matures (Image 1). This area is an open wound on the fruit surface that may be invaded by secondary decay causing organisms. This disorder is caused by a combination of both cultural and climatic factors including nitrogen, calcium and soil moisture. Prevention is the best way to avoid losses from blossom end rot.

Greetings from Lake Land College! We are a community college in Mattoon, Illinois, with a large and growing agriculture program. Currently 13 different agriculture degrees are offered, including both one- and two-year options; we hope to soon add one more degree to the list. Together with the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, the agriculture division at Lake Land has proposed a two-year associate in applied science (AAS) degree in Alternative Agriculture, as a reasonable and moderate extension of our existing AAS in Agriculture Production. Four new courses for the Alternative Agriculture curriculum (Introduction to Agroecology, Organic Crop Production, Forages and Pasture Management, and Biological Pest Management) have been developed. In addition to those four courses, students in this degree program will take a variety of agriculture production, agriculture business and horticulture courses, and will spend approximately 26 weeks in Supervised Occupational Experience, enabling them to “earn while they learn.”

The Alternative Agriculture degree will be transferable to Southern Illinois University, Western Illinois University and Illinois State University under the Illinois Board of Higher Education Articulation Compact, allowing graduates to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture.

The AAS in Alternative Agriculture is currently pending approval by the Illinois Community College Board, and Lake Land will offer the Introduction to Agroecology course for the first time in the 2007 fall semester.

For more information about the AAS in Alternative Agriculture at Lake Land College, please contact Curt Rincker, Agriculture Division Chairman (217-234-5360, crincker@lakeland.cc.il.us), or Maria Boerngen, Agriculture Business Instructor (217-234-5226, mboerngen@lakeland.cc.il.us).

Lunch is included from locally grown food and mostly organic.
Early-bird registration: $25 for one day or $40 for both days.
Registrations postmarked after Aug. 20: $35 for one day or $50 for both days

517-282-3557 or sorrone@msu.edu or www.michiganorganic.msu.edu

Make checks payable to Michigan State University and send to:
303 Natural Resources, East Lansing, MI 48824.

The Michigan State University Student Organic Farm with support from the USDA Risk Management Agency is featuring two farm field days this summer to highlight two sustainable production strategies for small scale and limited resource specialty crop farmers.

Hoophouses and Passive Solar Greenhouses for Protected Cultivation
Tuesday, June 26, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
This workshop will include:
Design options for a range of costs and sizes
Construction methods including cold frames and small scale build-your-own
Crop selection and scheduling
Soil preparation, building soil organic matter and fertility management
Planting, growing and harvesting methods (we expect to be harvesting tomatoes)
The workshop is presented by Adam Montri, MSU and MIFFS Hoophouse Outreach Specialist, and Dr. John Biernbaum, MSU Professor of Horticulture.

Edible forest gardening: intensive perennial and annual permaculture
Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
The edible forest gardening workshop will include:
Introduction to principles of the edible forest garden and permaculture
Mimicking a natural forest ecosystem, guilds, three dimensional planning
Comparison of a forest, orchard, annual vegetable and mixed polyculture settings
MSU Edible Forest Garden Design and Planting, a 0.75 acre diverse planting
Selection of perennial tree fruit, nut, small fruit and herbs for the edible forest garden
Presenters for this workshop are Jay Tomczak, MSU Graduate Student and Certified Permaculturalist, and Dr. John Biernbaum, MSU Professor of Horticulture.

Location
Both workshops will take place at the Michigan State University Student Organic Farm, located at the MSU Horticulture Teaching and Research Center, 3291 College Road, Holt, Michigan (Just south of I96 and east of 127 on the MSU Campus).  We will be outside for the majority of the day, so be sure to wear hats, sunblock and work shoes. Please bring rain gear if needed. There will be some classroom presentations mid-day, and take-home resource materials will be provided. 

Registration
Preregistration is required as enrollment is limited. To register, contact Adam Montri at admontri@anr.msu.edu or 517-432-3381. Also, please bring your own lunch. A walk-in cooler is available to refrigerate lunches. Fresh vegetables and water will be provided.

We have been able to get 90 percent of our hay baled without rain, but the yields are slightly lower due to the late freeze we had.

I did plant a small field of oats, grass seed and alfalfa in late May (because it was too wet until then), which is looking good. There are several broadleaf weeds growing there as well. I will probably not get any oats due to the need to clip the hay early to keep the weeds from going to seed. Stand establishment looks good.

Hopefully it will rain soon and we can have another great crop year.

I did do some soil testing on the row crop acres and found that my organic matter and CEC has doubled in most fields from what it was while we farmed conventionally. I attribute this to the years in grass and the lack of chemical fertilizers. Both of these factors have contributed to a much more “live” soil. Earthworms are plentiful, which is helping with moisture movement and the organic matter is helping to increase drought tolerance. I like what I see in the organic fields.

West Central Indiana, Tippecanoe County – Kevin Cooley
(Editor’s note: Kevin’s report is posted June 5.) The weather conditions have been favorable. We have picked up more than one and three-quarters inch of rain in the past 10 days, all of which was much needed. We had been holding off with transplanting because of the lack of moisture in the top layers of soil. Now we are waiting for things to dry out so we can get the transplants in the ground.

We are currently staking and tying our field tomatoes as well as side-dressing them with amendments. Prior to the recent rains we were taking advantage of the dry conditions and getting some weeding and cultivation done. We are currently picking strawberries, lettuce, spinach, rhubarb, radishes, peas, onions, beets and finishing up on asparagus.

Our plan for the coming weeks is too get the melon transplants in the ground, plant our next crops of sweet corn and green beans. We also hope to get a window of opportunity to do a final weed killing pass over the first long season pumpkin field and get our first pumpkins in the ground as well.

Illinois
Southwest Central Illinois, Montgomery County – Floyd Johnson of Shoal Creek Farm
We were wet early and now fairly dry, but I am trying to finish up soybean planting so I’m not crying for rain yet. I’m hoping to get soybeans planted this week and then it can rain.

Currently we are working down ground for soybean planting, planting soybeans and hoeing corn.

The next two weeks will include hoeing soybeans, cultivating corn and ripping corn. The ripper is a sub soiler with shanks that run about 14-inches deep. They have wings to help lift and fracture the soil. The shanks are spaced on 60-inch centers. They don’t disturb the soil very much between the shanks, but it does fracture the soil across the full 60 inches. I am beginning a new job as marketing director for Midwest Organic Farmers Coop focusing on larger markets that individual farmers would have problems serving. You can check us out at www.midwestorganic.com.

Question
On APPPA Plus listserv someone mentioned this grass (cheat grass, Bromus tectorum L.) that I asked about on New Ag Network awhile back. Then someone else provided this website: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~plants-c/forage/chea.shtml. I think this is the grass weed I was referring to. Sounds like it to me as the roots sucking all the water would explain why it is so hard to disk out. It turns the ground into concrete. Does anyone have ideas for control?

West Central Illinois, Fulton County – Anne Patterson of Living Earth Farm
I’ve had 1.5 inches of rain since May 4 and nothing significant since May 25. It is so dry and hot and last week we had what I call the Santa Anna Winds for five straight days. I have not set up a full-blown irrigation system yet and I will probably regret this. I delayed transplanting for five days and I am doing some this week.

Currently I’m harvesting the last of the spinach, along with gourmet leaf lettuce, herbs, green onions, and heirloom romaine and Parris Isle Cos romaine. I continue to transplant cantaloupe and continuous plantings of romaine. I am hooping and putting shade cloth over all lettuce and basically trying to keep things alive. I continue to plant cowpeas and buckwheat into old cleared lettuce beds. We are weeding brambles and one acre of vegetables, even with dryness.

During the next two weeks I will pick up the pump for irrigation and get it going. More flowers and herbs are to be transplanted. I will stake and California weave tomatoes.

Questions
Do any of you bury your irrigation lines or do you prefer to lay them on the ground?

Northern Illinois, Kane County – David Campbell of Lily Lake Organic Farm
In the past couple of weeks, we have received between 2 and 3 inches of some much-needed rain. Most of these rains were on the light side, although many days of rain have pretty much put corn cultivation and hay-making to a standstill until late last week. Germination of corn has been fairly good on my farm, although in general, any late-planted corn and most of the soybeans in my area have not germinated very well, given the very dry weather the first three and one-half weeks of May.
 
Presently, I’m cutting first cutting hay and cultivating corn for the first time. Weed control has been very good in three out of four of my cornfields, with the exception of some volunteer buckwheat in one of these fields that I don’t believe will be an issue at all. At this time I’m looking forward to observing the insect pressure later this summer to see if the volunteer buckwheat has attracted many beneficial insects in this particular field. The last cornfield I planted has some moderate velvet weed and foxtail pressure, although corn has gotten off to a good start, and I don’t anticipate a major weed issue in that field at this time. 

In the next two weeks I plan to finish making first cutting hay. I should finish cultivating corn for the first time later this week, and will start cultivating corn for a second time next week.

Question
Canada thistle growth seems to be way ahead of schedule this season. I would guess the warm weather in May is responsible for this. Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

Michigan
South Central Michigan, Calhoun County – Anthony Cinzoni
We have had high winds and about one-half inch of rain in the past month. Currently we are weeding, planting winter squash, and reseeding summer squash and cucumbers. In the next two weeks we will be cultivating and planting summer and winter squash along with fall cole crops; irrigating; and reseeding beets, carrots and fall rutabagas.

Southeast Michigan, Lenawee County – Beverly Ruesink
We had about three inches of rain here last week, which was perfect timing for all the crops that had just been transplanted. We are still having many days of high winds, which seems to be starting to be a new weather pattern. It took quite a few days to dry out, but now it is dry enough to be back in the fields and the 10-day weather forecast is looking hot and dry.

Currently we are weeding, weeding and weeding! The majority of our crops are in the ground and we have been focusing on keeping them growing. About half of our crops are setup to cultivate with an International 274 1-row cultivating tractor. This sweet machine works very well and we find it especially useful for corn and potatoes. The other half of our operation is planted into bed systems that can only be weeded by hand, with wheel hoes and stirrup hoes at this time. One day we hope to develop an accurate weeding tool that can be tractor-mounted to help with this system.

Since there is no rain predicted in the near future, we will have to setup irrigation for the first time this year. Most of the irrigation is done with overhead sprinklers and we are going to try setting up some drip tape under black plastic mulch for the first time this year.

We still have some summer crops to get into the ground (summer squash, cucumbers, corn, etc.) and will continue to keep planting carrots, beets, lettuce and other succession crops.

Our 82-member CSA started on June 2 so we have been busy with harvesting and packing shares for our Tuesday and Saturday distributions. Shares have included lettuce, green garlic, swiss chard, kale, snow/snap peas, radishes, bulb fennel, bok choy, dandelion greens and herbs over the last two weeks.

Farmers markets are going well and we typically sell-out every week. The market scene seems to be growing in this area due to heightened awareness of local food and some really great local press coverage.

The next two weeks we will be weeding like crazy and will continue planting. Our cut-flower shares will start in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll be cutting and arranging our quart-sized flower bouquets for our CSA members.

East Michigan, Lapeer County – John Simmons
Warm, dry weather is spurring crop growth and allowing rapid progress to finish spring planting. Fields need to be tilled and fitting promptly and planted immediately before moisture is gone. The extended May wet spell encouraged clover and rye to grow well, while at the same time preventing tillage to control it. My primary program is disc/chisel – but that doesn’t accommodate six foot tall rye, or tough stemmed-blooming clover – so I hired a custom plower to flip it all upside down with moldboards. Moisture is still adequate in the lower soil profile. I’ve been delaying planting OP seed corn fields while waiting for neighboring GMO corn fields to get established. This is to maintain a “separation of time” from the GMO pollen.

Current farming practices include corn, soybean and sunflower planting today (Tuesday, June 12) and for the rest of the week and shipping seed. We baled first cut hay yesterday. Alfalfa winter killed significantly, but the companion seeding of timothy bloomed into the opportunity. First cut yielded more than three tons dry/acre.

During the next two weeks we will finish corn, sunflower and soybean planting; engage weed control measures on same; prepare fields for buckwheat planting in mid-July; mow thistle patches in clover seed fields (good time for that as thistle is in bud stage, clover regrowth will take over and actually thin the thistle patches and sometimes eliminate them).