Corn

Corn Market Considerations

By: Clint Schroeder OSU Extension

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report earlier this week and it has certainly taken the market by surprise. The debate continues to rage over how acres are classified by USDA and if the information contained in the report is accurate. The WASDE reported that corn acres nationally are at 90 million with another 11.2 million classified as Prevented Plant. The USDA also increased their national yield forecast to an average of 169.5 bushels per acre. This came as a major shock to the market and sent corn futures sharply lower. The December ’19 corn futures have traded 61 cents lower in the days following the report.

This report is especially problematic for producers in Ohio that have not forward contracted any bushels based on uncertainty of yields associated with delayed plantings.  There are also producers that are holding old crop corn in hopes that the cash price would reach levels over $5. This has lead to a very strong regional basis through the summer. It has also begun the process of demand rationing.  One of the major end users in Ohio is obviously the ethanol industry.  Unfortunately, September ethanol futures on the Chicago Board of Trade are trading at their lowest levels since October of 2014. One of the reasons for this is increased stocks. The industry closed the month of July with a new record of 24.5 million barrels stockpiled.  That represents an increase of 11% from the previous year. Needless to say these cumbersome stocks combined with a low futures price and a higher cash corn price, due to the strong basis, have had a negative impact on ethanol margins. It is important for producers to be aware of this situation as any significant rally in the futures or strengthening of the basis will ratchet up the pressure on ethanol plant managers. This could lead to the temporary shutdowns at plants throughout Ohio as managers wait for margins to improve.

Provided by Stephanie Karhoff – OSU Extension

The USDA will release the next WASDE on September 12th and it is unlikely that it will have as great of an impact as the August report. Many of the questions that farmers and traders have been left with will not be answered fully until after harvest data comes in. Given the unprecedented number of unplanted or delayed acres there are many questions on how many acres will actually end up harvested for grain. Ohio had reported over 880,000 of prevent plant corn acres to the USDA as of August 1st.  This will continue to be reflected in a stronger than normal basis in those areas that were most impacted. There also remains plentiful speculation on the possibilities of meeting the yield numbers that USDA has forecasted.

Keep an Eye Out for Tar Spot

Tar spot of corn

Tar spot on corn. Photo: Martin Chilvers, MSU.

By:  Stephanie Karhoff OSU Extension

As the season progresses, keep an eye for tar spot, a new corn disease caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis. The pathogen originates from Mexico and Central America, but has made its way to the Buckeye State.

Tar spot of corn was first detected in 2015 in Indiana and Illinois, and was later observed in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio (2018), and Wisconsin. It thrives in wet, cool conditions. Since this is a newly emerging disease, it is important to be vigilant and scout your fields to track its spread and impact on corn yield.

Last season (2018) was the first year yield losses due to tar spot were evaluated in hybrid trials in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.1 Across all trials and hybrid maturities, a 0.32-1.36 bushel per acre loss occurred per 1% increase in tar spot. Based on this, we would predict a field with 40-50% tar spot severity on the ear leaf by R5/6 would have a loss of 16.8-38.7 bushels per acre. In these trials, all hybrids experienced some level of tar spot.

When scouting, look for small, raised black spots called ascomata on leaves, leaf sheaths, and husks. These spots are often surrounded by a tan halo (see picture). It is easy to confuse these ascomata with saprophytes or insect frass. The key difference is that ascomata cannot be rubbed off the leaf surface with your fingers. If you suspect it is tar spot, call the Williams County OSU Extension Office at 419-636-5608.

You can find real-time tracking of tar spot occurrence in 2019 here  https://corn.ipmpipe.org/tarspot/

Sources:

1Telenko, DEP, MI Chilvers, N Kleczewski, DL Smith, AM Bryne, P Devillez, and et al. 2019. How Tar Spot of Corn Impacted Hybrid Trials During the 2018 Midwest Epidemic. Crop Protection Network. doi.org/10.31274/cpn-20190729-002

MI Chilvers. 2019. Corn Tar Spot Outlook for 2019. Michigan State University Extension. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/corn-tar-spot-outlook-for-2019

No pigweed left behind – late-season scouting for Palmer amaranth and waterhemp

By:  Mark Loux, Ohio State University

If you don’t already have to deal with waterhemp or Palmer amaranth, you don’t want it.  Ask anyone who does.  Neither one of these weeds is easy to manage, and both can cause substantial increases in the cost of herbicide programs, which have to be constantly changed to account for the multiple resistance that will develop over time (not “can”, “will”).

Palmer amaranth in a Tennessee field. Source: Lisa Behnken

Palmer amaranth in a Tennessee field. Source: Lisa Behnken

The trend across the country is for Palmer and waterhemp to develop resistance to any new herbicide sites of action that are used in POST treatments within about three cycles of use.  Preventing new infestations of these weeds should be of high priority for Ohio growers.  When not adequately controlled, Palmer amaranth can take over a field faster than any other annual weed we deal with, and waterhemp is a close second.  Taking the time to find and remove any Palmer and waterhemp plants from fields in late-season before they produce seed will go a long way toward maintaining the profitability of Ohio farm operations.  There is information on Palmer amaranth and waterhemp identification on most university websites, including ours –  u.osu.edu/osuweeds/ (go to “weeds” and then “Palmer amaranth”).  An excellent brief video on identification can be found there, along with an ID fact sheet.  The dead giveaway for Palmer amaranth as we move into late summer is the long seedhead, and those on female seed-bearing plants are extremely rough to the touch.  We recommend the following as we progress from now through crop harvest:

– Take some time now into late summer to scout fields, even if it’s from the road or field edge with a pair of binoculars.  This would be a good time to have a friend with a drone that provides real-time video, or your own personal satellite.  Scouting from the road is applicable mostly to soybean fields, since corn will often hide weed infestations.  Scout field borders and adjacent roadsides, areas that flood or receive manure application, and also CREP/wildlife area seedings.  The latter can become infested due to contaminated seed produced in states where Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are endemic and not considered noxious.  Reminder – ODA will test any seed used for these purposes for the presence of Palmer amaranth.

– Walk into the field to check out any weeds that could be Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, or are otherwise mysterious.  If you need help with identification, send photos to us or pull plants and take them to someone who can identify them.  Palmer and waterhemp are considerably different in appearance than giant ragweed and marestail, the other two most common late-season offenders.

– Where the presence of Palmer amaranth or waterhemp is confirmed, check to see whether plants have mature seed (in Palmer infestations these are the rough female seedheads), by shaking/crushing parts of the seedhead into your hand or other surface that will provide contrast.  Mature seed will be small and very dark.  Plants without mature seed should be cut off just below the soil surface, and ideally removed from the field and burned or composted.  Plants with mature seed should be cut off and bagged (at least the seedheads) and removed from the field, or removed via any other method that prevents seed dispersal through the field.

– If the Palmer amaranth or waterhemp population is too dense to remove from the field, some decisions need to be made about whether or how to mow or harvest.  Harvesting through patches or infested fields will result in further spread throughout the field and also contamination of the combine with weed seed that can then be dispersed in other fields.  So consider: 1) not harvesting areas of the field infested with Palmer amaranth or waterhemp, and instead mowing several times to prevent seed production, and 2) harvesting the infested field(s) after all other fields have been harvested, and cleaning the combine thoroughly before further use.  This also applies to any infestations that are discovered while harvesting.  At least one equipment manufacturer has a good video about how to most thoroughly clean a combine.

– Feel free to contact OSU weed science for help with identification or management of Palmer amaranth and waterhemp.  Mark Loux – loux.1@osu.edu, Bruce Ackley – Ackley.19@osu.edu.

Crop Scouting a Delayed Crop

By: Clint Schroeder

The 2019 growing season continues to present new challenges for Ohio farmers. The late planting coupled with localized extreme weather events has changed the way we need to think about scouting for disease and pest issues in our crops.  The good news is that the late planting will delay the corn crop enough that we should not have to worry about Japanese Beetles feeding on corn silks at pollination time. The bad news is that we have had more time for spore counts to build up for foliar diseases like gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and common southern rust.  In a normal year we would look for disease pressure around tasseling, but this year we could start to see infection at the V8-V12 growth stages. If the hybrid is susceptible and conditions become favorable, high levels of infection at V8-V12 will result in greater and more rapid diseases development, and consequently, greater damage to the upper leaves before grain-fill is complete.  Research by OSU Extension since 2010 has shown that the ideal time to treat with a fungicide is at the VT/R1 even if there is presence of disease prior to that stage. Growers also need to be aware that there is a new foliar disease that showed up in Northwest Ohio in 2018. Tar spot is more likely to show up in no-till fields and can be identified by the raised circular black lesions.

It’s also time to scout for western bean cutworm (WBC) egg masses. I am currently monitoring two traps in Allen County and reporting those numbers to our state office.  Last week there was an average of 7 moths in the traps locally, but the state average was 25.3 moths per trap.  It will be interesting to see if the numbers continue to rise or if we taper off similar to 2018. WBC egg groups are often found on the upper leaf surfaces in clusters. The eggs are round and first appear white, then gradually turn a dark purple. Once eggs turn purple, they will hatch within 24 to 48 hours. If infestations exceed the threshold level, over 8% of plants having eggs or larvae, many insecticides are available to treat with. However, as with any ear-burrowing caterpillar pest, timing is critical. Insecticide applications must occur after egg hatch, or after tassel emergence, but before caterpillars enter the ear. If eggs have hatched, applications should be made after 95% of the field has tassel. If eggs have not hatched, monitor for the color change. To search for larval injury after it has occurred, search the corn for ears having feeding holes on the outside of the husks.

Figure 2. Average western bean cutworm (WBC) per trap in monitoring counties in Ohio for 2016 (blue), 2017 (red), 2018 (green) and 2019 (purple).

Average western bean cutworm (WBC) per trap in monitoring counties in Ohio for 2016 (blue), 2017 (red), 2018 (green) and 2019 (purple).

In soybeans we need to be scouting for insect pressure.  We’ve had a lot of Japanese Beetles present this year and they will do damage by eating the foliage of bean plants.  As a general rule of thumb treatments are warranted when defoliation exceeds: 40% prior to bloom, 15% from bloom to pod-fill, and 25% after pod-fill to plant yellowing. Another pest that we need to be looking for is the brown marmorated stink bug. Adults are speckled brown-gray with a white band on its antennae. There are dark and white bands around the edges of the abdomen, with the whitish markings appearing as triangles. Early nymphs have a dark head with an abdomen that is orange and red with black stripes down the middle. Later nymphs are brown with a white band on its antennae and strong white bands on its legs. The underside of the nymphs is characteristically white.

Adult brown marmorated stink bug. Brown marmorated stink bug nymph.

These bugs will damage soybeans by puncturing tissues with their piercing and sucking mouthparts, and then extracting plant fluids. They prefer to feed on the young pods and developing seed within.  This can cause significant yield loss as the seed will become shriveled and deformed. Scouting for this pest should ramp up as soybeans begin to flower.  Given the late planting we have experienced it might be possible that the insect pressure will require multiple insecticide treatments to protect yield potential.

For more information on these pests or any other things you might be seeing this year please contact us at 419-879-9108. I know in these conditions it is often times frustrating trying to decide on treatments for a crop that doesn’t have great yield potential.  I’d be more than happy to come out and talk about the threshold levels OSU Extension has set for treatments and the economics behind that. It is also important to remember that we need to be using our insecticides and fungicides responsibly to prevent not only resistance, but also negative public sentiment.

 

Japanese Beetle Treatment Guidelines

BY: John Obermeyer, Purdue Extension

News flash … Japanese beetle have been emerging and can be seen throughout the state on corn and soybean plants. OK, not that news worthy. How about … some areas of state are seeing tremendous numbers of beetles while some areas aren’t that excited. Again, old news, as this happens every year. Here is a headline sure to grab attention … Japanese beetle – their presence and damage is usually perceived worse than it is. Please refer to the following treatment thresholds.

Field Corn: Japanese beetle feed on corn leaves, tassels, and silks. Generally, leaf and tassel feeding can be ignored. If beetles are present and feeding on corn silks, an insecticide should be applied only if on average the silks are being cut off to less than 1/2 inch before 50% pollination has taken place. This rarely happens on a field-wide basis. Don’t be overly excited by this pest’s tendency to clump on a few ears within an area and eat the silks down to the husks. With sufficient soil moisture, silks will grow from 1/2 to 1 inch per day during the one to two weeks of pollen shed. Silks only need to be peeking out of the husk to receive pollen. Besides, beetles are often attracted to silks that have already completed the fertilization process even though they are still somewhat yellow. Check for pollen shed and silk feeding in several areas of the field, Japanese beetles tend to be present only in the outer rows of the field. Don’t be influenced by what you think you may see from windshield surveys! Get out into fields to determine beetle activity. Be sure to walk in beyond the border rows before drawing any conclusions.

 

Japanese beetle “parties” on selected ears may give false impressions of pollination problems for the whole field

Japanese beetle “parties” on selected ears may give false impressions of pollination problems for the whole field.

 

Soybean: Soybean plants have the amazing ability to withstand considerable leaf removal (defoliation) before yield is impacted. The impact of defoliation is greatest during pod fill because of the importance of leaf area to photosynthesis, and ultimately to yield. Therefore, approximately 15-25% defoliation from bloom to pod fill can be tolerated before yields are economically affected This defoliation must occur for the whole plant, not just the upper canopy. The beetles often congregate in areas of a field where they are first attracted to weeds such as smartweed. Typically, if economic damage occurs, it is only in these areas. Therefore, spot treatments should be considered. Don’t be overly alarmed by these bright, iridescent beetles that feed on the top canopy of the soybean plants. Consider that as they feed their defoliation allows for better sunlight penetration into the lower plant canopy!

 

Japanese beetle will move to new feeding locations, notice how the new growth of these plants have very little damage

Japanese beetle will move to new feeding locations, notice how the new growth of these plants have very little damage.

 

Kill the beetles to prevent grubs?: Japanese beetle develop from grubs that fed on organic matter and/or the roots of plants last fall and this spring. Therefore, it seems logical that killing adult beetles one year should prevent grub damage the next. At least some farmers have explained this to me to justify sub-economic damage in a field. However, it simply doesn’t work that way. Entomologists for decades have been trying to understand this fickle creature. Basically, the adults feed, mate, and lay eggs when and where they want to. The grubs are just as unpredictable. Research attempts to correlate grub presence to crop damage have been inconclusive. Damage does occur, but we are just not usually able to predict when or assess how much. Consider that each beetle mates and lays eggs several times during its oviposition period. To prevent egg laying in a field, one would need to treat multiple times during July and August, which is not economic or practical. If you are wondering, seed-applied insecticides, i.e., Poncho and Cruiser, provide some suppression of white grubs

Prevent Plant, Cover Crops, and More

Last night I was in attendance as a panel of experts talked us through a lot of the issues we are facing in agriculture this spring/summer.  The event was put on by OSU Extension and Ohio No-Till Council and held at the McIntosh Center on the campus of Ohio Northern University.  We’re also thankful that the Ohio Country Journal was on hand to record the panel and you can watch the video at their website, ocj.com. I’m going to try and summarize some of the issues, but if you have specific questions please get in contact with the extension office by calling 419-879-9108.

  1. If you have livestock and are running low on forages now, or anticipate a need before this winter what are your options? You can plant a forage crop on prevented plant acres and harvest it after September 1st under the new RMA/crop insurance guidelines. In this scenario corn is eligible to planted and chopped for silage.  However, you need to check with your crop insurance adjuster on what exactly is allowable so that you do not jeopardize your prevent plant payment. A common recommendation seems to be to plant the corn in 20″ rows or narrower and increase planted populations to 40,000 seeds per acre or higher.  Again, check with your agent/adjuster to make sure you are in compliance.  Other popular forage options are sorghum/sudan grass and oats.  If you are interested in either of these crops please try to get your seed ordered as soon as possible as supply will get tight.
  2. What can I do with treated soybean seed that is not returnable to the dealer? By far, the best option is to plant them, even as just a cover crop.  There are concerns about the insecticide used and what is the maximum rate that they can be planted at.  We would prefer rates of no more than 300,000 seeds per acre. This seed also needs to be covered so that it isn’t creating a harmful impact to wildlife or pollinators.  If you plan on broadcasting the treated seed you will need to incorporate it with either a disk or vertical tillage tool.  We do not recommend trying to carry seed over for planting in 2020.  The 2018 crop had some issues with poor germination scores already and those scores will only get worse even if the seed is stored under ideal conditions (less than 50 degrees and 50% humidity).
  3. What are my options on trying to kill some of these larger weeds that have grown up in preventive plant fields? Mowing them down would be the cheapest option, but most time consuming.  It will also scatter the weed seed and prolong your problem.  Tillage is an option, but it will probably take several passes to get everything killed.  There are lots of herbicide options available, but we need to be cautious on what the plant back intervals are for each herbicide used.  Most of the fields will have at least one species of weeds that is resistant to glyphosate so we need to be using higher rates and tank mix partners.  We also need to be aware of sensitive crops or gardens that might be impacted by drifts or temperature inversions if we are using Dicamba or 2,4-D products.  Mowing first will not make the weeds easier to kill with a herbicide later.
  4.  Are there any cost sharing opportunities for planting cover crops from soil and water districts or USDA – NRCS? The NRCS today has announced that they have $4 million available to producers that plant a cover crop.  Details are still coming out as far as payment amounts and eligibility requirements.  As more information becomes available it will be shared with producers.
  5. How has the excessive rain impacted my soil health? The rains have diminished our soil structure no matter what management practices are in place on your farm.  No air has been incorporated into the soil and this is greatly impacting the natural soil biology. We need to start the recovery process this summer on those acres.  Do not let them sit fallow until next spring.  Get your soils tested and then use this opportunity to apply lime and gypsum if needed.  This might also be an opportunity to apply manure on fields with low phosphorous levels.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Lima and Allen County community for the warm welcome I’ve received over the last couple of weeks.  I’m really excited to meet more of you in the ag community here.  I’m currently looking for some volunteers that would let me come out to their farm and pull samples for some research OSU is doing on soybean cyst nematodes. We need to stay ahead of this pathogen so we can continue to develop resistant varieties.  If you are interested please contact me via email at schroeder.307@osu.edu or by calling the extension office at 419-879-9108.