Hello,
I hope you had a chance to attend last Thursday’s Cover Crops for Prevented Planting Acres meeting at Ohio Northern University in Ada. If not, a video is now available for the entire program at https://www.ocj.com/2019/06/video-cover-crops-for-prevented-planting-acres-special-meeting/ that you can watch either parts or the full program. Also, you might recall that I sent out a special email this past Friday with information about the Ohio NRCS Disaster Recovery Funding to Plant Cover Crops. If you didn’t see that, I have included it with this email along with an Ohio NRCS fact sheet on Cover Crops to Improve Soil in Prevented Planting Fields and an Ohio NRCS Cover Crop fact sheet for seeding and selection. Please take a few minutes to review these documents as cover crops are a viable way to protect unplanted bare fields around the county from erosion, weeds, and build soil health at the same time.
NRCS Disaster Recovery Funding to Plant Cover Crops
NRCS Cover Crops to Improve Soil in Prevented Planting Fields
NRCS Cover Crop Seeding and Selection
This past week was the best week weather-wise to do field work so far this season. Several fields were sprayed, tilled, and even planted or replanted. Soybeans are coming slow, corn is being sidedressed, and hay has finally been made in Hardin County. See the July 1 Ohio Crop Weather Report for more information about the status of this year’s crops in the field. Although the weather has finally settled down for now, most of the crop conditions are in the fair category according to this report from USDA. Events coming up include a Western Ohio Precision Ag Field Day in Troy featuring harvesters on July 16; a Producer Workshop for “Using Native Warm-Season Grasses in a Grazing System” being held July 16 in Hillsboro; Western Agronomy Field Day being held July 17 at South Charleston; and a “Climate Smart: Farming with Weather Extremes” event being held July 18 in Plain City. I have included flyers attached to this email that you can check for more details.
July 1 Ohio Crop Weather Report
Western Ohio Precision Ag Field Day Flyer
Using Native Warm-Season Grasses in a Grazing System Flyer
Western Agronomy Field Day Flyer
Climate Smart: Farming with Weather Extremes Flyer
Besides these upcoming events, you might want to check out the articles I have included below. One of them discusses the Western Bean Cutworm trapping that we are doing here in Hardin County. So far we have not caught any Western Bean Cutworm adult moths in our traps. We also have been monitoring armyworm and black cutworm adult moths for the past two weeks. Our numbers were down this past week compared to the previous week, which could be linked to the hot dry weather we have experienced. Stay in touch and let me know if you have any questions that come up during this unusual growing season.
Mark
What to do about Nitrogen Fertilizer in Corn? – Steve Culman, Peter Thomison, Alexander Lindsey, Harold Watters, Greg LaBarge, Laura Lindsey
The persistent rain this year may force many growers to sidedress their nitrogen in corn much later than what is considered normal. Other growers may be supplementing their earlier N applications to replace N lost from denitrification and leaching. The following are some suggestions based on common questions we’ve been hearing. Nitrogen is one the most dynamic crop nutrients in the soil and has many pathways for loss. It’s leaky nature plus the fact that crops need it in such large quantities makes the task of knowing exactly how much N to apply very challenging. The excessive water this spring has clearly driven losses in many fields, but how much? Recent research at Ohio State has shown that ear leaf N, soil nitrate and grain yields were significantly reduced after just 2 days of standing water in the field. So N losses can occur quickly with excessive water. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/201920/what-do-about-nitrogen-fertilizer-corn.
Wet Weather and Soybean Stand – Laura Lindsey, Alexander Lindsey
Saturated soils after soybean planting can cause uneven emergence and stand reductions of varying extent depending on the stage of the soybean plant and other environmental factors including temperature and duration of saturated conditions. Additionally, increased disease incidence may further reduce plant stand. Saturated Soil Prior to Germination: While soil moisture is necessary for germination, soybean seeds will not germinate when soils are saturated because oxygen is limiting. Saturated Soil during Germination: Saturated soils during soybean germination may cause uneven emergence. In a laboratory study, soybean germination was reduced by ~15% after only one hour of flood conditions (Wuebker et al., 2001). After 48 hours of flood conditions, soybean germination was reduced 33-70% depending on when imbibition (seed taking up water) began relative to the flooding conditions. Practically, for Ohio, this means if soybean seeds were further along in the germination process when flooding occurred, the seeds will be more susceptible to flooding stress. Continue reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/201919/wet-weather-and-soybean-stand.
Corn of Many Colors – Alexander Lindsey, Steve Culman, Peter Thomison
As corn is emerging and beginning to grow, we are again seeing many colors present. In any given field, corn can appear dark green in sections, while other sections are yellow and occasionally purple. Yellowing (due to low nitrogen or sulfur uptake and/or limited chlorophyll synthesis) or purpling (reduced root development and/or increased anthocyanin production) of corn plants at this stage of development generally has little or no effect on later crop performance or yield potential. If it’s induced by environmental conditions, the yellow or purple appearance should change to a healthy green after a few sunny days with temperatures above 70 degrees F (and as soils dry). If plants remain yellow then closer inspection and assessment is needed to determine if the yellowing is caused by nutrient deficiency or some other factor. Cooler wet conditions often increase the appearance of these different colors. Some hybrids are more likely to increase anthocyanin (purple pigment) content when plants are cool. Finish reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/201918/corn-many-colors.
Western Bean Cutworm Monitoring – Amy Raudenbush, Kimberley Gault, Mark Badertscher, Bruce Clevenger, Sam Custer, Tom Dehaas, Allen Gahler, Mike Gastier, Jason Hartschuh, Andrew Holden, Stephanie Karhoff, Rory Lewandowski, KJ Martin, Cecelia Lokai-Minnich, David Marrison, Les Ober, Eric Richer, Garth Ruff, Jeff Stachler, Mike Sunderman, Alan Sundermeier, Curtis Young, Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon
The Ohio State University Western bean cutworm (WBC) network has officially started monitoring traps as of last week. Green bucket traps containing a lure were placed along the edges of corn fields during the week of June 17th. The first trap count includes WBC adults captured during the week of June 24th. Overall, 22 counties monitored 62 traps across Ohio; which resulted in 12 WBC adults captured (0.2 average moths per trap) The adults are moths that begin to emerge in late June and peak flight occurs anytime between the 2nd through 4th week of July. See more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/201920/western-bean-cutworm-monitoring.
Forages for the Future Regional Program – Dennis Riethman
Many alfalfa and forage stands across the state took a beating this winter and the wet spring has added insult to injury. Forage stands were damaged this past winter, and the wet spring has further deteriorated stands that appeared they might recover. So what are the options to assuring a forage supply for the future? A Forages for the Future Program will be held on July 25, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the St. Henry H.S. Commons located at 391 E. Columbus St. in St. Henry, Ohio. During this program discussions will be held addressing the current forage situation and look at best practices for forages. Discussions will include alfalfa variety selection and establishment, forage options other than alfalfa, weed control in alfalfa and other forages, forage harvesting best practices, and feeding considerations with a varied forage inventory. Presenters include Dr. Mark Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist, Dr. Jeff Stachler, OSU Extension Educator from Auglaize County, and Dr. Maurice Eastridge, OSU Department and Animal Sciences. The program is free to attend but registration is requested by July 22 by contacting Denny Riethman at Riethman.24@osu.edu or calling the Mercer County OSU Extension Office at 419-586-2179. Thank you to St. Henry FFA, Mercer Landmark, and Dairy Farmers of America as sponsoring supporters of this program. Find flyer at https://agcrops.osu.edu/sites/agcrops/files/imce/July%2025%202019%20Forages%20for%20the%20Future%20Regional%20Program.pdf.
Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-674-2297 Office
hardin.osu.edu
