Good morning,
As I begin this edition of the Hardin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Update, we have received some needed rain, but the hot temperatures received recently have caused evaporation and more rain is needed. Most corn fields are at R1 or later and are pollinating or will soon. Most soybean fields have reached R2 flowering, with some early fields at R3 beginning pod. Growth has been slow, but both crops are looking much better than this time a month ago. Weeds are dying in soybean fields because of the recent post herbicide applications. Hay continues to be made, with some mowed hay having been rained on. Oats are being harvested in the county, and some preventative fungicide applications have been made to corn. See the attached Ohio Crop Weather report dated July 31 for more details. Extension rainfall reporters recorded an average of 3.16 inches of rain in Hardin County during June. Last year, the average rainfall for June was 2.29 inches. Rainfall for the month was 2.38 inches less than the ten-year average rainfall in the month of June. I am just now receiving rainfall reports for the month of July. See the attached Extension Rainfall Report for June. With the dry weather you may want to read the attached article about scouting soybean for aphids.
I have included recent articles about the Drainage Installation Field Day that took place at Ohio State – Lima, and the Hardin County Fruit and Vegetable Crop Walk that was held near Mt. Victory. Upcoming field days that I have included flyers for are the Agriculture Technology Field Day (August 23) in Fulton County, Pumpkin Field Day (August 24) in Clark County, and the Northwest Agronomic Field Day (August 31) in Wood County. If you are interested in pre-purchasing your Farm Science Review tickets for this year’s FSR to be held September 19-21 in Madison County, you can do so at go.osu.edu/fsrhardin2023 for $10 per ticket. This saves you $5.00 per ticket at the gate and provides a $1.00 donation to the Hardin County OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension program. See the attached flyer for more information about the FSR. If you are a gardener, you many be interested in attending the Master Gardener Volunteers Diagnostic Workshop (August 25) in Hancock County. Check out the attached flyer for registration information. I would also like to remind you of our Hardin County Master Gardener program on “Growing Cabbage, Broccoli, and Kohlrabi” (August 17) in the Friendship Gardens at 960 W Kohler Street in Kenton starting at 6:00 pm. See the attached flyer for MGV program information.
Drainage Field Day News Release
Summer Programs in the Friendship Garden
If you have unwanted farm pesticides that you want to dispose of free of charge, please note that the Ohio Department of Agriculture has released the dates and locations of this summer’s Clean Sweep program. Farmers from any county can take pesticides to these locations to properly dispose of them and you do not need to pre-register. Please note that the times are from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Household chemicals and commercial retailers are not included in this disposal program. As before, I have included some timely ag crops articles below that you may find interesting.
Mark
Protecting Wheat Seed and Rye Seed While In Storage Before Planting This Fall – Curtis Young
It is not uncommon for a farmer to save some of their wheat or rye crop in a grain wagon for seed to plant their next crop in the fall. Once their wagon is full, it will be shoved into a barn or shed for the rest of the summer until it is needed in the fall. Occasionally, when they return to retrieve their seed, they discover that the wheat or rye has been infested by Indianmeal moth (Plodia interpunctella) and possibly other stored grain pests as well. The activity of these grain infesting insects results in reduced germination potential and/or seedling survivorship requiring an increased seeding rate to compensate for the damaged seed. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2023-25/protecting-wheat-seed-and-rye-seed-while-storage-planting-fall.
Battle for the Belt: Episode 21 – Taylor Dill, Laura Lindsey, Osler Ortez, Stephanie Karhoff, Luke Waltz
Episode 21 of Battle for the Belt is now available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPd3diZNFsU In Episode 21, we talk with Dr. Stephanie Karhoff, Agronomic Systems Field Specialist about scouting for tar spot in corn. Tar spot is a relatively new disease to the state of Ohio, but it can be problematic, especially in Northwest Ohio. When scouting for tar spot, visit multiple locations in your field and answer these questions: Is tar spot present? To what severity? Is it increasing over time? To continue reading this article, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2023-25/battle-belt-episode-21.
August’s Stealthiest Insect Pest: Stink Bugs in Soybean – Kelley Tilmon, Andy Michel
Why are stink bugs the stealthiest insect pest near the end of summer? It’s because their method of feeding is so subtle. You won’t see damaged leaves or sickly-looking plants with stink bugs. They have straw-like mouthparts which they poke through the pod directly into the developing seed. If this happens early enough in seed development the seed will simply abort. If it happens later, the seed will be shriveled and shrunken. Either way, this reduces yield and/or reduces seed quality, though you will not see the damage unless you carefully inspect the pods for missing or damaged seed. To finish reading about stinkbugs in soybean, click on https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2023-25/august%E2%80%99s-stealthiest-insect-pest-stink-bugs-soybean.
ANR Factsheet Available for Understanding Corn Abnormal Ears: When and Why Do They Develop? – Osler Ortez
Much of the corn has started to tassel (VT) and silk (R1) around the state. These mark the beginning of the reproductive stages and include the grain-filling period in corn. As ears develop and grow, abnormalities can develop at different times and due to various factors. If you find abnormal ear development this season and want to understand development timing and causal factors, ANR-0139 Factsheet has the just of it: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-0139. To continue reading this article, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2023-25/anr-factsheet-available-understanding-corn-abnormal-ears-when-and.
Lep Monitoring Network Update #13 – WBC Numbers Remain High, Continue Scouting! – Rebecca DiScipio, Stephanie Pflaum, Amy Raudenbush, Trevor Corboy, Suranga Basnagala , Mark Badertscher, Nic Baumer, Frank Becker, Nick Eckel, Allen Gahler, Don Hammersmith, Mary Jo Hassen, Alan Leininger, Ed Lentz, Kendall Lovejoy, Clifton Martin, Sarah Noggle, Jordan Penrose, Beth Scheckelhoff, Mike Sunderman, Frank Thayer, Kyle Verhoff, Brooks Warner, Curtis Young, Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon, Jamie Hampton, Les Ober
The Ohio Lep Network is continuing to monitor moth pests across Ohio. We are in our 13th week of monitoring, and we are continuing population reports for Western bean cutworm (WBC), corn earworm (CEW), and both variations of European corn borer (ECB – IA & NY). Read more about the crop insect scouting network at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2023-25/lep-monitoring-network-update-13-%E2%80%93-wbc-numbers-remain-high.
Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-767-6037
hardin.osu.edu
