Extension Update by Gary L. Zoubek - Extension Educator
Coming Events
Lawn & Garden Update
We had lots of cloudy weather, but really not much rain this past week! I had about .30 to .35†over the past few days. I’ve received a couple calls from homeowners that indicated when they walk in their lawn, their shows turn orange or rusty colored. What they have is a disease known as rust. It usually does not do much damage and is mostly cosmetic, with its pustules casting an orange color across the turf and coating mowers, shoes, or the feet of pets. Heavy rust infection can weaken turf, increasing susceptibility to winter-kill, drought, weed invasion, and other diseases. It can be most damaging to new seedlings or lawns less than a full season old.
Rust is a disease of slow-growing turf, caused usually by drought and/or low fertility. Fall fertilization of 1.0 lb N/1000 sq ft applied in the first week of September along with adequate moisture will likely limit any further damage from rust. If you have chronic problems with rust, consider slightly increasing your annual amount of nitrogen applied.  Several fungicides are labeled for control of rust in established turf, but should be applied only as a last resort when fertilization fails to limit damage.
Did you know that this week Sept 18-24th is ReTree Nebraska Week. It is a 10-year cooperative initiative to raise public awareness of the value of trees, reverse the decline of Nebraska’s community tree and forest resources and improve the health and sustainability of community trees and forests across our state for future generations. The primary goal of ReTree Nebraska is to work in partnership with people across Nebraska to foster the proper planting and maintenance of 1 million new trees by 2017.
Check out their website at: http://nfs.unl.edu/retreenebraska.asp it contains some tips for successful fall planting including:
- Pay close attention to the planting site. To avoid conflicts with buildings, utility lines and other trees, look up and around as you consider the mature height and width of any tree(s) you may plant.
- Don’t forget about the soil. If it’s sandy, you may need a species that is drought tolerant while heavier clay soils may call for a tree adapted to higher levels of soil moisture. Soil amendments are not recommended and only fertilize if you know there is a nutrient deficiency.
- Put some thought into what you will plant. There are many trees that grow well in Nebraska but aren’t widely planted.
- You only get one shot at planting a tree properly, so do it right the first time. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball (be sure excess soil is removed– see below) and twice as wide. This ensures that you’re creating a planting site where newly developing roots can easily establish themselves into the surrounding soil and develop a healthy root system.
- Remove the tree from its container or basket and examine the root system. (If the tree is balled and burlapped, be sure to remove all burlap and any metal basket that may be present.) If the tree is root bound or has excessive spiraling or circling roots, it will not be able to establish itself. If the root ball contains just a few spiraling roots, score the side of the root ball with a sharp knife or pruner so developing roots are able to re-establish themselves. Look for girdling roots as well. These must be removed or they will choke off the tree and it will not survive.
- Remove excess soil from the top of the root ball to find the tree’s primary lateral roots located at or near the soil surface when you place the tree in the planting hole. Even a couple of inches of excess soil over the root system can be detrimental to the health and vigor of the root system.
- After your tree is in the ground, add a layer of mulch to protect tree roots from extreme weather conditions, eliminate weed and grass competition and preserve soil moisture. Mulch near the trunk should be approximately 1 inch deep, while mulch can be up to 4 inches deep toward the edge of the mulch ring. Don’t allow mulch to rest directly against the trunk of the tree as this can encourage circling roots, trap excess moisture and lead to insect and disease problems.
- Staking is not always required at planting, particularly for small trees or trees planted in protected areas. However, trees that are tall and leggy or in high wind areas should be staked. The goal of staking is to anchor the root ball and prevent newly developed root hairs from breaking, not to eliminate all movement within the stem of the tree.
- Be sure to water your tree at planting. The amount of water needed will depend on the soil type and the type of tree planted. Water the day after planting, three days later and three days after that. Continue monitoring your newly planted tree to be sure it doesn’t get too dry, but remember that more newly planted trees die from too much water than from not enough. If you can easily push a 6-inch screwdriver into the soil surrounding the tree, you are probably providing adequate moisture. Using a turf irrigation system to water trees may not be optimal for the tree’s requirements.
Well, now that I have you thinking fall planting, the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is having its annual fall plant sale. This year it’s going to be held on Saturday Sept. 24th and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you’re planning to go, follow the signs from the north entrance to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus on 38th and Huntington/Leighton. A complete plant list is on the web at http://arboretum.unl.edu/plantsales/.
Have you checked out our http://environment.unl.edu/ webpage lately? The latest horticulture updates include come very timely topics. Current topics include fall fertilization of turf, annual weedy grasses, storm damage tree resources, iron chlorosis, spruce needle drop, ReTree Nebraska, natural needle drop, rhubarb crown rot, flea beetles, and harvesting garden produce and storing fruits and vegetables.
I hope you’ll check it out, you can also check out the latest turf updates at the same time.
I often get questions about natural needle drop of pines and spruce at this time of the year. The interior needles of pine and spruce trees turning yellow and dropping off at this time of year is natural. Pine trees hold needles for 2 to 3 or more years. Spruce trees generally hold needles longer than pines, approximately 5-7 years. Eastern White Pine is one of the pines that it’s quite evident that the inner needles are turning yellow and dropping off.  This pine only holds needles for two years which leaves less growth at the tip of branches to hide shedding needles. Natural needle drop occurs only on inner needles. If entire branches or needles at the tips of branches are dying, then something else is happening and you’ll want to check it out!
Cropping Update
I was out and took population stand counts as well as lodging and green snap counts in the York County Corn Grower plot last week! The plot population averaged a little over 32,000. I also checked for lodged plants as well as green snap. We had 10 to 20% of the plants that are lodged or leaning with between 1 to 5% green snap, however we had some varieties with over 50% green snap in some varieties.
Now before you really get going with harvest would be a good time to get out in your corn and soybeans fields and evaluate them for lodging or stalk rot issues so that you know which fields to harvest first and which fields to allow to dry down naturally.
I’ve seen a few high moisture corn being harvested and the soybeans continue to yellow and drop leaves. Harvest is just around the corner.
Husker Harvest Days University of Nebraska Exhibits Theme
I made it out to Husker Harvest Days on Wednesday. It was one of the colder ones that I can remember, but that’s better than extremely hot! You can always put on a jacket! As I mentioned last week, the them for the IANR building was “Inspiring Young Nebraskans.”
As has been the case the last couple of years we rolled out a new website. Check it out at: http://child-youth.unl.edu.
