Extension Update by Gary Zoubeck [June 12, 2014]

Coming Events

• June 11, 2014 – Soil Health Meeting, 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., Scott Gonnerman farm, North East of Waco; Register at: https://greencoverseed.com/
• June 23, 2014 – York Extension Board Exec. Meeting, 8:00 p.m., York Extension Office

Cropping Update

I had hoped that with the heavy rains and storms on Mother’s Day our bad weather may have been over, but that was not the case.  Much of the York area and many other parts of the state were hit by heavy rains, varying amounts of hail, strong winds, and some tornado damage.

Thursday we went out and looked at many parts of the county and many different fields.  I’m guessing that half or more of York County sustained hail damage of varying degrees.  We’ve looked at several corn and soybean fields in varying stages of growth and in several different parts of the county.  Depending upon the stage of growth and the severity of the damage, many fields will be replanted, but many will also be left.

I again checked several fields Monday morning and they’ve changed considerably.  It’s much easier to determine the plants that will survive and those that won’t.

It’s always a tough decision to make…..if only we could know what the weather will be like for the remainder of the season and when that first fall frost will occur?  I often suggest to producers to start replanting the worst fields and by the time they are done with them, they can then better evaluate how the fields with less damage are responding.  It is really important that you first visit with your insurance agent before you make decisions.  Our replant check list suggests: 1) determine the remain plant population; 2) Consider stand uniformity; 3) calculate the expected yield with the existing stand; 4) estimate potential replant yield; 5) Estimate your replanting costs.

At this time of the season, mid-June or so, if you have 75,000 or more soybean plants (maybe even less than 75,000 plants), we’d probably suggest leaving them.  As we’ve demonstrated on our on-farm research efforts, we’ve had great success with planting 120,000 plants per acre.  A three year Iowa State study showed that typical April–early May planting dates yield 100% of potential, while mid-May was 97%, Early June was 87%, mid-June was 67% and early July averaged 42%.

For corn, we’re looking at numbers that are similar or even less yield potential for replanted corn compared to soybeans.  Corn planted now probably has a potential yield effect of about 50% of normally planted corn.

Check out our latest information at CropWatch:  http://CropWatch.unl.edu.  We have several timely articles currently posted.

Soil Health Field Day Planned 

A reminder about the Soil Health Field Day planned for Wednesday June 11 at the Scott Gonnerman farm near Waco, NE (6 miles North, 1 mile East of Waco, NE) from 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Topics include:

Soil Health Comparisons between Conventional Till and No-Till Soils (in field demonstrations)

Utilize Soil Indicators to Determine Soil health and Function (in field demonstration)

Soil Health and Sustainability: Changing our Paradigms (in field)

No-till Equipment: Setup, Adjustments and Maintenance (hands on)

Soil Ecology and Nutrient Cycling

Soil Testing – A Biological Approach

Economics of Cover Crops

The Plant and the Soil Are One

Designing Cover Crop Mixtures

Speaker includes nationally acclaimed soil health experts Ray Archuleta, Jim Hoorman, Ray Ward, Paul Jasa, and Keith Berns. You can register to attend for $45 per person (noon meal included).  To register, go to: https://greencoverseed.com/.

On-Farm Research Opportunities

We’ve had plenty of damage as a results of the June 3 storm!  As damage is being assessed, we have lot of questions like:

1)                  Should I replant or not?

2)                  Should I apply a fungicide?

3)                  I’m concerned about Goss’ wilt, will a treatment make a difference?

While no one likes to see damaged fields, there is an opportunity to learn if you take a little time.  The questions I’ve mentioned and others can be answered for yourself this year if you conduct an on-farm research experiment!  It’s really not difficult and does not take a lot of time or effort.

First start with your question and determine how many items you are comparing.  The examples I shared above all compare a treatment to a check or nothing, so we would recommend using a paired comparison design.  Every treatment in a paired comparison design needs to be able to harvest two strips from it.

If you are spray a product, a pass or round with the product (depending on sprayer size and section control) needs to be wide enough to ensure you can harvest two passes from the center of the treated area.  Then you leave the same amount of untreated area and repeat 5-7 times so that you’ll then have 5-7 paired comparisons.

If you are replanting, you would replant a pass or round so that you can harvest two strips from each replant area and two strips from the area not replanted and repeat the process 5-7 times.  We would like to see at least 5-6 replications for harvest comparisons and statistical analysis at the end of the year.

I know of at least one producer who is planning to do a fungicide study.  Let me know if you’re considering conducting an on-farm study as a result of the June 3 storm.  I’d be glad to assist you and I know other producers would be interested in the results we find.  In all our on-farm research studies, we recommend taking harvest stand counts and stalk rot ratings prior to harvest.

Yard & Garden

I have not received a lot of call or questions from home gardeners as a result of the June 3 hail storm.  The gardens were just starting to take off.  I harvested my first lettuce, head lettuce and spinach and the potatoes and onions were really looking great.  I looked at them Wednesday and was ready to destroy it all, but just like we tell producers, I told myself, give it some time.  I did that and it’s looking a lot better just 5 days!  I’m sure it’s delayed everything and I’ll need to replant cucumbers and some other crops, but I think most of my tomatoes will survive. We’ll check them in a few more days.

So after a few days, check your plants and prune the severely damaged stems and leaves so that your plants aren’t waste any energy trying to heal severe damage.  Same thing for annuals, perennials, and your trees and shrubs.  I’ve read  a couple articles that suggest a light fertilizer application of compost tea or liquid fertilizer.  I’m not sure if it will help or not, but I’m sure we’ll feel better just trying?

What we really need to do is give plants a week to show recovery before replacing, especially in early season like this storm was.  You’ll probably be surprised how resilient your vegetables and other plants actually are after a hail storm.  Data has shown that potatoes if damaged mid-season or later can still produce a good crop. Studies have shown they can lose as much as 50% or more of their foilage after flowering and still produce well.  We’ll just have to wait and see?

Elizabeth Killinger, Extension Educator in Hall County shares some tips for the gardener in a short video at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wQKhEXgHQQ.