Extension Update from Jenny Rees

UPCOMING EVENTS:  
July 26-30:  Polk County Fair
July 27-30:  Hamilton County Fair
Aug. 2:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Precision Ag Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8-4pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 3-6:  York County Fair
Aug. 4:  Project Sense Field Day, Little Blue NRD, Karl Wiedel farm near Hebon, NE 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 7:  Project Sense Field Day, Lower Platte North NRD, Matt Bailey farm near Schuyler, NE, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 8:  Soybean Management Field Days, North Platte
Aug. 8-9:  Nebraska Grazing Conference, Kearney
Aug. 9:  Soybean Management Field Days, Ord
Aug. 9:  Nebraska Cover Crop Conference, during Lancaster Co. Fair at Fairgrounds
Aug. 10:  Soybean Management Field Days, Auburn
Aug. 10-13:  Seward County Fair
Aug. 10-13:  Thayer County Fair
Aug. 11:  Soybean Management Field Days, Tekamah
Aug. 14:  Project Sense Field Day, Lower Loup NRD, near Monroe, NE, 5 p.m.-7 p.m.
Aug. 16:  Project Sense Field Day, Central Platte NRD, Ken Seim farm near Chapman, NE, 10 a.m.-Noon
Aug. 18:  Rain Garden Installation Design Workshop for landscape professionals, Earl May in Columbus, Contact Kelly Feehankfeehan2@unl.edu
Aug. 22:  Project Sense Field Day, Upper Big Blue NRD, Cole Anderson farm near Beaver Crossing, NE, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 23:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Soybean Production Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8:30-5pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 24:  York County Corn Grower Plot Tailgate, 5-7pm, 1416 Road I, York County.
Aug. 24:  Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic:  Corn Production Training, ARDC (now ENREC) near Mead, 8-4pm RSVPhttp://ardc.unl.edu/cmdc.shtml
Aug. 24:  York County Corn Grower Plot Tailgate, 5-7pm, 1416 Road I, York County.

Farm Finance Clinic Sites and Dates To sign up for a clinic or to get more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Farm Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

Crop Update:  This is an update to the email I sent to my list the past week.  Southern rust has now been found in nine eastern Nebraska counties:  Fillmore, Cass, York, Seward, Thayer, Otoe, Nemaha, Richardson, and Butler.  Please continue to check the map at http://ext.ipipe.org/ for additional identified counties.  Conditions are currently favorable for southern rust development as the rust fungus likes warm temperatures, especially in the upper 70s to lower 80s F, even if they occur overnight.  Samples submitted thus far have had low incidence and severity of southern rust in the fields and we’ve recommended waiting a week to watch disease progression prior to fungicide application.  Late planted corn tends to be more susceptible to southern rust as we progress in the growing season.  We are concerned about the number of acres in the State planted late as this is the earliest we’ve seen southern rust.  The concern is with most fungicide products having a residual of 21-28 days and the potential of a second fungicide application if fungicides were automatically sprayed at tassel.  Otherwise, fields have had common rust and some hybrids are showing bacterial leaf streak, but minimal if any gray leaf spot in corn at this time.  Additional information from Dr. Tamra Jackson-Ziems can be viewed in the CropWatch article and Market Journal segment at:  http://go.unl.edu/e5qd.

I also shared information about dicamba to my email list and provided key points to consider summarizing previous columns.  Steve White with NTV News also summarized these online at:  http://nebraska.tv/story/farmers-concerned-about-soybean-damage-from-dicamba-drift and Amit Jhala, Extension Weed Specialist wrote an article in this week’s CropWatch at http://cropwatch.unl.edu.  Ultimately, no one wants drift, volatility, or tank contamination to occur and it’s unfortunate when it does happen with any product used on our crops.  While we do have preliminary research from soybeans affected at different dicamba concentrations to V2 and R2 soybeans, it’s difficult to provide an answer to any potential yield impacts this year.  I’ve been encouraging growers to watch the flowers and pods located on the stems near affected trifoliates.  In the meantime, it’s important that we all work together to continue to determine ways we can prevent widespread volatility from our corn and soybean dicamba applications next year.

Cattlemen’s Steak Fry at Hamilton County Fair:  The York-Hamilton County Cattlemen will again be hosting a Steak Fry at the Hamilton County Fair, Saturday, July 29, 2107, reported Gerald Peterson, Cattlemen’s Secretary.  Kim Siebert, York-Hamilton Cattlemen’s President said the group will be serving Sirloin Strip Steak Sandwiches grilled on site inside the Farr Buildi8ng on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds for $6.00 for the meal which includes, chips, beans and drink or the steak sandwiches without the side dishes for $5.00.  Siebert said the Steak Fry is a beef promotional activity of the Cattlemen’s group, and will be served in the air conditioned Farr Building on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.

Farm Service Agency Elections:  Reminder that August 1 is the final day to nominate a candidate for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) 2017 COC Election, contact your FSA Office for details or visit www.fsa.usda.gov/elections.

Lawn, Tree, and Garden Care:  I continue to receive questions regarding bitter cucumbers and the high heat coupled with uneven or not enough watering can lead to this.  The cucumbers will not get better if they are made into pickles.  It’s best to ensure even and plenty of water to the root system during periods of high heat and hopefully the new cucumbers will be better! 

Apple and crabapple trees may have leaves that are turning yellow and falling.  This has been mostly due to apple scab, a fungal disease that has been worse on trees a few times this year.  Rain and humidity will favor the fungus and it seems like the recent rain a few weeks ago flared the disease again.  Leaves will turn yellow and drop from trees and you will often see new leaves appear.  While we don’t normally recommend fungicides for crabapple trees, there are homeowner fungicides available.

High heat every year tends to bring on brown patch and summer patch in lawns, particularly around sidewalks and driveways.  Newer turfgrass varieties have resistance.  Brown patch can occur on bluegrass, ryegrass, and is our primary fescue disease.  Brown patch has irregular areas that turn brown and as it expands, the center of the affected area begins to regrow and turn green.  Summer patch occurs on bluegrass in circular or irregular patches and also eventually has regrowth in the center of affected areas.  Mowing at 3” consistently during the summer, watering in the morning making no more than two irrigations per week of 0.5” each (a third application may be needed during periods of high heat like what we’ve experienced the past few weeks), and keeping the mower blade sharp can all help.  Preventive fungicides are also available.  Information on fungicide use for Summer Patch of Kentucky Bluegrass can be found here:  http://go.unl.edu/ksot.  Information on fungicide use for Brown Patch can be found here:  http://go.unl.edu/zjmz.

Also, do check the leaf blades for leaf spots to ensure the damage is due to fungal disease rather than drought stress.  Drought stressed turf shouldn’t not have fungal disease lesions on the leaves (unless a combination of stresses are occurring) and can leave behind brown streaks that follow the mower path.

Bats:  Kelly Feehan, Extension Educator in Platte County shared the following, “Allow bats to fly during the months of June and July. If bats are roosting in a home, business, church or school, wait until August to exclude them. Do not install one-way traps or seal exit and entry points until August. Young bats are still not leaving the roost. If trapped indoors, or adult bats cannot get to them, young bats will move about and accidentally enter living areas; or they will starve and die, creating an odor problem. Exclusion is the only way to keep bats out of a building. Now is the time to locate entry and exit points bats are using. These openings can be as small as a dime; and the area is usually marked and fairly dirty. One way traps are can then be placed over the opening sometime in August. These allow bats to leave the roost but they cannot return. Later in fall, the openings can be sealed. But for now, let bats continue to fly. Do not close openings they are using until August.”