Aug. 9: Soybean Mgmt Field Day, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Hartington area
Aug. 9-12: Seward Co. Fair, Seward
Aug. 10: Soybean Mgmt Field Day, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Cedar Bluffs area
Aug. 13: Flame-Weeding Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Haskell Ag Lab near Concord
Aug. 14: Haskell Ag Lab Climate & Crops Field Day, near Concord, 8:30-3:30 p.m., RSVP: 402-584-3863
Aug. 20: Crop Science Investigation (CSI): Estimating Yields, 5-6 p.m., RSVP jrees2@unl.edu
Aug. 22: Midwest Soybean Production Clinic, ENREC near Mead, Reg: 8 a.m., Program 8:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 23: Midwest Corn Production Clinic, ENREC near Mead, Reg: 8 a.m., Program 8:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 23: West Central Water & Crops Field Day, West Central Research & Extension Center North Platte, 8 a.m.
Aug. 23: York Co. Corn Grower Plot Tailgate, 5-7 p.m.
Aug. 24-Sept. 3: Nebraska State Fair, Grand Island
Aug. 28: Irrigation Scheduling Equipment Demonstration and Field Day, Noon-?, Bruce Hudson Farm Southeast of Polk, RSVP steve.melvin@unl.edu
Aug. 29: South Central Ag Lab (SCAL) Field Day near Clay Center
Thank you to all who made the York County Fair go so smoothly! It’s always a joy to see the 4-H and FFA youth and families rewarded for the hard work they put into their projects!
Crop Update: I didn’t get out to the field much this week with fair but did spend a few
Bird cherry oat aphids on ear husks and green leaf aphids on leaves of plants in this non-irrigated field. Lady beetle larvae predators also present.
hours one afternoon. There are portions of the area I serve that have been blessed with rains and look really good. The main thing that I’m seeing a lot more of this week is aphids in corn fields. This can be common in fields where fungicide is applied as the fungicide kills a beneficial fungus that attacks aphids. Some aphid species are also attracted to moisture stressed crops. The heat has also pushed the crop along quickly. We have another yield forecasting article in this week’s CropWatch at http://cropwatch.unl.edu where we talk about the impact of the heat on yields. As of right now, based on comparing this year to 30 years of weather data, it’s appearing corn may reach maturity 1-3 weeks early. Irrigated yields are estimated to be near average and above to near average for non-irrigated corn (where drought is not a factor). These yield forecasts are based on simulations under ‘perfect conditions’ (with no nutrient loss, disease etc.) but they can give us an indication of what may happen if we continue with higher heat conditions.
Unfortunately, pockets in the area continue to miss rains. The drought monitor still is not
Drought-stressed soybean field.
reflecting the drought in this part of the State; at this point, I’m unsure what else either Al Dutcher or I can do about this. One farmer reminded me drought occurred in the same area in 2006, 2012, and now 2018-six years apart each time. Driving the area, hardest drought-stressed crops really took a turn this past week with corn in hard dough to early dent with some kernel abortion and soybeans are beginning to abort pods and quit filling seeds. One question has been on weighing taking corn for silage or not. If you have at least an estimated 50 bu/ac grain in most of the field other than highly compacted areas, it may be more profitable to keep for grain (unless you’re looking for cattle feed). The following are some resources to consider further:
- July 2018 BeefWatch article on considerations for green chop/silage for cattle feed, include best management practices, etc.: https://go.unl.edu/e3y5
- July 2018 K-State article for considerations on taking corn for silage or grain: https://enewsletters.k-state.edu/beeftips/2018/07/02/considerations-for-use-of-drought-stressed-corn-for-cattle/
- All UNL Drought Resources: http://droughtresources.unl.edu
Dicamba: We’ve often mentioned the research showing a soybean plant producing a new node every 3.7 days upon reaching V1 stage. And, I’ve used that in the forensics assessment for determining a timing for off-target dicamba movement. One question I’ve had was “Do soybean plants continue to produce a new node every 3.7 days upon being affected by off-target dicamba?” My assumption in the forensic analysis I have used is that a new node continued to be produced every 3.7 days in spite of off-target dicamba. However, the only way to really test this would be to have the same soybean variety in both an Xtend and non-Xtend version. We will release a CropWatch article next week in which a situation like this occurred at the Eastern NE Research and Extension Center. Dr. Jim Specht counted nodes in both the non-Xtend variety with off-target dicamba and the Xtend variety that wasn’t affected. He found the same number of nodes in spite of the dicamba affected non-Xtend variety being shorter in height and having less canopy. So that in itself is good information for use in forensic assessments. However, he also found plants in which a higher off-target dicamba dose affected the top-most growing point. When that occurred, the number of nodes was affected.
Last year, a group of us released a dicamba survey during Soybean Management Field Days. Reminder those are upcoming this week (https://enre.unl.edu/soydays)! The survey helps us understand your perspectives about dicamba and this year we’ve added questions regarding using Xtend technology. Hopefully it will provide helpful information for all of us and the results will be shared via CropWatch and winter meetings. We’d encourage and be grateful for any soybean growers to participate at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JWDCY3C.
South Central Ag Lab Field Day: Please hold August 29, 2018 for UNL’s South Central Ag Lab (SCAL) Field Day near Clay Center! Attendees can choose which sessions you would like to attend. Options include the latest SCAL research in the areas of Irrigation/Water Use; Nutrient Management; Weed, Disease, and Insect Management; Cover Crops; and Cropping Systems. CCA credits will be available and there’s no charge to attend. Will have more specifics for you next week but please hold the date for now!
Vine Crop Problems: The following resource explains options for diagnosing various problems with cucumbers, squash, and melons: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2011/8-24/cucurbitwilt.html.
