Weekly Ag Update
Weekly Field Crop IPM Report; By Ned Birkey, MSU Extension Educator Emeritus/ Spartan Agricultural Consulting; [email protected]; May 22, 2024
?Weather forecast by the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center for May 29 to June 4, 2024, as updated on May 21, is calling for near normal to a chance for below normal temperatures and an increased probability for below normal chances of precipitation.? ?However, Ohio State’s Aaron Wilson’s May 20 weather article in their C.O.R.N. newsletter has a six to 10 day forecast for May 26-30, 2024, issued May 20 is calling above normal chances for both temperatures and rainfall for our area of the country.?
?Farmer sentiment for April declined to the lowest level since June 2022 due to a lower financial outlook.? Surveyed farmers expressed concerns about their farms’ current financial situation and weaker financial performance in their future expectation for the year ahead.
Corn re-planting information should be based on a stand assessment from emergence to the 3rd leaf stage.? Remaining and uniform stands, switching to an earlier maturing hybrid, and likely replant dates, will be key decision factors.? For planting after June 1, maximum yields will need higher seeding rates, and final stands.? Iowa State’s research showed a 78 percent maximum yield potential at a 39,000 seeding rate, with a final stand of 34,000 plants per acre.? For other planting dates as early as April 15, and every ten days thereafter, a similar chart shows the percent of maximum yields at various stand counts.? If the field has several 4-to-6-foot gaps within the row, yields will be reduced an additional 5 percent.? For marginally acceptable stands, there is no guarantee that a replant may yield higher, partly as insect and disease pressure may be greater in replanted fields.
Stripe rust is a disease that can develop quickly and result in significant yield loss.? The goal is always to keep the flag and flag minus 1 leaf as free of disease as possible through the critical flowering and grain-fill periods.? Fungicides, such as Miravis Ace, Prosaro, Prosaro Pro and Sphaerex can be applied to provide protection for this and scab.? Directional nozzles will provide better spray coverage of wheat heads.? Farmers should not apply fungicide products containing a strobilurin chemistry that would be “off label” and could exacerbate any DON (vomitoxin).? Farmers are reminded that they can get a free stripe rust analysis from the MSU Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab, courtesy of the Michigan Wheat Program checkoff.
Small Grains Field Day will be held at the OSU Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Wood County on Thursday, June 20 from 9:00am to noon.? Topics include wheat fertility management, precision planting of wheat, Wheat Yield Enhancement Network and current research of crop insurance for wheat.? Although free of charge, RSVP by June 14, at https://go.osu.edu/smallgrains24 to receive a free boxed lunch.? The OARDC is located at: 4240 Range Line Road, Custar, OH 43511.?
?Vermiculite is a common plant medium used to start seeds before transplanting into garden soils.? Vermiculite is made from mica-like minerals that expand when heated.? It helps aerate the soil and improving drainage, but it also holds water and nutrients, absorbing up to three times its weight that it releases slowly, like a sponge.? If you have heavy, clay soils, mixing in vermiculite can help “lighten” it up. If your soil is so sandy that it doesn’t retain water, vermiculite will help it hold more moisture.? The U.S. EPA has found trace amounts of asbestos in some product samples, but determined that home gardeners faced only a minimal of health risk.
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