Soybean Management Field Day
Plan to attend the soybean management field day near Shickley this year! Great information for your operation!
Each year Soybean Management Field Days is held at 4 different locations across Nebraska. This year, Fillmore County is fortunate to host one of these programs. On August 13, 2014 at the Stengel farm near Shickley, with registration at 9:00 a.m. and the program running from 9:30 – 2:30 p.m. this educational event will occur. One hour presentations will occur aimed at providing important research based data to soybean producers.
Specifically, topics will include:
- Herbicide applications, water quality and resistance management (demonstrations of herbicide drift with discussion on how to mitigate drift with new herbicide-resistant traits, how weed growth affects herbicide performance, etc.)
- Growth development and growth enhancement products (soybean growth and development, how yield is made and soybean responses to plant density and planting date)
- Multiple soybean input study that includes row spacing, fungicides, insecticides and nutrient management (soil fertility management for soybeans, seed treatment products, risks associated…
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Corn Progression After August 2013 Storm
On August 1, 2013, a severe wind and hail storm damaged 170,000 acres of corn and 86,000 acres of soybeans in Clay County, Nebraska. Corn at the time of the storm was from brown silk-blister. While the storms in the Gibbon/Blue Hill areas occurred a little earlier in the growing season, the following photos show the progression of damage in the event it can be of help to those affected by 2014 storms.
Field on August 2nd that was totaled out and planted to cover crops. Where crop insurance allowed, producers considered various forage options.
Some producers chose to spray fungicides on fields with more foliar leaf tissue such as this one.
Hail damage to stalks shown 4 days after the storm.
Splitting the stalks open 4 days after the storm resulted in seeing stalk rot already beginning to set in.
Corn on August 2nd in blister stage in which hail stones made kernels all mushy on one side of the ears.
Corn ear on August 6th. Notice moldy kernels appearing on side where hail damaged ear.
Six days after the storm, the good side of the ear that didn’t receive hail damage.
Six days after the storm, the side of the ear that received hail damage.
33 days after the storm, kernels on the “good” side of ears were beginning to sprout.
33 days after the storm: Diplodia set in creating light-weight ears and brittle kernels. Sprouting occurring on damaged kernels on sides of ears. The presence of mold does not automatically mean a mycotoxin is present. Producers also wondered about the safety of feeding moldy grain to livestock.
Corn Disease Look-Alikes
Physoderma brown spot on corn. While the small, speckled lesions may look like southern rust, under hand lens or microscopic observation, there are no raised pustules as would be the case with southern rust. Also notice the brown/purple discoloration on the midrib which is also noticed on the stalk as well where the leaf color meets the stalk.
Fair week tends to be time for tasseling in corn and considerations for watering and fungicide application are being made. Regarding diseases in corn, there has been confusion about a few diseases, particularly about a disease called physoderma brown spot which some have confused for southern rust. The fungus causing physoderma brown spot feeds on pollen and debris on leaves and does not cause harm to the corn plants themselves. Because the spores of this fungus move via water (it’s closely related to oomycetes), numerous lesions can appear on leaves in bands or areas where water collects. While the lesions may look like early southern rust, there will be no pustules present and often purple colored lesions will also be observed in the midrib, leaf sheath, stalk, and outer husks.
Differentiating Rusts:
Southern rust in corn. We currently have not seen southern rust in Nebraska in 2014. Notice how you can see raised pustules in this picture compared to the photo of physoderma brown spot above.
When differentiating between southern rust vs. common rust, there are several criteria to consider and this NebGuide is a great resource. Typically common rust will have brick-red pustules randomly scattered on the upper and lower leaf surfaces that are larger in size. It is common rust that we are currently seeing in our fields.
Bacterial leaf blight showing up heavily in some hybrids. The lesions are red-brown in color, long and skinny and mostly vein-limited. Older lesions spread outside the veins and are buff in color-sometimes they are being confused as gray leaf spot. The UNL Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab is determining species and we will share more information in the future. There is no control for this disease at this time of the season.
Southern rust in our area tends to have very small, raised, tan-orange pustules on the upper leaf surface of leaves in localized areas on mid-upper leaves. These pustules are tightly clustered on the leaves. However, color and size are relative as sometimes the two diseases can look alike. Microscopic observation is the best way to differentiate the two diseases. Fungal spores from Puccinia sorghi causing common rust will be near perfect round circles whereas fungal spores fromPuccinia polysora will be oblong in shape.
We do have some gray leaf spot in the lower canopies and I haven’t seen much northern corn leaf blight in the fields. But we do
have a bacterial leaf blight that is affecting quite a bit of leaf tissue on some hybrids. These lesions are long and skinny appearing at first to be limited to the veins. There’s been concern about these lesions being severe gray leaf spot but it’s not and there’s nothing you can do about the bacterial disease. Please don’t mistake this bacterial disease as a fungal one and trigger a fungicide application too early.
Fungicide Application Timing
We tend to see southern rust in our part of the State each year; it’s a matter of time. Triggering a fungicide application too early may result in no residual for when you need it if/when southern rust occurs. Every year some producers make more than one fungicide application due to blanket applications at tassel or shortly after followed by another fungicide application when southern rust occurs later in the year. Consider good fungal resistance management and apply fungicides when disease pressure warrants them in your fields and also consider economics for your situation for proper fungicide application timing.
Is that a Webworm or a Bagworm?
Webworms, bagworms, are they the same thing? If not, why does it make a difference whether you have a bagworm or webworms? It can make a big difference which insect you have to control and the damage that they cause. Correct identification is key to know how to control these pests.
Fall webworms or tent caterpillars are an occasional pest. They are sometimes called ‘bagworms,’ but using the correct common name will help clear up confusion. They appear as white webbed nests on the ends of branches in cottonwood, crabapple, walnut, and other trees. The caterpillars hide in the webbed nest during the day and feed on the trees at night. The caterpillars cause little harm to otherwise healthy trees. Tree health is not usually affected until more than 50 percent of the foliage is eaten. If there are enough nests, about one on every branch, the tree could be…
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Hail Damage Meetings
Hail Damage Meetings in York and Hamilton Counties. Please click on image to enlarge.
Storm Damage Resources
Field flooding occurred in newly planted and newly emerged fields throughout the area after recent rains.
Large trees were uprooted falling on buildings, homes, and cars in Sutton after the May 11, 2014 tornadoes.
The Mother’s Day 2014 storms caused significant damage in Clay County and other areas of the State. It never ceases to amaze me how people throughout the area respond to storm damage! Clay County has had its share, and yet the attitude of those affected has been one of thankfulness-thankfulness that no one was injured and that so many still have their homes in spite of damage. It’s also wonderful to see people from all over the County and area pull together with each storm-helping each other out bringing themselves and equipment to pick up debris or help however possible. It’s a blessing to work with and serve the people of this County!
Resources
As clean-up continues, the following are a list of resources that may be helpful to those affected by the storms. Thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected!
- Numerous Tornado Damage, Recovery, Cleaning, Decision Making resources (scroll to Recovery portion in middle of page)
- Tips for Early Tornado Damage Recovery
- When to Save and Throw out Frozen Food after Power Outages
- When to Save and Throw out Refrigerated Foods after Power Outages
- Flooding and Corn Survival
- Flooding and Soybean Survival
- Evaluating the Need to Replant
Happy 100th Birthday Extension!
Happy 100th Birthday Cooperative Extension! Learn more about Cooperative Extension and its history from this blog post by Dr. Lindsay Chichester!
On May 8, Land-Grant Universities will be celebrating the 100th Birthday of Extension — 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act!
Before I tell you about the Smith-Lever Act, let me backtrack a minute and tell you about the Morrill Act. The Morrill Act (named after Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill) was signed into place on July 2, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. It was officially titled “An Act Donating Public Lands to the Several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the Benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.” The Morrill Act provided each state with 30,000 acres of federal land for each member in their Congressional delegation. The land was then sold by the states and the proceeds were used to fund public colleges that focused on agriculture and mechanical arts. Sixty-nine colleges were funded by these land grants (aka Land-Grant Universities (great map at this…
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Farm Bill Webinar
Farm Bill Webinar information available from UNL Extension on May 21.
The 2014 Farm Bill provides agricultural producers with a variety of different programs and opportunities to participate; however, the decisions facing them have never been more complex. This bill is designed to offer more of a risk management approach to the federal farm safety net as opposed to the more traditional price and yield support. It is important participants understand how the 2014 Farm Bill works and how these programs may affect their operations. Nebraska offers some unique challenges relative to variability in the type of commodities and the practices in which they grown. In the Spring and Summer of 2014, agricultural producers will be offered an opportunity to update their base acres and program yields. It is important that they understand how these decisions work, to make a well-informed decision.
UNL Extension will be hosting a public webinar open to any interested party, to assist the producer with these…
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Edible Landscaping
There’s been increased interest in growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs together. Learn more about this in our Edible Landscaping workshop on May 8th at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Clay Center! Please RSVP by May 5th and hope to see you there!!!
Still Time for On-Farm Research!
With the recent rains and cooler weather in the State, producers still have an opportunity to consider conducting an on-farm research experiment that may be of interest to you! So far this year we have producers conducting nutrient management, irrigation timing, cover crop, seeding rates and dates, fungicide timing, and studies of various products on the market including sugar products. You can learn more about conducting on-farm research at our Nebraska On-Farm Research Network Website, our On-Farm Research Grower’s Guide, by Contacting a UNL Extension Educator or Specialist, the Nebraska Corn Board at 402-471-2676 or Nebraska Corn Growers Association at 402-438-6459. You can also learn more from our producers themselves in the video below. We hope you will consider conducting on-farm research this year to answer the questions you may have in your operation!
JenResources 