Welcome to Hancock County
Weekly
Courier Articles
Agricultural Drainage (July 22)
Japanese Beetles Now Emerging (July 15)
It is Wheat Combining Time (July 8)
Knee High by the Fourth of July (July 1)
"Sidedressing" Corn (June 23)
Armyworms in Wheat Fields (June 16)
Japanese Beetles Now Emerging (July 15)
It is Wheat Combining Time (July 8)
Knee High by the Fourth of July (July 1)
"Sidedressing" Corn (June 23)
Armyworms in Wheat Fields (June 16)
Agriculture is Ohio’s largest industry. Because much of the state is characterized by fertile, flat soils and adequate rainfall, crop production occurs on 45 percent of Ohio’s land area. About 55% of Ohio’s agricultural soils (and close to 100% of the soils in northwest Ohio) need drainage improvements to minimize soil erosion, excess soil-water conditions in the plant root zone, and unfavorable field conditions for farm equipment in the spring and fall. Maintaining existing water management improvements is quite important because proper management of the soil, and soil water, is required to sustain production and profitability on agricultural soils.
In recent years, public concern has increased about the nature of agricultural drainage, and the impact of agricultural drainage improvements on the quality of Ohio’s water resources and environment. Basically, agricultural drainage is the removal of excess water from the soil surface and/or soil profile of cropland, by either gravity or artificial means. The two main reasons for improving the drainage on agricultural land are for soil conservation and enhancing crop production.
Research conducted in Ohio and throughout the Midwest has documented many benefits of agricultural drainage improvement.
In Ohio, most agricultural producers improve the drainage on their land to help create a healthier environment for plant growth and to provide drier field conditions so farm equipment can access the farm field throughout the crop production season. Healthy, productive plants have the potential to produce greater yields and more food. Also, research in Ohio has shown that agricultural drainage improvement can help reduce the year-to-year variability in crop yield, which helps reduce the risks associated with the production of abundant, high quality, affordable food. Improved access of farm equipment to the field provides more time for field activities, can help extend the crop production season, and helps reduce crop damage at harvest.
In Ohio, the two primary types of agricultural drainage improvement are surface and subsurface. Many times a landowner installs a combination of these two types.
Surface drainage improvements are designed for two purposes: to minimize crop damage resulting from water ponding on the soil surface following a rainfall event, and to control runoff without causing erosion. Surface drainage can affect the water table by reducing the volume of water entering the soil profile. This type of improvement includes: land leveling and smoothing; the construction of surface water inlets to subsurface drains; and the construction of shallow ditches and grass waterways, which empty into open ditches and streams.
Land smoothing or leveling is a water management practice designed to remove soil from high spots in a field, and/or fill low spots and depressions where water may pond. Shallow ditches may be constructed to divert excess water to grass waterways and open ditches, which often empty into existing surface water bodies.
Some disadvantages of surface drainage improvements exist. First, these improvements require annual maintenance and must be carefully designed to ensure that erosion is controlled. Second, extensive earthmoving activities are expensive, and land grading might expose less fertile and less productive subsoils. Further, open ditches may interfere with moving farm equipment across a field.
The objective of subsurface drainage is to drain excess water from the plant root zone of the soil profile by artificially lowering the water table level. Subsurface drainage improvement is designed to control the water table level through a series of drainage pipes (or tubing) that are installed below the soil surface, usually just below the root zone. For Ohio conditions, subsurface drainpipe is typically installed at a depth of 30-40 iches, and at a spacing of 20 to 80 feet. The subsurface drainage network generally outlets to an open ditch or stream. Subsurface drainage improvements requires some minor maintenance of the outlets and outlet ditches. For the same amount of treated acreage, subsurface drainage improvements generally are more expensive to construct than surface drainage improvements.
It is a known fact there is an improved soil infiltration with subsurface drainage, thus less surface runoff. During higher water events, the outlets on subsurface tile are also severely restricted, thus eliminating the belief that subsurface tile drainage is the main cause of flooding.
Growing winter crops and utilizing more no-till farming have also made great strides in reducing surface runoff and increase soil infiltration to subsurface tile.
Much of the entire region we live in was a swamp a 100+ years ago. In fact, much of northwestern Ohio was “The Great Black Swamp” – which was drained to provide for what we have today.
The use of surface and subsurface drainage improvements is not limited to agricultural lands. Many residential homes use subsurface drainage systems, similar to those used in agriculture to prevent water damage to foundations and basements. Golf courses make extensive use of both surface and drainage systems for protection. Houses, streets and buildings in urban areas depend heavily on surface and subsurface drainage systems for protection. These generally are a combination of plastic or metal gutters, and concrete pipes or channels.
In summary, farmers have a saying that you will pay for subsurface tile in 10 years if you have it --- or if you don’t. Throughout Ohio and the Midwest, the removal of excess water from wet agricultural soils is essential for providing a healthy environment for crop growth, and subsequently, helps provide affordable, high quality food. Agricultural drainage improvement is necessary to sustain agricultural production.
What farmers are doing this week –
Scouting
crops for
insects and diseases.
High populations of Japanese Beetles are now being noticed as many calls are coming in to the Extension Office.
July is the time of the year we expect to see adult Japanese beetles start emerging in yards, gardens, pastures and farm fields; but it seems populations are higher this year. Japanese beetles are a brilliant, metallic green color, generally oval in outline, 3/8 inch (10 mm) long and 1/4 inch (7 mm) wide. The Japanese beetle came to the United States from Japan and was initially detected in New Jersey in 1916.
Very few landscape plants are immune to Japanese beetle attack. The adults are skeletonizers, that is, they eat the leaf tissue between the leaf veins but leave the veins behind. Attacked leaves look like lace that soon withers and dies. The adults will often attack flower buds and fruit. The grubs can kill small seedling plants but most commonly damage turf. They seem to especially relish Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescues and bentgrass.
Japanese beetles attack roses, grapes and most other trees and shrubs in the landscape. The adult beetles are known to feed on over 400 species of broad-leaved plants, although only about 50 species are preferred. In the past 10 years, Japanese beetles have really been a nuisance to homeowners across Northwest Ohio.
Japanese beetle larvae have spent the winter living approximately eight inches deep in the soil as grubs. In late April they move upward in the soil and feed on the roots of grass. With the warmer weather, they mature and the adult beetles emerge from the soil in month of July. On warm sunny days the new beetles crawl onto low growing plants and warm for a while before taking flight. The first beetles out of the ground seek out suitable food plants and begin to feed as soon as possible.
After feeding for a day or two, the females leave feeding sites in the afternoon and burrow into the soil to lay eggs at a depth of 2 to 4 inches. Females may lay 1 to 5 eggs scattered in an area before leaving the soil. These females will leave the following morning or a day or two later and will return to feed and mate. This cycle of feeding, mating and egg laying continues until the female has laid 40 to 60 eggs. About 95% of a population are generally laid by mid-August, though adults may be found until the first frost of fall.
Several traps have been developed to capture the adult Japanese beetles. These traps generally use a mixture of flora lures and sex pheromones. Recent data indicate that these traps do not significantly reduce grub populations and in some cases may actually contribute to increased foliar plant damage. If you use a trap, locate it at least 50 feet from the landscape plants you are trying to protect. One of our Ohio State University Entomologists estimated that these traps can actually bring beetles in from a quarter mile radius.
Japanese beetles are easily controlled by most of the commonly available garden pesticides. The key is to treat at the first signs of beetle feeding and be prepared to treat again in a week or so, if necessary, until the beetle populations decline.
Any golf course grounds caretaker will usually have several “war” stories on fighting Japanese beetles as populations are normally higher in large turf growing areas.
Where populations are low, beetles can be managed using the highly effective “pluck and drown” control method, or the more satisfying “pluck and stomp” method. A gloved hand makes plucking the beetles from plants more tolerable, and soapy water in a bucket enhances beetles drowning. The stomping method is self-explanatory.
Farmers also need to keep a watchful eye out for these beetles as they can also get heavy in soybean fields.
What farmers are doing this week --
Baling straw.
Knee High by the Fourth of July
A very old saying “corn should be knee high by the Fourth of July” is normally very outdated but this year is coming closer to reality. Normally, we like the corn to be knee high by the fourth of June but this year 95% of the corn didn’t get planted before the last week of May.
Most of the corn in the area is actually closer to waist high than knee high and believe it or not, we actually do have a few fields that are shoulder high right now which is where we really would like to see all corn be at this time of year.
Fifty years ago, it was a common goal to try to get the corn planted by Memorial Day. Even though the rainy weather forced late planting this year, a more notable goal for today’s farmer is to have all the corn planted by the first week of May. The advances in seed technology and earlier planting methods have all helped corn to be planted earlier. It got so late this year, there was approximately five percent of the corn crop that never got planted in this area.
Actually corn this year is definitely one of the more uneven corn crops we have had for many years. There is corn out in the fields presently that will range from only four inches to five feet tall.
As one goes out west towards Iowa, the knee high by the Fourth of July saying, unfortunately would apply more to floodwaters than to the corn crop, with much of that even being over your head. Even though
As a result of the lost acreage, farm prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat have reached record levels. This is good news for those who will have something to sell to offset record high input prices but bad news for livestock producers who have had their own farm level prices lag way behind their cost of production.
Even with all the diversity this year, farmers will still tell you that they always have gotten a crop to harvest and they expect that to happen this year as well.
What farmers are doing this week?
Getting combines ready for wheat harvest.
"Sidedressing" Corn
Farmers are applying nitrogen to their corn crop right now and the previous couple weeks as a practice called “sidedressing”.
From a plant growth viewpoint, sidedressing is the ideal time for nitrogen application. Special advantages are:
- If
you have an unusually good stand and plenty of moisture in the subsoil
to
produce top yields, you can profitably sidedress at the maximum
recommended
rate. But if you have a poor stand of corn and/or poor growing
conditions, you
can save some of the nitrogen you planned to sidedress due to lower
expected
yield.
- Sidedressing
gets the nitrogen on after you’ve controlled the weeds, so you
fertilize corn,
not weeds.
- There’s
less time for nitrogen to leach from well-drained soils or to be
denitrified in
poorly drained soils.
- You
have more flexibility to switch to another crop, soybean for example,
if you
have not already applied nitrogen.
Sometimes the slit made by the applicator blade results in a wide crack in soils that shrink markedly when they dry.
To minimize root damage, sidedress in the middle of the corn row. You’ll gain nothing by sidedressing close to the row since corn roots meet across the row by the time the crop is knee-high.
All of the common nitrogen fertilizers are acceptable for sidedressing, but anhydrous ammonia, urea, and nitrogen solutions are most popular.
Anhydrous ammonia is a compressed gas at 82% nitrogen. This is the lowest cost source of nitrogen. Part of the price advantage is offset by the need for high pressure handling and application equipment. Nitrogen solutions are 28% nitrogen and can be injected, sprayed, or dribbled on soil surface. Incorporation will prevent nitrogen loss.
Urea is 46% nitrogen and comes as dry prills or granules. It needs to be incorporated to prevent loss.
Manure has also been used to sidedress corn and can be done successfully with the proper equipment. Several research plots in the area are presently testing this technique.
Sidedressed nitrogen is generally placed at some depth in the soil. Nitrogen on the soil surface won’t be effective until rain moves it down into the root zone.
Research has shown that nitrogen injected between alternating rows is comparable in yield to injection between all rows. This can only be done when you know where the rows will be, such as with sidedressing or ridge till systems. This approach has worked with every tillage system or soil type. This outcome should be expected because each row till have nitrogen applied on one side of the row.
There are actually 33,000 tons of nitrogen in the air over every acre, but it exists in such a chemically stable form (N2) that plants cannot use it. The corn plant, which takes up nitrogen through almost the entire season, can take oxygen and hydrogen from water, and carbon from the air, but not an ounce of the nitrogen from the air. On the other hand, soybeans obtain a significant portion of their nitrogen by the symbiotic relationship with the bacteria in nodules on the roots.
What are farmers doing this week?
Sidedressing their corn fields.
Armyworms in Wheat Fields
Last week was another crisis management time for many
A rescue treatment on wheat is thought to be needed if larvae cause significant defoliation, and you have 5-6 larvae per foot of row. Larvae should be small with plenty of growing yet to do. The large armyworm larvae probably have done their predominant feeding.
Armyworm larvae eat wheat, ryegrass, corn and timothy. They do not typically eat soybeans or alfalfa although they will eat all the grass in an alfalfa field if given the opportunity. They are the most noticeable in wheat fields.
In wheat, larvae feed on leaves, working their way up from the bottom of plants. Injury to lower leaves causes no economic loss, but injury to the upper leaves, especially the flag leaf, can result in yield reduction if the crop is not close to maturity. If the armyworms devour the flag leaves, they can chew into the tender stem just below the head and clip off heads.
Armyworm moths migrate into
A true army worm consumers about 80% of its food in its final three to five days as a caterpillar before it pupates into a moth.
Young larvae are pale green in color, although longitudinal stripes are apparent, and the head is yellowish brown. Older larvae are greenish brown and more prominently striped. The larvae can be found on the wheat plants at night and early in the morning. They spend the daytime hours hiding in the crop residue near the base of the plants and then feed at night.
The adult army worm is a pale brown moth with a white dot in the center of each forewing. The adult moth will not cause an economic damage other than finding your windshield as you are driving down the road.
According to entomologists, this was not typical armyworm your. Waves of armyworm moths swept across
A second generation armyworm has been flying throughout the state. The moths are laying eggs, which could hatch by month’s end and begin the process all over again. Larval-phase feeding could go on for a full month afterward.
Armyworm densities also are prone to "crash" due to the quick spread of diseases through their population. Wet, humid weather can help promote these crashes. When they seem at their worst, armyworm numbers can also rapidly decline as they reach mature larvae size and pupating into moths. Also, when the wheat fields begin to turn towards ripening, armyworms suddenly lose interest in the wheat and “march “ in vary large numbers looking for something more palatable to eat. Nearby corn fields can become easy targets.
On occasion, homeowners have reported losing everything green in their yards (except the weeds) as armyworms march through overnight. County roads can turn black as motorists drive through what appears to be a moving river of armyworms, and can cause slick patches causing cars to skid.
What are farmers doing this week?
Scouting for Armyworm.
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Ohio State University Extension embraces human
diversity and is
committed to ensuring that all research and related educational
programs are available to
clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color,
religion, sex,
age,
national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
disability, or
veteran
status.
This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws
and
the USDA.
Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice
President for Agricultural Administration
and Director, Ohio State University
Extension
TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio
only) or 614-292-1868
Updated:
July 2008