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Ag Report : Washington County Ag Report August 26, 2003 Washington County Ag Report
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| Argyle | Easton | Whitehall | Jackson | ||||
| 2003 | Average | 2003 | Average | 2003 | Average | 2003 | |
| Rain Past Week | 0 | 0.54 | 0 | 0.61 | 0 | 0.32 | 0 |
| So far this month | 4.04 | 2.69 | 4.36 | 2.95 | 3.84 | 2.57 | 4.69 |
| Total since April 1st | 17.48 | 16.87 | 14.57 | 18.33 | 19.72 | 17.86 | 16.61 |
| GDD Base 41 Growing Degree Days = [hi temp + low temp]/2 - 41 | |||||||
| Past Week | 213 | 187 | 205 | 188 | 218 | 200 | 198 |
| Since April 1st | 3145 | 3182 | 3198 | 3267 | 3466 | 3458 | 3260 |
| GDD 86/50 [hi temp + low temp]/2 - 50 High’s >86oF are set to 86oF, low’s <50oF are set to 50oF | |||||||
| Past Week | 154 | 129 | 147 | 131 | 160 | 142 | 138 |
| Since April 1st | 2151 | 2182 | 2178 | 2251 | 2397 | 2378 | 2249 |
Midwest Commodity Prices - from the Wall Street Journal
Corn per bushel $2.245/bu
Cotton Seed Meal per ton $152.5ton
Soybean per bushel 5.895/bu
Corn Gluten Feed 56/ton
Hominy Feed per ton 28/ton
Wheat, soft white 4/bu
48% Soybean meal per ton 203/ton
Tallow per pound .18/lb
These prices are provided only to show where the general market trends
are moving and to help you determine appropriate ration ingredients. Local
prices will vary due to shipping, processing, and discounts.
FARM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT: Just to keep everyone up to speed, a reminder that the Dairy Compact is out. The National Dairy Preservation Act is in. This legislation will allow regions to establish over-order pricing systems similar to the compact, but also authorizes the Regional Board to manage over-production. Participation will also eliminate the MILC payment in participating states (the legislation asks for MILC to be extended to 2007). There is a lot going on, so stay alert and learn about what is happening.
CROPS
Alfalfa: "Think twice "about running heavy manure spreaders
and trucks over ground that is soft. This can damage alfalfa crowns. Alfalfa
needs a good rest of 7 weeks growing between the last two cuttings.
Field Corn: The rain is spotty, with some areas getting loads of it. Some corn in these areas is showing nitrogen deficiency. There is no reasonable way to apply nitrogen to corn that is already tall. Keep an eye out for corn diseases. I saw what may be gray leaf spot. There is nothing to do about it this year, but if you know what diseases are common in your fields, then you can make the correct disease-resistant hybrids choices for next year.
Grasses: I looked at another field of ugly orchardgrass, and heard of more on another neighboring farm - the result of a foliar disease. Please give me a call if you have orchardgrass that is yellow/brown and not regrowing well. I am particularly interested in the variety. The only reasonable control measure is to plant disease resistant varieties. But first we need to know which varieties those might be and which are susceptible.
Grains: I have not checked any fields, but this weather favors Sclerotinia mold in soybeans.
Weeds: from Ken Wise, Eastern NY Field Crop IPM Specialist:
Fall Weed Considerations
In the fall, weeds are fully-grown and easily identified. Correctly identifying
and recording weeds helps you select the most economical method of control.
Knowing whether the weed is a broadleaf, grass, sedge, summer or winter
annual, biennial, or perennial is critical in selecting the right weed
control measures. Remember, while herbicides are widely used for weed
control other methods like crop rotation, cultivation, proper fertilization,
planting dates, banding pre-emergence herbicides, crop spacing, plant
populations, cover crops and combinations of these techniques should also
be part of an integrated weed control program.
Conduct your fall weed surveys from late August through October. Sketch
out a map, walk each 1/4 of the field, and record the weeds you observe.
While no economic thresholds have been developed for weeds in New York,
we recommend using a weed rating scale. The following scale can help you
determine the severity of weed infestations in cornfields.
Evaluating Weed Presence- Weed Rating Scale:
Determine the intensity of each weed species as follows:
None:
No weeds present.
Few:
Weeds present but very few plants within the field. Enough plants to produce
seed but not enough to cause significant economic loss in the current
year.
Common:
Plants dispersed throughout the field, an average of no more than 1 plant
per 3 feet (.91m)
of row, or scattered spots of moderate infestation.
Abundant:
Fairly uniform concentrations across field. Average concentrations of
no more than 1 plant per foot (.30m) of row or scattered spots of severe
infestations.
Extreme:
More than 1 plant per foot (.30m) of row for broadleaf weeds and 3 plants
per foot of row for grasses, or large areas of severe infestations.
So take a few minutes and encourage growers to look at their fields---it
will help save on weed control costs and increase crop production. Remember,
if you don't look, you will never know. Check out our on-line publication:
Weed Management in Field Corn http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/publications/weedscorn.pdf
Vegetables: Interesting note from central NY was the NE power
outage caused a halt in vegetable processing such as beets and snap beans
and partially processed product had to be dumped.
Alert From Judson Reid Extension Educator CCE Yates County: We have what we believe to be a genetic problem with cantaloupes Athena and Aphrodite in Yates County. Very healthy plants but the rind has green sections or stripes. The flesh is fine, the fruit is firm. On some farms the problem shows up in one out of a hundred fruit, other farms have it 1 in 3. If you have seen this or would like to see a digital photo email me directly: jer11@cornell.edu.
Alert
from Umass: Plectosporium Blight On Cucurbits is a new, destructive
disease of cucurbits, especially squash and pumpkin. This fungus disease
is well known in Europe but was first reported in the United States (Tennessee)
in 1988. Since then it has been reported in several mid-Atlantic, southern
and mid-western states. In 1999 we had one case in MA and this summer
we found an additional outbreak. The fungus causes a silver to white russeting
all over the fruit of zucchini and pumpkin. The entire surface can become
scabby. The vines and petioles develop many small elongate, lens-shaped
lesions, also white. The disease can develop throughout a field in a few
weeks. Plectosporium blight is controlled by Bravo and Flint. Make applications
as directed by the label. It is very likely that the fungus will survive
over the winter in plant debris so rotation for two years is recommended.
Please notify CCE if you believe you may have this disease.
Edited from Vegetable Pest Status Update 8/20/03 by John Mishanec
and Heather Tucker
Potatoes
Early blight is present from the stress of weather and senesce of the
plants. When the plants turn really brown very quickly, and it does not
appear to be of its natural senesce, it is likely to be stem damage caused
by a boring insect. When the first planting of potatoes come up, the corn
borer moths will lay their eggs on the plants just as they would in a
corn field. The larvae will grow inside the stalks of the potato plant
and then emerge, causing a large hole that may become water-soaked and
rot. Control is difficult because the insects are hard to detect until
after the damage is done. Some fields are now having problems with numerous
generations of Colorado potato beetles, likely because the beetles weren't
controlled successfully at the beginning of the season. They should be
sprayed to reduce feeding damage to the plants and prevent a large population
from going into the winter causing problems next year.
Tomatoes
White mold is present in tomatoes that have been sitting in water for
a few days. Dry weather and a fungicide application should keep it from
worsening. Between the weather conditions and heavy fruit set on the tomato
plants early blight is showing up on the bottom leaves from the overall
stress on the plants.
Late blight has been confirmed in a tomato field in Tompkins Co. It was
a field that had not been sprayed with fungicides. It has spread to a
potato field nearby that was on a 7 day spray schedule with Bravo. The
tomatoes were destroyed. The heavy rain conditions we have been experiencing
over the last two weeks are perfect for late blight. Plants do not have
time to dry off. It is very important to scout your fields. Late blight
can come on very quickly. I have seen it destroy a field of tomatoes within
a week. With all the rain earlier in the spring, many fields have tractor
tracks through them that are compressed and holding water. Check areas
around standing water first. Check along hedge rows and tree lines. Check
low spots in the field. Check anywhere humidity will stay with the plants
longest.
Vine Crops
With the hot and humid weather keeping fields damp the biggest problem
in vine crops is still phytophthora. Unfortunately there isn't much that
can be done to stop it from spreading...just stay out of the fields.
From Tom Zitter at Cornell: On a recent trip through eastern
New York, concerns for Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici) of cucurbits,
peppers and tomatoes increased due to frequent rains and standing water
in furrows. Buckeye rot, as the disease is known on tomato, may become
an issue especially if the crop is grown near infected cucurbits. One
option that remains for tomato growers is to apply Ridomil Gold MZ as
a foliar spray at the 2.5 lb rate. This product has a 5 DTH limit compared
with Ridomil Gold Bravo and Ridomil Gold Copper that have a 14 DTH limit.
The same holds true for Aliette. With so may tomatoes left to harvest,
this may be a good investment. The Ridomil products can be applied every
14 days up to a total of 3 times, and should be applied with a protectant
fungicide in between applications of these fungicides. Note that these
requirements also hold true for the Ridomil Gold MZ label for cucumbers,
melons, and summer squash.
The plant feeding damage is mostly from squash bugs and as fruit develops
they will also cause damage to it. The adults and nymphs are really hard
to see, but the bronze eggs are readily visible on the upper leaf surface.
Powdery mildew has spread like wild fire, some (pumpkin) fields had only
a few spots on a couple of plants (about 2%) one week and by the next
week it was hard to find a plant without powdery mildew.
From Meg McGrath, Cornell University: Change in Fungicide Recommendations
for Powdery Mildew in Cucurbits. Symptoms were more severe than expected
on the underside of pumpkin leaves in the commercial pumpkin fields examined
this week on Long Island. Conditions have been very favorable for this
disease. However, the top side of leaves had very little if any symptoms.
Thus it appears that timing of sprays has been good and the protectant
fungicides (sulfur, chlorothalonil, copper, etc.) being used are working.
Fields should be examined elsewhere to determine if the situation is similar.
Poor control on the leaf underside suggests the pathogen is resistant
to a systemic fungicide. I suspect resistance to strobilurin fungicides
(Quadris, Flint, and Cabrio). Isolates have been collected, but it will
be at least 4 weeks before the assay is completed and we will know if
resistance is a likely explanation. Resistance to this group of fungicides
was detected in 2002 in several areas of the US. It is a qualitative resistance,
thus resistant isolates are completely resistant and cannot be controlled
by increasing the fungicide rate or decreasing the spray interval. A low
frequency of resistance was detected in one commercial spring squash field
on LI early in the season. Since resistance may be affecting control,
I recommend that strobilurins not be used exclusively for powdery mildew
(they are effective for several other diseases, thus it may be desirable
to use them for these). Apply Nova weekly at the highest label rate tank
mixed with a protectant fungicide. Sulfur and oil are the best choices
(use either one, not both together) because they have provided better
control on the underside of leaves than other protectants, but others
(chlorothalonil, copper) control a broader spectrum of diseases. Microthiol
Disperss, a micronized sulfur, has consistently performed very well at
the low rate of 4 lb/A in fungicide efficacy experiments conducted with
pumpkin on Long Island. Use oil on melons as they are sensitive to sulfur.
Resistance is also a major concern with Nova. The related fungicide Bayleton
is no longer effective due to resistance. Resistance to this group of
fungicides is quantitative. Therefore it is critical to use Nova at the
highest rate, use it with other fungicides, and do not apply it more weeks
than necessary. Switch to just protectants towards the end of the season
when control is less critical.
Crucifers
Recently diamondbacks, loopers, imported cabbageworms and flea beetles
seem to be increasing.
Sweet Corn
Corn Earworm and European Corn Borer are still being caught in traps.
Unlike last year where the earworm showed up in one big swoop, the flight
has been steady for the past few weeks. Trap catches have remained constant
each week, averaging about 10-15 moths every 7 days. Corn borer flights
have jumped quickly in the last two weeks as well, meaning that the second
generation is coming in. With the corn earworm, it is important to spray
corn that is in silk, and to do so until the silks have dried; corn earworm
only lay eggs in fresh/wet silks. After they have dried there is really
no point to spray anymore. Corn borer should be sprayed for when the corn
has reached early tassel. Generally, the number of aphids are very high.
In some fields the aphids seemed to disappear without spraying, possibly
due to the recent heavy rains washing them off the plants.
Turf: The wet weather has subsided just in time for turf installation and repair. Prolonged morning dews can cause fungal problems with turf. Disease scouting at this time of year is imperative. Plan for the late summer feeding around Labor Day.
Greenhouse: Greenhouse clean-up should be on the docket as fall crops are finished. Make sure to check heating systems now so repairs can be made before the winter is upon us.
Landscape: We are still receiving tree samples. It is pretty pointless for control at this late date, but it is a good idea to know what you are up against so that you can make the appropriate decisions next spring. Samples ideally should be on the border of healthy and infected tissue. Do not place them in plastic bags or wet paper. Our office is open 8:30 - 4:30 Monday through Friday. Please call ahead and make sure of my schedule so samples don't sit over the weekend.
NYS DEC is helping us monitor a fairly severe and widespread decline of mature hemlock on both the east and west sides of Lake George. We do not feel these trees are diseased, but may be showing natural decline due to age and stress from previous years drought. Perhaps this years rainfall will stem this problem. Please let us know if hemlock on your property are browning and/or experiencing heavy needle drop.
Sincerely,
Aaron D. Gabriel
Extension Resource Educator
Crops and Soils
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| ©2001-2004 Cornell Cooperative Extension. Updated:
4/13/04
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