FIELD CROPS NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 FIELD CROPS NEWSLETTER December/January 2014 Melissa E. Huffman Extension Agent, Agriculture Field Crops Contact Us: NCCE-Onslow County 4024 Richlands Hwy. Jacksonville, NC (910) (910) Fax u.edu North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating. A Special Thank You.. I just wanted to say a personal special thank you to the farmers that agreed to be cooperators for me this past year. It is because of you that Cooperative Extension is allowed to continue offering research-based information on a county level. Multi-County Corn Variety Test Plots Barry Shepard Donnie Riggs Hessian Fly Traps Ricky Watkins Gurman Watkins Terry Brinson Richlands Farms, Inc (Gary Hardison, Josh Hardison, and Glenn Rhodes) Donnie Riggs Barry Shepard Cotton Black-Light Trap Richlands Farms, Inc. (Gary Hardison, Josh Hardison, and Glenn Rhodes)

2 Chance to Grow More Tillers Late January to early February is the time to determine if the crop has enough tillers to optimize yield. This is a very important decision. Apply N in January or February only if tiller densities are less than 50 tillers per square foot. If N is not needed, applying N in January or February results in increased risk of freeze damage, disease, lodging, and reduced yield. If tillering is low, however, an early application of N can help to stimulate further tiller development in the last few weeks before growth stage 30, resulting in higher yield and profit. The calendar date when wheat reaches growth stage 30 is influenced by variety, planting date, and environmental conditions. Early heading varieties can reach it in February. Late heading varieties may not reach growth stage 30 until mid-march. The following guidelines will help you decide whether to apply N in late January or early February. If at the end of January or in the first week of February, wheat looks as thick as that shown in Photo 1, it is well on the way to being a potentially high yielding field. This wheat has about 100 well-developed tillers per square foot and should not have any N applied until growth stage 30. A well-developed tiller is one with at least three leaves. The wheat in Photo 2 is a medium density stand with about 50 tillers per square foot. It also is well on the way to being a good yielding crop, and should not have any N applied until growth stage 30. The wheat in Photo 3, however, is poorly tillered and only has about 20 tillers per square foot. It has a low yield potential and needs more tillers to develop in February. It should have 50 to 70 pounds N fertilizer applied in late January or early February. A second N application should be made to finish this crop off at growth stage 30. Thin stands like those shown in Photo 3 need timely weed management, but should not have 2,4-D applied because 2,4-D may inhibit tiller development. Growers also need to scout for cereal leaf beetle in April, as these insect pests are often attracted to thin wheat stands. Wheat stands that are thicker than the stand shown in Photo 3 but not as well developed as that shown in Photo 2 also need an early N application. Such a field will yield best with 40 to 50 pounds of N fertilizer applied in late January or early February and a second N application In late January and early February, a tiller is considered to be any stem that has three or more leaves. Rough estimates of tiller density can be made by comparing a wheat field with Photos 1 through 3, or more exactly by counting tillers. To determine tiller density, count all the tillers that have at least three leaves in a yard of row. Do this in several places and take an average. Tiller density is then computed as follows: Tillers per square foot = (tillers per yard of row) X 4 (row width in inches)

3 Example: If in five counts of tillers in a yard of row the average was found to be 102 tillers per row and the row spacing is 7.5 inches, then tiller density is: 102 tillers X 4 / 7.5 = 54.4tillers per sq ft An alternative is to mark out a square foot of ground and count all the tillers in that area that have at least three leaves. Do this in several places and calculate the average. Photo 1 Well tillered 100 tillers per sq foot Photo 2 Medium tillered 50 tillers per sq foot Photo 3 Poorly tillered 20 tillers per sq foot

4 Attention Tobacco Growers!!! Tobacco Growers who contract to sell with most tobacco companies will be required to attend a tobacco production meeting this year; this will be all companies that required GAP training last year, plus Philip Morris International. The format for the training will include the normal production updates from various specialists and GAP training presented by the US Department of Labor. Growers will receive a certificate for attendance to present when requested by their contracting company. If you are a grower that did not get GAP certified last year and need it this year, you will need to contact me about attending a separate (additional) training that covers general GAP topics. A list of meetings being offered in surrounding counties is listed below. Pre-Registration is REQUIRED. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for additional training opportunities. DATE LOCATION TIME REQUIRED Pre-Registration Contact January 8, 2014 Wayne County Extension Center 208 Chestnut St, Goldsboro 10:00 AM January 9, 2014 January 21 January 23 February 7 Wilson County AG Center 1806 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson 9:30 AM Sampson County Ag Expo Center 414 Warsaw Rd., Clinton 10:00 AM Cunningham Research Station 200 Cunningham Rd, Kinston 9:30 AM TGANC Meeting, NC State Fair Grounds Holshouser Building 1:00 PM Contact your local Extension Agent Multi-County Corn Variety Test Please see the insert of the Corn Variety Test. This NC Cooperative Extension effort involved participating corn companies, Extension agents, and cooperators (farmers) from Jones, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson and Duplin Counties. Extension agents and cooperators planted the same corn varieties in the same planting sequence so data could be combined from the various locations. There were 7 total locations (2 sites in Onslow). Please consider this data as well as other sources (NCSU OVT - Corn, corn company materials/representatives, etc.) as you select 2014 corn hybrids.

5 Winter Commodity Meeting January 14, 2014 Onslow County Extension Office 6:00 pm 8:00 pm Topics will cover corn (Dominic Reisig) and small grain production (Randy Weisz) Please RSVP for meal arrangements to Nita (910) Area Cotton Meeting (Jones/Craven/Onslow) February 6, 2014 Jones County Cotton Gin 12:00 pm (noon) Please RSVP for meal arrangements to Nita (910) Regional Forestry Association Meeting February 15, 2014 Burgaw Community Church Registration begins at 9:00am, optional tour after lunch More Information to follow Please also remember that the NCDA is now charging $4 per soil sample during the peak season beginning November 27 March 31. After March 31, there will be NO fee.

6 North Carolina Cooperative Extension North Carolina State University Onslow County Center 4024 Richlands Hwy Jacksonville, NC ******************************* NON-PROFIT