Commercial Ag Updates + Farm Food Safety

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Ag Agents provide updates on what they see in the field, upcoming events, and other important news that affects your operation, such as developments in on-farm Food Safety. Subscribe if you wish to be notified about workshops, meetings, and upcoming commercial ag events.
 
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Considerations for Small Grain Weed Control

Mark VanGessel, Extension Weed Specialist; mjv@udel.edu

For no-till fields, a non-selective herbicide needs to be used prior to planting. If grasses or perennial weeds are present, glyphosate is a better choice than paraquat. Fields worked with a vertical tillage implement for residue management still need a non-selective herbicide. These implements are not weed control tools.

There are few effective herbicides labeled for preemergence applications. Sharpen is labeled but we have limited data in the region. Valor can be used at 1 to 2 oz with the burndown application, but there must be a 7 day period between application and planting wheat. Valor is not labeled for barley.

Axiom and Prowl H2O can be used at crop emergence (Axiom at the spike stage and Prowl H2O at 1 leaf stage, winter wheat only). Neither provides control of emerged weeds but can have utility in situations of needing limited residual control shortly after planting.

Products that provide postemergence control include: Harmony, Harmony Extra, Starane Ultra, Osprey, PowerFlex, Axial XL, or 2,4-D. Other labeled herbicides with a limited fit include Finesse and Maverick.

Control of annual ryegrass has been good with Opsrey, PowerFlex, or Axial XL. However, ALS-resistant ryegrass has been identified in Delaware and these populations will not be controlled by Osprey or PowerFlex. Furthermore, Finesse will not control these populations. In situations where ALS resistance is suspected, Axial XL is the best postemergence option.

ALS-resistant common chickweed has been confirmed in Delaware. These biotypes are not controlled with Harmony Extra, Osprey, PowerFlex or Finesse. Currently, Starane Ultra has showed the best activity, often not killing common chickweed, but providing good suppression. Starane Ultra can be used either in the fall or spring.

Stink Bugs in Soybean

Stink Bugs, including the Brown Marmorated type (BMSB), have begun to show up in soybean fields around the state.

The Plant Management Network has developed a webcast titled “Impact and Management of BMSB in Mid-Atlantic Soybean”.
This talk by Virginia Tech entomology professor Ames Herbert Jr., covers:

  • Patterns of field infestation by BMSB;
  • Conditions that may predispose soybean fields to infestation;
  • The impact of BMSB feeding on soybean seed and yield;
  • Field management practices that have proven successful with growers; and
  • Insecticide efficacy comparisons

Find the webcast at
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/soybean/BMSB/

This 20-minute presentation is open access through November 30, 2013. Viewers can also opt to see a 2-minute executive summary version of the presentation. This shorter executive summary version is permanently open access courtesy of the United Soybean Board and supported by your New Jersey Soybean Board.

September 10 RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Commercial Growers, Crop Consultants, and Ag Industry personnel
are invited to attend a RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Date: Sep 10th, 5PM – Dusk
Location: Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm, Pittstown, NJ
Please RSVP by 9/6/13 to (908) 788-1339

Dinner 5:00PM
Wagon Tour:
Stop 1: 67 Full season soybean varieties; evaluating soybean resistance to white mold
Stop 2: Double crop soybean variety trial following canola evaluating 65 soybean varieties resistance to white mold
Stop 3: Field corn variety study evaluating different fertilizer treatments
Stop 4: Field corn trial comparing different liming agents
Stop 5: Irrigation pond management
Stop 6: Agronomic production issues for corn mazes

RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Commercial Growers, Crop Consultants, and Ag Industry personnel
are invited to attend a RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Date: Sep 10th, 5PM – Dusk
Location: Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm, Pittstown, NJ
Please RSVP by 9/6/13 to (908) 788-1339

Dinner 5:00PM
Wagon Tour:
Stop 1: 67 Full season soybean varieties; evaluating soybean resistance to white mold
Stop 2: Double crop soybean variety trial following canola evaluating 65 soybean varieties resistance to white mold
Stop 3: Field corn variety study evaluating different fertilizer treatments
Stop 4: Field corn trial comparing different liming agents
Stop 5: Irrigation pond management
Stop 6: Agronomic production issues for corn mazes

Late Season Palmer Amaranth Management

A number of calls have come in about Palmer amaranth in soybeans and what can be done. First of all, if the plants have been sprayed with glyphosate and they did not die, then they are likely to be glyphosate-resistant and spraying more glyphosate will not kill them. Products like Pursuit or Reflex will not control Palmer amaranth plants larger than 5 to 6 inches. Options are limited to Gramoxone, handweeding, or mowing.

After corn harvest, some fields may need to be mowed or sprayed with Gramoxone to prevent late-season seed production.

Late-season management of Palmer amaranth to reduce or prevent seed production is not easy or convenient, but it will pay dividends in the future. Removing the plants prior to harvest will reduce the spread of the seed within the field and from field to field. If a single plant can produce 500,000 seeds; spread over an acre that is 10 seeds per square foot. You can quickly see how eliminating seed production and preventing the spread of seed with equipment is a tremendous help.

Kudza Bug Getting Closer to NJ

Adult Kudza Bug - Soybean Pest

Adult Kudza Bug – Soybean Pest

You may have read in different farming publications about the presence of bean platasipid (Megacopta cribraria), or more commonly the kudzu bug, in the southeastern US.
It is referred to as the kudzu bug because it has a tendency to feed on kudzu. This is not necessarily a bad thing in the south where kudzu is an exotic invasive species.

In the southeastern US kudzu bug has become a concern because it is also a pest of soybeans. This stink bug species is smaller than brown marmorated stink bug and has a different shape. Like brown marmorated stink bug it also can overwinter in homes.

This stink bug species was discovered in Georgia in 2009 and has since spread through out the southeast and is heading north. The kudzu bug has most recently been found in Sussex County Delaware. It has also been found in Maryland in Prince George, Charles, Calvert, and Anne Arundel counties. As kudzu bug is a soybean pest we need to keep a watchful eye for it here in New Jersey.