RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting Announced

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

- Bill Bamka

Watch for soybean aphids

I was out scouting some double crop soybeans earlier this morning and came across several fields with moderate populations of soybean aphids. I have not encountered aphid populations this high in several years. The early flowering period has been shown to be a critical time for soybean aphid damage in several Midwest studies. Impact on yield has been as high as 50% in some studies. Fortunately, the threshold for soybean aphid is fairly high, 250 aphids per plant. This threshold allows for about seven days time to allow for gathering spray materials, until populations would build to 1000 per plant. Lady bird beetles can keep low or moderate soybean aphid populations in check. More information on scouting and control can be found in the RCE soybean aphid fact sheet.   


Bill Bamka

Kudzu Bug Getting Closer

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.


Bill Bamka


adult kudzu bug

 

Grasshopper Reports

Over the past few days I have received several reports of large grasshopper populations in several soybean fields. Initially, grasshoppers tend to occur along field edges and areas near drainage ditches. No economic damage has been reported due to grasshoppers yet. But consider this an early warning to scout fields. There are no good thresholds established for grasshoppers in corn or soybeans. Generally consider treatment in pre-bloom soybeans if grasshoppers are present and 40% or more defoliation is encountered. When in the pod forming and pod filling stages treatment is recommended with 20% or more defoliation.

Bill Bamka

Wheat Harvest and Storage

 Wheat is being or is ready to be harvested in a good portion of the state, but high temperatures, high humidity and predicted rain showers daily for the next week have the potential to cause problems. Where large amounts of rain fall, getting combines into the field may be difficult. Where fields are passable, grain may be mature but high in moisture. It is important to get wheat out of the field quickly after the kernals have matured to avoid loss of yield, reduced quality and ultimately sprouting in the heads. Combines operate most efficiently and with less kernal damage when grain moisture is between 13-20%. If wheat is harvested much above 14% it needs to be dried relatively quickly to prevent sprouting in storage.  Wheat is harder to dry than corn because of the high humidity this time of the year and because it packs tighter than corn thus grain depths in the bin need to shallower or fan speeds/volumes greater. The following links to publications from Purdue University and the University of Missouri may be useful if the current weather conditions persist and problems are encountered.

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/GQ/GQ-11.html
http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/agguides/pests/ipm1022_Pp33-37.pdf

Zane R. Helsel