Farmer's Cooperative Association
Area Answer Plots Results
The results of the 2011 harvest of Area Croplan Answer Plots are starting to come in. The following link will show how the Croplan’s seed varieties have weathered this growing seasons conditions and soil types.
Click on the area to view the Answer Plots Results for that location and Crop Type.
Corn Seed
Brookings, Marshall, Sanborn, Truman, Worthington
Soybeans
Brookings, Marshall, Sanborn, Truman, Worthington
Submitted by Randy Lopau; FCA’s Seed Specialist.
Conclusions for fungicide seed treating
Narrow spectrum seed treatments are effective against specific genera of fungi that cause damping-off..
If logistical and market factors are eliminated from the picture, one could effectively argue that the low cost of seed fungicides and the good they can do, make treating seed with a fungicide a good “insurance” investment for soybean producers. Just like car or life insurance, you don’t necessarily expect to recoup your investment in insurance premiums, but when you need the insurance it is there. Similarly, all soybean fields are subject to situations (minor herbicide or fertilizer injury, cool/wet/temporarily saturated soils, insect damage, soil crusting, planting too deep or variable planting depth, planting less than high quality seed, etc.) which can increase the potential for seed and seedling diseases to reduce stands. Your management style, and risk aversion strategies, will likely decide if the insurance analogy applies to your farm operation or not.
In any event, the benefits of seed treatment are most likely to be realized in the following situations:
• Soybeans planted mid-April to early-May, especially no-till or minimum till with abundant crop residue.
• Fields with a history of post-planting problems (minor soil crusting, temporary flooding, soil compaction, poorly drained soils).
• When low seeding rates are used.
• When seed planted is of moderate germination or the germination rate is unknown (note: use of seed of unknown or low germination is strongly discouraged).
• When precision of seeding rate, fertilizer application and/or herbicide application cannot be assured.
• Where Phytophthora is a historical problem, in which case a Phytophthora-tolerant soybean cultivar should be planted that has been treated with either metalaxyl- or mefanoxam.
Submitted by Randy Lopau; FCA’s Seed Specialist. Article by Donald Hershman, Extension plant pathologist, University of Kentucky | November 15, 2011
FCA Plot Results
The results of the 2011 harvest are starting to come in. The following link will show the most current plot results as we get them in to show how the seed varieties have weathered this growing seasons conditions.
To view the results click here… Last updated 11-14-2011 4:16AM
Submitted by Randy Lopau; FCA’s Seed Specialist.
Frost and Freezing Temperature Effects on Soybeans
A hard frost occurred early Thursday morning (Sept 15th) across much of central and southern Minnesota. The complete effects of this frost or freeze event may not be known for some time. However, most soybean and corn fields have not reached physiological maturity. Yield and quality in these fields were likely affected.
Beyond the minimum temperature and the duration of the freezing temperatures, many cultural and environmental factors will affect the level of damage. Late planting, long season varieties, poor fertility or drainage, and cool temperatures may exacerbate the effects of this early frost/freeze event.
In most crop species, a hard killing frost after physiological maturity has little effect on yields. Physiological maturity is defined as the point at which maximum dry matter accumulation has occurred in the seed. But crops are not ready for harvest at physiological maturity, since dry- down usually takes a longer period of time. Soybeans are usually harvested at moisture contents of 14 percent or less.
Maximum dry matter accumulation of soybeans has been reached when: 1) all leaves are yellow and about 60 percent of the leaves have dropped from the plant; 2) pods are all yellow and more than 50 percent of the lower pods have turned brown; and 3) beans within the pods have about 60 percent moisture, show little evidence of green color, and may be shrinking.
Soybeans are easily damaged by frost in the 28 to 32° F range. Temperatures of 28° F for any extended period of time can completely kill soybean plants. The frost which occurred on Sept 15th resulted in varying degrees of leaf and plant damage. This damage ranged from only the top 20% of the soybean canopy affected in some fields to the more severe 50 to 70% leaf damage of the total soybean canopy in other fields located within south central Minnesota.
The yield loss will be directly proportional to the plants’ physiological growth stage. Soybean plants that are very near the point of physiological maturity can be expected to weather the freeze with little impact on yield. However, soybean fields that are only at the R6 (full seed) stage with all green leaves will experience significant yield losses. Very late planted or very long-season soybeans could experience yield reductions of up to 50% due to a longer freezing duration.
How can you recognize frost-damaged soybeans? Watch for these characteristics:
• Green or elongated yellow soybeans that shrink to smaller than normal size after drying
• Reduced oil content and quality
• Higher moisture level (by 1 to 2 percent) than indicated by a moisture meter
• Slower field dry-down
Soybeans left standing in the field may lose green color within two weeks of maturity, so allow for field dry-down if possible, even if the plants were only partially frosted.
Does the color of green soybeans change during storage? In a preliminary study done at the University of Minnesota by Extension agricultural engineer Bill Wilcke and others, green soybeans and normal yellow beans were stored and monthly color readings were taken for six months. The colors did not change significantly for either group; however, visual appearance of the pure green soybeans appeared to be slightly mottled at the end of the six-month period. Some growers believe that beans that are only slightly green will tend to lighten up with time.
A study conducted at the University of Minnesota indicated that if green beans were properly dried to low, safe storage moistures, they should keep in storage.
It may be desirable to try to screen out small green soybeans as a means to reduce potentially large discounts due to damage. If you are storing soybeans which require drying, be sure to dry them (at temperatures of less than 130° F) to a low moisture level in order to ensure safe storage. In the Midwest, the Midwest Plan Service generally recommends storage moistures of 12 percent or lower for clean, high-quality soybeans in aerated storage for up to one year. For damaged soybeans, the storage moisture content should be 11 percent or lower.
Submitted by Randy Lopau; FCA’s Seed Specialist. Article By Seth Naeve and Dave Nicolai University of Minnesota Extension.
Deadline for farms to have SPCC Plans in place
The deadline for farms to have SPCC Plans in place (if they are covered) is November 10, 2011.
Below are some FAQ’s from the EPA’s website specifically about farm SPCC’s. Question #9 may be of particular interest.
1. Is my farm covered by SPCC?
SPCC applies to a farm that:
- Stores, transfers, uses or consumes oil or oil products, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, lube oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil, vegetable oil or animal fat; and
- Stores more than 1,320 US gallons in total of all aboveground containers (start counting at 55 gallons or more) or more than 42,000 gallons in completely buried containers; and
- Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil to waters of the US or adjoining shorelines, such as interstate waters, intrastate lakes, rivers and streams.
2. How do I determine if my farm could reasonably discharge oil into or upon navigable waters or adjoining shorelines? You can determine this by considering the geography and location of your farm relative to nearby navigable waters (such as streams, creeks and other waterways). You should consider if ditches, gullies, storm sewers or other drainage systems may transport an oil spill to nearby streams. Estimate the volume of oil that could be spilled in an incident and how that oil might drain or flow from your farm and the soil conditions or geographic features that might affect the flow toward waterways. Also you may want to consider whether precipitation runoff could transport oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. You may not take into account manmade features, such as dikes, equipment, or other structures that might prevent, contain, hinder, or restrain the flow of oil. Assume these manmade features are not present when making your determination. If you consider the applicable factors described above and determine a spill can reasonably flow to a waterway, then you must comply with the SPCC rule.
3. If your farm does not have fuel storage that will flow into US waters by a ditch, river stream or lake, do you have to prepare a SPCC Plan? No. EPA suggests you use a common sense approach. If one of your oil storage tanks leaks, and the spilled oil would not flow to other property or into watersheds that could end up impacting other waters, you do not have to prepare a Plan. Remember that you still have the responsibility to clean up any spilled oil and a containment system (for example, a dirt berm around the tank) makes this easier. EPA recommends that you check with your state environmental contacts to determine if there are requirements when oil is spilled to soil only. Also, EPA recommends that you write down the reason why you think an oil spill would not reach water.
4. Is a clay dike or berm without a liner that will hold a potential spill of the largest tank inside the dike or berm sufficient enough protection? Yes.
5. Do service tanks on service trucks or pickups count in the calculation of the total storage on the farm? Yes, you should include fuel tanks mounted on trailers, fuel trucks used exclusively on the farm and tanks in pickups toward the overall threshold of 1,320 gallons. Also, count 55-gallon drums, but don’t count any container smaller than that.
6. If the oil storage on the farm is less than 10,000 gallons total, can a farmer self file a plan and do regular self-inspections and be in compliance? Yes, and you do not have to file the plan with EPA. If over 10,000 gallons, you will need a professional engineer to certify your plan.
7. If I have more than one farm location, do I total the oil storage from all locations? Not necessarily, if the locations or the leased or owned parcels have separate farm identification numbers, then each location of oil storage could be a separate calculation to determine the total oil storage capacity.
8. What do I do with rainwater that accumulates in my containment system? Check the rainwater for any oil, and if no oil is present, this can be released. If there is oil in the water, this water will need to be removed and disposed. If this happens, check with your state extension agent or your fuel dealer to get help.
9. If a farm is out of compliance of SPCC regulations and is checked by EPA and/or has a spill, is the retailer that filled the tank liable? No, EPA considers the oil tank owner responsible for lack of compliance.
10. What if I leased some parcels, and there are tanks already present? Am I responsible for these tanks? You could be. If you plan to use these tanks, make sure in your lease agreement, it states who is responsible for these tanks. If the lease does not state who is responsible, you should talk to the property owner to check who is responsible for the tanks under the SPCC rule.
Submitted By Tim Borstad (FCA’s Energy Manager); Information by Ag States Group by Liz Rheingans
Heat Wave
The heat has gotten everyone’s attention and I know there will be questions about what impact if any it will have on the corn that is now about to pollinate. The short answer is the usual “ it depends”. The fact of the matter is there is no way to really predict what might happen but one thing is clear; corn is pretty resilient. Below are a couple of articles that were published some years ago but the information still applies today.
http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Tassels.html
http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Silks.html
Posted by Randy Lopau (FCA’s Seed Specialist) Information by University of Purdue.
Yield Response of Flattened (Lodged) Corn
Yield Response of Flattened (Lodged) Corn
Joe Lauer, Corn Agronomist
Last night, July 11, a storm rolled through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois causing corn to flatten (lodge) in the field. Lodged corn can be seen in a 30-50 mile east-west swath from Grant County to well into Walworth County. It is unclear yet, as to whether entire stalks lodged or whether stalk breakage (greensnap) has occurred. Most likely it is stalk lodging. All hybrids (conventional and transgenic seem to be affected equally). Most plants did not have brace roots yet. We will review yield data for both situations.
Wind lodging
Corn root lodging often occurs during the mid-growing season, when soils are saturated by heavy rainfall and the rainfall is accompanied or followed by high wind speeds. Often, entire corn stands are blown down. Initially, producers are concerned about how much recovery they can expect and potential losses from mechanical harvesting root-lodged corn. After a few days, the plants usually grow upward so that the upper stalk is vertical, but curvature occurs in the lower stalk area. Grain yield losses in conjunction with lodging can be attributed to (i) inhibited uptake and translocation of nutrients, primarily when lower-stalk breakage occurred; and (ii) reduced light interception, despite lack of any apparent stem injury. Wind lodging of corn is most likely to occur when plants are in mid-vegetative stages, and have not yet developed adequate brace roots.
Carter and Hudelson (1988) simulated root lodging due to wind in a field experiment by saturating the soil with irrigation water and manually pushing corn plants over at the base, perpendicular to row direction. Treatments applied were a control and simulated wind lodging at V10, V13 to V14, and V17 to R1 stages in 1985 and V11 to V12, V15, and VT stages in 1986. Three hybrids were included. The upper region of plants straightened to vertical within two days following lodging, and lodging did not affect subsequent timing of plant development. The angle between the below-ear stalk and soil surface at harvest decreased from 73 to 85° with lodging at early (V10-V12) stages to 22 to 36 ° at late (V17-R1) stages due to more pronounced lower stalk curvature. This resulted in ear height reductions from 52 to 57 in. for controls to less than 30 in. when lodging occurred after V17. These results indicate that mechanical harvest of corn wind lodged during V10 to R1 stages will likely be possible, but slow harvest speeds may be necessary to minimize losses. Compared to hand-harvested grain yields of control plots, grain yield decreased (Table 1).
Stalk breakage
Rapidly growing corn is more susceptible to stalk breakage from wind as well as other physical phenomenon such as cultivation, hilling, or fertilizer application where stalks are bent by a low tool bar. Mid-season stalk breakage is a type of stem lodging also referred to as “greensnap” or “brittle snap.” This typically occurs a few nodes above the soil surface, at or below the primary ear node and usually occurs when stalks are moist and turgid. In general, treatments that cause plants to grow more rapidly enhanced susceptibility to stalk breakage (Wilhelm et al., 1999). Row direction, as well as planting dates and other cultural practices, have varying impacts on a crop’s ability to withstand the wind. Corn plant displacement by wind (regardless of wind direction) was greater perpendicular to the row direction than parallel to the row direction (Flesch and Grant, 1992).
Elmore and Ferguson (1999) measured mid-season corn stalk breakage on over 100 hybrids in south central Nebraska resulted from 100 mph winds on 8 July 1993 and 80 mph winds on 1 July 1994. Corn growth stages at the time of damage ranged from V10 to V14. In 1993 stalk breakage ranged from 7 to 88%, and grain yield was reduced 1.5 bu/acre for every 1% increase in stalk breakage. Breakage in 1994 ranged from 1 to 37% at one site and from 5 to 51% at the other site. Grain yield was reduced by 1.5 and 1.8 bu/acre for every 1% increase in stalk breakage. Remaining plants did not compensate for grain loss from broken plants at any site. Percentage yield loss is directly related to percentage stalk breakage.
Using Foliar Fungicides
I was unable to find any data related to the need for foliar fungicides on lodged corn. The closest data was corn response to hail damage. Hail damage likely causes more problems than wind lodging due to bruising of leaves and stems. Fungicide application cannot recover yield potential lost due to damage. Fungicides protect yield potential by reducing disease. There are some diseases of corn that are favored by wounding, e.g., Goss’s wilt, common smut and stalk rot, but fungicides are not effective against the pathogens. The foliar diseases managed by fungicides (e.g., gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, eye spot, and common rust on corn, and brown spot and frog eye on soybeans) are caused by pathogens that do not require wounds for infection.
A simulated hail-fungicide trial was conducted at Urbana in 2007, with corn plants being damaged with a string trimmer just before tasseling to simulate hail damage (Bradley and Ames, 2010). Some plots were left undamaged as well. The fungicides Headline, Quadris, and Quilt were applied to the plots and compared to an untreated check. When the data were statistically analyzed, fungicides did not significantly improve yield compared to the untreated check in the “hail-damaged” plots or the nondamaged plots (Table 2). The simulated hail damage alone did decrease yield by approximately 30 bu/A compared to the nondamaged plots, however.
Fungicides should be used as a “tool” (along with other IPM practices) – to control diseases that are present and/or almost certain to be a problem. Consider the following factors before spraying:
- hybrid susceptibility,
- disease pressure at VT,
- weather conditions at VT and during grain fill,
- previous crop,
- the amount of crop residue present in the field,
- fungicide and application cost ,
- grain price, and
- read directions and restrictions on product label.
In general, a fungicide application is not recommended on resistant hybrids. On susceptible hybrids, a fungicide application may be warranted if disease is present on the third leaf below the ear leaf or higher on 50 percent of the plants at tasseling. With intermediate hybrids, a fungicide need only be applied if conditions are favorable for disease development. Spray if disease is present on the third leaf below the ear leaf or higher on 50 percent of the plants at tasseling, and the weather is warm and humid, and the field has a history of Gray Leaf Spot and/or Anthracnose, and >35 percent corn residue is present.
What do we do now?
Be patient. Let the corn crop recover. Make notes about hybrid differences for lodging resistance, crop development and whether brace roots had formed. Watch lodged fields closely, especially later near harvest. Plan on harvest taking slightly longer and expect 5-15% lower grain yields.
Key References
Bradley, C.A., and K.A. Ames. 2010. Effect of Foliar Fungicides on Corn with Simulated Hail Damage. Plant Disease 94:83-86. DOI: doi:10.1094/PDIS-94-1-0083.
Carter, P.R., and K.D. Hudelson. 1988. Influence of simulated wind lodging on corn growth and grain yield. J. Prod. Agric. 1:295-299.
Elmore, R.W., and R.B. Ferguson. 1999. Mid-season stalk breakage in corn: hybrid and environmental factors. J. Prod. Agric. 12:293-299.
Flesch, T.A., and R.H. Grant. 1992. Corn motion in the wind during senescence. I. motion characteristics. Agron J 84:742-747.
Wilhelm, W.W., M.A. Liebig, G.E. Varvel, and T.M. Blackmer. 1999. Midseason stalk breakage in corn as affected by crop rotation, hybrid, and nitrogen fertilizer rate. Agron J 91:160-165.
Posted by FCA’s Randy Lopau (FCA’s Seed Specialist) Information from WCM Staff.
