The early mid-point of the summer is here and it may be wise to evaluate what has gone right and what may have done the opposite. In many ways there were lots of firsts that we had to deal with. Never before have we had to worry so much about laying in supplies or trying to get parts, fuel, labor, freight deliveries, or other items due to foreign caused or deliberate mis-management of the national economy on the large scale. Most of us believe little of the main street news as presented to us by what my mother used to call ‘nincompoops’. People outside of Ag don’t fathom that when we do our best to raise crops along with Mother Nature, we either have to live by her rules or battle against them. She dictates when it is going to warm up: when, how hard, and how much it is going to rain; how cold, cool, warm or how hot it is going to be; and how much sunshine we are going to receive. This season so far, all of those items have created challenges in most of the major crop growing states. Meeting those challenges this season has required more than the normal amount of patience, resourcefulness, perseverance and forethought. Most producers recognize the fiscal opportunities of this season but would prefer not to see so many roadblocks.
First of all, Happy 4th of July to all. It is a time to celebrate our great country and the freedom it offers to its citizens. So far, we have celebrated our birthday 246 times and hope that tally continues. We headed to Clear Lake on Sunday and watched the fireworks in Ames in the evening with a bunch of friends. And for the first time in years mosquitos were not a problem.
I am writing this on the morning of July 4th, our nation’s celebrated birthday. The day began as perfect as most corn and bean growers would hope for, a good shot of rain and clearing skies predicted by late morning. In Iowa the condition of the crops varies greatly. I can walk in corn fields thirty minutes from here where the corn stalks are over 6-7’ as well as in fields where the plants are only 1’ tall. Much of central Iowa collected substantial rains that filled the profile one and two weeks ago, while the two coasts have been dry and the crops exhibit signs of moisture stress. Most meteorological sources continue to predict the main part of the summer is going to be drier than normal. Accumulating rainfall is just like topping off the gas tank in your car or truck whenever you get the chance.
Rapid Growth of Corn Plants
Where the moisture has been adequate the last two weeks, the corn capitalized on the bonus GDUs and formed about four feet of new growth. Though it seemed to be in doubt, much of the state’s corn crop reached knee high on or ahead of schedule. Progressing to the tasseling and pollination stages will occur with a high % of the acres in the July 20th to Aug 1st time frame. Most corn growers stuck with their normal maturity seed varieties, thus black layering will be scheduled for a Sept 1st maturing date for the most advanced fields. The very latest hybrids and replant acres will reach maturity later into September. Any frost arriving ahead of normal could possibly threaten a portion of the acres.
The combination of 90F temps, constant sunlight, low humidity and strong winds has kept moisture use or evapotranspiration high. Quite a few fields were beginning to curl the leaves where premature field traffic compaction or sidewall compaction by the planter packed the ground. The Midwest planter guru was telling his clients to wait additional days while the field dried enough to get the soil in better working conditions. Now those patient corn growers are glad they waited a few more days as they avoided sidewall issues that are now common. In a Purdue article they showed root system comparisons between planting too early vs after waiting a few days. Tomahawked roots confined to the seed trench are apparent.
Slow Growth of Soybean Plants
The growth of the soybean plants has lagged those of corn. Those that were planted in April look good and were approaching V7 a week ago. However, a sizeable percentage are lagging in growth and seem to be stalled out at the V3 and V4 growth stages. The definitive reasons for this seem to center on having a compacted root zone. Other factors seem to be in play also. Spray mixtures that normally don’t cause much tissue damage burned the leaves noticeably, leaving the plants stalled out. That is one more reason to limit or quit the use of AMS for post emerge herbicide mixtures.
SB plants typically begin flowering near June 15th to 20th. That does not seem to be happening in many fields even where V7 was achieved in the tallest fields. One would have to conclude the plants did not have enough energy to form the flowers. For aggressive growers who hope to break their personal yield records, V5-7 and R1 are the stages at which they should begin their foliar programs. In spite of the fact that very few land grant staffs promote foliar feeding, nearly all SB contest winners have a strong foliar program in place. They utilize custom designed programs and products formulated for maximum intake following the guidance of growers who have achieved success, rather than someone who says it will always fail. Within that program they can trigger plant architecture and physiology, they can apply minerals which were deemed at low or deficient levels in their tissue testing program, and they can bypass the plants’ ability to move enough minerals thru their vascular vessels or bypass the inability of dry soils to release needed nutrients. That timing can also be utilized as an opportunity to apply products that protect against heat and dry stress such as BioEnure/Heat Shield/Protect Plus, limit ethylene formation like Phonix or Respite, or increase radiation or water use efficiency as with CaSi or Mainstay Si.
Pest News
In Minnesota they are noticing populations of SB aphids appearing in SB fields. Rather than spraying with an insecticide, growers should realize that applications of Moly and manganese can reduce the attractiveness of the bean to the insects.
The past two years we lost our berries and tree fruit to heavy, hungry Japanese beetle populations. So, I applied a beneficial fungus, Beauveria bassiana, to the soil in the fall of 2020. The beetles returned with a vengeance in the summer of 2021. It apparently took longer for the strands of fungal pathogen to do their work. This year the beetle population thru all of June was zero. Success. It worked.
Trap catches in states where Gall Midge populations have been causing problems show that the egg laying flies are being caught. Egg laying must be occurring. The outside edges in those fields will be most at risk. If feeding and tunneling occurred in your field edges in previous years it may be time to use the BB against them.
In Aug of 2020 we headed to ID to attend a medical conference in Nampa. We had tickets purchased and the trip insurance company welched on their guarantee of coverage. We ended up fly out and during our stay, met with Tom Wood, spud and wheat farmer in eastern ID. He is also the western territory manager for a company called Organisan, which sells a chitinase product which causes soil microbes and plants to form chitinase. This material composes the hard shell of insects and insect eggs as well as their mouth parts and stylets. The nematode feeding on their spud roots is heavy and their treatment program is traditionally a fall $300 application of Telone and spring application of $200 of Vydate, a harsh carbamate. Based on the recommendation from a Danish nematologist from Washington State they observe the GDU based hatch date of the potato cyst nematode eggs and apply the insect dissolving safe product a week before the nematodes hatch. The piercing and sucking small larvae lose their mouth parts or beaks. They may repeat that cycle based on SCN populations and GDU timings. The program is working great for them, is affordable, and is much safer. Might it offer control of SCN, which remain a constant drag on bean yields and keeps adapting to our control methods?
Tar Spot
University pathologists announced that the first Tar Spot affected plants were found in three different Iowa counties in late June. This was a bit earlier than expected, but the cooler temps, high humidity, and increase in inoculant levels were favorable for the symptoms to appear. What should be the response of concerned growers who hear this news? I have a differing opinion than most. First of all, the hard fungicides are based on fluoride and chloride, both halogen compounds. Farmers are now learning that beneficial microbial populations are important to their soil health, yields, and bottom line. These microbial population include many different layers and species including fungi, bacteria, yeasts, protozoa and so on. When I asked the head biochemist at MIT about the effects of halide exposure to soil micro-organisms, she said it will eventually kill them. That causes us to face a choice, kill off the beneficial fungi and others, or pull leaf samples, have those samples analyzed and correct the mineral deficiencies once you identify them. If you are in the position where you have to make major decisions concerning this issue, check out our website: www.CentralIowaAg.com where we posted our findings from 2020 and 2021. Look under “News” – “Educational Articles”.
Athena Muskmelons
Our household makes watermelons and cantaloupe disappear quickly when they are at their summer best. Starting three weeks ago we discovered that a few great looking Athena melons had a strange metallic or chemical aftertaste that I could not initially identify. I did a google search concluding that the taste and smell properties involve acetone mimics. Fingernail polish removers are in that category. How many of you come across this? What may have caused this: weather; something applied to the soil; to the growing vines or when being shipped. Can someone identify the cause? How widespread is this occurrence?
Bob Streit is an independent crop consultant and columnist for Farm News. He can be reached at (515) 709-0143 or www.CentralIowaAg.com.