K-State Research and Extension NEAO Crops & Soils

05/03/2019

Well, folks, I'm not surprised to see this. This corn was planted one day after anhydrous application and was planted close to the knife tracks. Notice the blackened root tips on middle seedling. Moisture we've received and continue to receive may reduce effects. Time will tell. Photo is from NE Kansas and was sent to me by David Hallauer, Meadowlark Extension District 7 Crops & Soils Agent.

04/09/2019

Is it too late to topdress smooth bromegrass pastures and hay meadows? Check out "Smooth Brome Production & Utilization" C402 from your local KSRE Extension Office or on the web.

The publication is a little dated but the information is still very relevant.

04/09/2019

Established a replicated plot using 1) composted poultry litter balanced with urea, 2) urea + triple super phosphate and 3) untreated check on a small bromegrass meadow infested with broomsedge bluestem (BB) this morning. Fertility treatments were balanced to apply 60 pounds actual N and 60 pounds P to the plot. Soil test P ranged from 2-3 ppm. Thanks to Shannon Blocker, Pottawatomie County ANR Agent for securing the site. Will be evaluated for BB stand reduction and smooth brome recovery/dry matter yields over time.

Image on the left is the composted poultry litter. Image on the right is the plot area. BB is the orangeish tall grass.

04/03/2019

Question of the week. Is it too late to fertilize my bromegrass?
Answer: No it is not too late. Most brome in our area of Kansas has broken dormancy late and has developed slowly. My thoughts are to check the lower stems much like one would wheat, another cool season grass. If the lower stems are going upright and there is another leaf coming out of the lowest whorl we are getting late, but an N application will still be effective, just not as efficient. I'd consider cutting N back to 45-50 pounds per acre if I normally topdressed with 60+. Also, don't expect the tonnage or quality with late applications, and you may see more lodging and washiness of the forage.

02/15/2019

Got an email Wednesday about an ad for Liquid Lime on Craig's list: ********* ****** RAISES pH cheaper and more effective than lime. My response "I have not used Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) as a lime source because it has no effect on pH and is useless as a liming material. It is a highly soluble salt and easily dissolves in water. Some of you may be familiar with some of its other uses as a deicing material and as a method of adding weight to tractor tires by partially filling the tire with solution. It would be a source for Ca, but I've never seen a need or recommendation for Ca in Kansas, other than for liming purposes. I looked in some of the company literature and they cited work by Drs. Ray Lamond and Dale Leikam, former KSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialists, on the benefits of CaCl2 but the benefit was as a Chloride source, which the advertising fails to mention. And, it is a good source of Cl which is probably what the testimonials were about.

Also noted on their literature that a 5 gallon "PALE" (my emphasis) would cover 2-2.5 acres. The label has a guaranteed analysis of 10% Calcium. You can do the math.

Caveat emptor!!

04/06/2018

A World Health Organization group called RoundUp a “probable carcinogen,” but it didn’t have all the facts.

07/19/2016

It's that time of year. Good stuff.

After the Wind and Hail: Corn and Soybean Recovery and Yield Potential. The severe weather that rolled through several counties in Western Illinois in the early morning hours of June 22 makes one think long and hard about how wind- and hail-damaged corn and soybean crops might fare and whether there...

06/10/2016

Harvest crew. Thank you all.

06/10/2016

06/10/2016

Something popping up in wheat right at the end of the season. Dark heads, Flag leaf yellow tipped or half yellow. Berries are shrunken and mostly green. If squeezed, clear liquid comes out. Probably from a spring infestation of Barley Yellow Dwarf Mosaic Virus. Haven't seen much of this in years, but we did have high aphid infestations. This disease spelled the end of a couple of good varieties in the central corridor of KS, almost before they got started - Tomahawk in the early 1990's and Art in the early 2000's

05/10/2016

Remember the April 22 post warning of the need to scout wheat for Stripe Rust? Well, here it is 21 days later and here are images of a field and a flag leaf I've received in the past week from County Agents Tom Maxwell and Chuck Otte, respectively. In both cases growers were advised to monitor and treat. In both cases, neither happened. Ouch!!

05/10/2016

Follow up on alfalfa weevil damage and the image posted on April 22. The left part of the field was burned in early March, the right side was not. Right side was sprayed twice for weevils by April 22. Field was still being scouted, and the left side was sprayed three days after image was taken because weevils moved in and population exploded to well past damaging levels. Never take anything for granted.