AIR OCTOBER 7, 1998

Thank you Mark and good morning everyone. It’s finally cooling down and the weather has everybody wondering if it’s going to dry off so we can get wheat planted or if we’re going to have to mud out the fall crops. Well, if the early 1998 weather is any clue then I’d say we’re about due for a 6 to 8 week dry spell now that it’s been wet for two weeks!

One thing that the cool rainy weather has done for us is to insure that we’re getting those musk thistle up and growing. Which means that anytime from now through whenever we have low temperatures down to the upper teens will be a good time to get those thistles under control. If you treat this fall with something like Tordon or Escort then you’ll get get fast knock down now and soil activity to control later germinating plants throughout the fall. If you don’t think you’ve got any thistle just go out where you had it last year and I’ll betcha we can find some seedlings coming along.

Speaking of weeds I’ve gotten numerous calls the past couple of weeks about controlling foxtail or crabgrass in their bromegrass fields. Well, unfortunately, we don’t have any herbicides labeled for controling these summer annual weeds in bromegrass so that option is right out the window. On the plus side you probably don’t need a herbicide. To be very blunt if you are having these weeds really move into a bromgrass field then you are either a victim of some crazy weather OR you have a real management problem. These summer annual weeds are going to germinate only if there is lots of bare soil and moisture. If you have an aggressive strong stand of brome you aren’t going to have a problem, normally. If you are haying that brome off late or grazing it 12 months out of the year, or not fertilizing with nitrogen and phosphorus or a combination of all three. Now, before I step on too many toes, let me point out that we did have a really strange year. If bromegrass was cut just a little bit late this year you probably did not see very much regrowth until it rained in late July. The problem is that when it did rain in late July it also got the crabgrass and foxtail started before the brome started to regrow. Fertilize well this fall and maybe next year harvest a little earlier and mow a little taller. You may also want to pick up our bulletin on bromegrass management next time you’re in the extension office!

This is Chuck Otte, County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook '98.

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