Air June 4, 2003

Thank you Gary, and good morning everyone. Last week was getting a little hot and dry. Then it cooled off and we received an early Monday morning present of one heck of a nice rain. So other than the leaf rust problem that's developing, we should be able to get this wheat along to physiological maturity in great shape. Cooler weather, higher humidity and good soil moisture are just what the doctor said we need to maximize wheat yield. I don't think we'll see anything like we did in 1996, but it could be a very good year if the rust doesn't take out leaves too quickly now. Speaking of wheat, just a reminder to wheat producers that we're having a little wheat plot tour tomorrow night, Thursday, June 5, starting at 7 pm at the AgriPro Wheat research farm on Ascher road between Clark's Creek and Humboldt Creek road. The plots are located east of the farmstead, right along the road - you'll have no problem seeing where they are. Join us for a fun relaxing evening of looking at some of Agripro's varieties and a whole lot of public varieties. Call me if you aren't sure where this is or if you need more information.

I had the opportunity to attend a couple of field days last week. While these were mainly focused on wheat production, I also spent some time visiting with the weed control specialists. We are seeing a lot of the annual bromes in the wheat this year. Call it cheat, downy brome or japanese brome if you want - all three are there. The bottom line is that we are seeing some of the effects of three years of drought. A lot of seed has just been sitting there waiting. And when we had six inches of rain last October, this brought a whole lot of seed into germination. You will hear a lot about herbicides to control these weeds, but the bottom line is that we simply need to rotate regularly to get this problem back under control. Sure, if you are locked into continuous wheat, you may need to consider one of the herbicide resistant wheats and one of the cheat herbicides. But talk to me first so we can make sure you do this right! Now, let's talk about weeds in soybeans, especially roundup ready soybeans. I know everyone wants to get by with just one roundup treatment. But if you have a lot of weeds coming, don't wait too long, as that early season competition is a real detriment to maximizing soybean yield.

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2003.

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