Air March 14 - 20, 2006

Wheat issues

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. Even though we haven't been getting a lot of rain, the longer days and warm temperatures have really got the wheat starting to take off. I looked at wheat recently that was readily jointing. So if you haven't gotten herbicide or fertilizer applied yet, well, you've got problems! I noticed a wheat field the other day with some yellowish spots in it - and sure enough, we've got some disease activity already. Speckled leaf blotch and tan spot are both cranking up and I have already seen both in samples brought into my office as well as in the field. Normally, treating for these diseases this early is not profitable, but let's keep an eye on this situation. Little showers of a tenth of an inch or less may not do much to help production and growth, but they sure create a good environment for diseases. As always, if you see something that just looks funny and you can't figure out what's going on - give me a call so I can get out and take a look at it. We also need to be looking for insect problems, and this goes for alfalfa as well as wheat. Warm March days will certainly bring on a healthy crop of alfalfa weevils, but they can also bring numerous aphids to give our wheat crop problems as well. Many times it's not just the feeding damage, but aphids are the vector for Barley Yellow Dwarf. Fall infestations cause much greater yield loss, but early spring infestations can hammer yields as well. Many of these early season insect and disease problems are nothing more than a nuisance that won't pay to treat. But if you aren't out there checking those fields on a regular basis, you may miss the problem that it would pay to treat! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

Take precautions when you burn

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. As we move into this time of year, we start approaching the time when we often will see a lot of controlled or prescribed burning. The critical word here is controlled. It doesn't matter whether you are burning 1,000 acres of grassland, a brush pile, a burn barrel of household trash or a charcoal grill in your own backyard, Kansas law is very explicit that you are responsible for that fire until it is extinguished. And by the way, that same responsibility goes for smoking materials that you may absentmindedly toss out a car window. Rainfall is down, in fact the first two month so of 2006 is one of the driest on record. Which means that we are at a high fire risk to begin with. So, assuming we have no burn ban in place, what do you need to consider before starting ANY fire? We need to have correct weather conditions. Humidity, which can change rapidly with temperature, wind speed, wind direction and vegetation moisture are all critical factors to determine if you have good conditions. You have to have permission from the Sheriff's office if this is more than a charcoal grill or a burn barrel. You need to have adequate personal, equipment and water. Even if you are just burning in a burn barrel, it would be a good idea to have a 5 gallon bucket of water and a gunny sack at hand to put out a fire. With a pasture burn, two mobile spray units should be a minimum! And finally, make sure you have the time. Even with a burn barrel, you need to be staying present and monitoring the fire until it is substantially finished. Anyone who starts a fire and then turns their back is being totally irresponsible. Fire is a valuable management tool, don't abuse it! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

Fertilizing Spring Planted crops

This is Ag Outlook 2006 on 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte, Geary County, K-State Research and Extension Ag & Natural Resources Agent. With spring upon us we know that it won't be too many more weeks before we start planting those fall harvested crops. Which means that right now is a critical time to be getting your soil fertility plans together. I've been talking to a lot of producers who are talking about backing off on fertilization rates WITHOUT even taking a soil sample. This is a potentially big mistake! It is so very important to know what our starting point is before we begin to talk about making changes in our fertilization plan. Start by getting a good soil sample. If you are planting soybeans, then you can get by with just taking samples from the top 6 inches, but be sure to do it in 15 to 20 locations. Why so many? Because of the natural variation that we can see across fields. We want to get as good an average as we can and if you just take samples at a couple of locations and those both happen to be high or low, it can make a big impact on what you get back from the crop. If you are planting corn or milo, then we need to take all those surface samples, but we also need a composite of at least a half dozen 6 to 24 inch profile samples. You can sample a shallower profile only if you have a root impeding layer such as heavy clay, but I'd still want to sample down at least 12 to 18 inches in a half dozen locations. Certainly, if we have a lot of profile nitrogen, let's take advantage of that and save a few bucks this year. But if you just reduce nitrogen rates to save cost, you may be increasing your per bushel cost of production. And let's start looking critically at some of those other nutrients like zinc in corn, sorghum and soybeans, chloride in wheat and sulfur in brome. As the cost of fertilizer goes up, the need for proper soil testing becomes even more critical! This has been Ag Outlook 2006 on the Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, I'm Chuck Otte.

Return to Radio Home Page

Return to Ag Home Page