AgAlerts 2001 From Griggs County
By John Swenson, Griggs County Extension Agent


Issue # 1, April 30th, 2001


Pesticide Labels on the Web

    If you need to get a copy of a pesticide label or MSDS materials, go to the CDMS site.  This site updates labels and MSDS when ever there are any changes made.  It is current and easy to use.  The site address is http://www.cdms.net

Spring Quackgrass Control With Roundup (glyphosate)

    To control quackgrass in the spring, it is necessary to wait until stems are 6 to 8 inches tall.  Spraying at an earlier growth stage will only control top growth and will have little effect in killing the root system.  When the plant reaches this height a change in the plant occurs.  At this time the leaves become productive and start to replenish the nutrients in the roots.  Since glyphosate is translocated, the product is moved to the roots causing increased control.  A fall application followed by tillage kills more of the underground root system than spring applications.  In either application, it is important to delay tillage for at least 3 days after treatment to allow the product to be moved into the roots.  Ammonium sulfate is recommended for increased control.  Since there are several formulations of glyphosate available, follow labeled rates.

Wheat Seeding Depth

    Aside from the universally recognized need to place seeds into moist soil to enable germination, the particulars of seed placement remain somewhat under-rated in importance.  Recommendations often give crop seeding depth as a range.  For example, 1.5 - 3" in depth with 1.5 - 2" being optimum.  Unfortunately, recommendations stated like this may leave the false impression that sowing at 3" will have the same result as sowing at 1.5", this simply is not the case.  A seed placement study conducted by Jack Moes, P. AG Manitoba Agriculture, Brandon, has shown that seeding depth is an important (and free) step in attaining the highest economic yield.
    The emergence response curve for wheat is typical of many crops: as sowing depth increases, emergence is progressively slower and less complete.  Larger seeds (within the variety) are affected to a lesser degree.  The duration of emergence (from first to last plants emerged) also increases with sowing depth.  Late emerging plants growing from deeper in the soil produce fewer tillers and lower yield per plant.  Not only was tillering reduced for deep-sown plants, but crown root development was also greatly reduced.  Deeper sowing increased seedling to seedling variability in wheat emergence, and the effect was greater at lower temperatures.  In other work at the University of Manitoba, wheat sown at 2" and 3" yielded 3% and 6% less than wheat sown at 1" under conditions where 1" was adequate.  Semi-dwarf varieties have a shorter coleoptile than conventional height varieties can emerge from deeper depths.

Summary
    The following problems may manifest themselves if sowing is deeper than absolutely necessary:
                *Delayed and reduced emergence, poor non-uniform stand.
                *Reduced tillering of cereals.
                *Reduced competitiveness of crop.
                *Increased root disease risk
                *Delayed, non-uniform maturity and reduced yield. 

Minimum Soil Temperatures For Germination

Crop                Temp.                Crop                Temp.
Wheat                40                    Durum                 40
Barley                40                    Oats                    40
Canola               40                    Sunflower            45
Flax                   48                    Corn                    50
Soybeans           50                    Dry Beans            52

Weeds
Early Emerging (35-40 degrees)

Kochia        Milkweed        Wild Mustard        Cocklebur        Wild Oats        Wild Buckwheat        Frenchweed
Russian Thistle        Canada Thistle        Tansy Mustard        Shepherdspurse        Absinth Wormwood
Common Lambsquarter    Quackgrass

Late Emerging (50 degrees or higher)
Redroot Pigweed        Wild Sunflower        Volunteer Sunflower        Field Bindweed        Nightshades    
Lanceleaf Sage        Foxtails (pigeongrass)        Ragweeds

 Black Knot on Canada Red Cherryblackknot.jpg (120654 bytes)                                                                      (click on to enlarge)

    Black knot, caused by the fungus Dibotryon morbosum,  affects at least two dozen species of cherries, plums and other members of the genus Prunus.  This disease is easily recognized by the characteristic hard black elongated swellings or "knots" that develop on the smaller branches.   Some of these knots may be a foot or more long.  Eventually they girdle and kill branches on heavily infected trees.  The black knot fungus produces spores on knots that are one or two years old.  The spores are released about the time the leaf buds are in the green tip stage.  Spore release is heavy at blossom time and is completed about the time the shoots  have finished growth.  Spores are carried by the wind, infecting new shoots in wet weather, especially when the temperature is between 55 and 77 degrees F.  A few infections show up in the fall, but most infections do not show symptoms until the following spring.  New infections appear in the spring as soft knots with an olive-green velvety surface.  Later, the knots become hard and black, and may continue to grow for several years, finally girdling the branch.
blackknot2.jpg (48592 bytes)  blackknot3.jpg (49377 bytes)  This pictures illustrate new infections and branch deformity.  (click on to enlarge)

Control

    Control requires the removal of all developing knots from affected trees before bud-break in the spring.  Prune 4-5 inches below the knot.  Apply a wound dressing to large wounds.  Promptly destroy all pruned knots by burying or burning.  Annual spring pruning may have to be done for several years before the disease level drops because of the long period before the disease symptoms show.  Best controls is achieved by using fungicides in conjunction with pruning. Before bud-break, use a dormant spray of lime sulfur at the rate of 10 tablespoons per gallon of water or Bordeaux mixture (see label for rate).  Pre-bloom spray when most blossoms show color and before blossoms open use Captan 50% WP 1/2 tbls. + benomyl 50% WP 1/2 tbls.


 

Please Contact Our Office For Additional Information
E-mail: griggs@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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