Ramsey County Ag Column

By Bill Hodous

June 23, 2008

Howdy!!!

It is feeling more like summer each day and the crops are responding to that environment.  Small grains are growing like gang busters and the row crops are still struggling but are improving rapidly.  There was a severe thunderstorm that touched the northern edge of the county, on Saturday night but have not heard of any damage.  We have been lucky to this point with heavy rains and the rains we did get have been the best kind, nice and easy.  The weather we could use the most, at this point, would be 85 degree days and 70 degree nights.  Temperatures would catch us up in a hurry with row crop development.  As of this morning we are 153 GDD’S behind normal in the corn growing business.  This is a little bit deceiving as if we would bring up the GDD’S on the Crary NDawn station we would find a line that splits the county in half, north and south, that shows a higher GDD in the western half.  The eastern half in 450 GDD range and the western half in the 500 GDD range.  We are also approaching midge GDD’S so with that being said keep a watchful eye for this pesty little bug.  Our scouting last fall indicated areas in the northern teer that is more correlated to the midge than other areas but that does not mean we are out of the woods.

 Impact Herbicide – Reduced Crop Rotations

The Impact herbicide label now includes the reduced use rate of .5 oz with a nine-month plant back to soybeans as opposed to the ¾ fl oz rate which would require an 18 month restriction on soybeans. The new Impact label also adds for new weeds, green foxtail (in addition to yellow foxtail), dandelion, powell amaranth and marestail.

Permit Herbicide Registered in Dry Beans

Permit controls most large-seeded broadleaf weeds including cocklebur, marshelder, wild mustard and ragweed species. Permit was developed as a POST corn herbicide by Monsanto and now Gowan owns the marketing right. The label has been expanded to include use on additional crops including dry edible beans. Permit is labeled for PPI and PRE use in dry  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1beans at up to .67 oz product/A. Permit is rated “good” across universities for

524 4th Ave #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu