Ramsey County Ag Column

By Bill Hodous

May 5, 2008

Howdy!!! 

Except in the northeastern part of the county, tractors are rolling.  I have talked to several producers today that said they would maybe try it tomorrow in that area as they did receive a fair amount of rain last week.  No one had a rain gauge that I had talked too but heard of one unofficial report of a little over an inch.  The rest of the county was in that ½ inch area.  At this point it appears we are about 30 percent done with barley and approximately 25 percent done with the wheat.  Winter wheat is emerging with some stands appearing very nice and others are in need of some help.  There appears to be nothing magical to locations about stands as some very good emergence has happened on prevent plant acres and acres with good cover have had some problems emerging.

Winter Wheat Notes - Winter wheat is beginning to green-up and producers should be able to evaluate stands for winter injury in the next couple of weeks.  The optimum stand for winter wheat ranges from 15 to 20 plants per square foot.  Research indicates that stands of 11 plants per square foot can still produce yields of 40 bushels per acre. If only portions of the field are severely injured, stands of five to eight plants per square foot in the damaged areas can still produce satisfactory yields.

Once it is determined that stands are adequate, any planned topdressing of nitrogen should be a priority.  While a winter wheat nitrogen fertilizer timing trial conducted by the North Central Research Extension Center in 2004 found basically no difference in yield between applications made as early as the 2-leaf stage up to the jointing stage of winter wheat, earlier applications of nitrogen will have a greater chance of getting the precipitation needed to move the nitrogen into the ground before the winter wheat gets into critical growth stages.  Plus, earlier nitrogen applications usually mean cooler weather and less volatility risk if precipitation is delayed, although there are products available that can extend the length of time rain is needed to incorporate the nitrogen.

One final note on winter wheat is if you had winter wheat last year, make sure to monitor last year’s fields closely for any volunteer growth this spring.  Volunteer winter wheat in the spring usually has a high percentage of plants infected by wheat streak mosaic virus. It is very important to kill the volunteer growth early in the spring to reduce the risk of any wheat streak mosaic virus spreading from last year's winter wheat fields to adjacent spring wheat fields.

Soil Temperatures for Germination - The minimum soil temperatures for germination of various crops or groups of crops is 40 degrees for spring wheat, durum, barley, canola, mustard, safflower, field peas and lentils; 45 degrees for oats, chickpeas, and sunflowers; 48 degrees for flax, and 50 degrees for corn, soybeans and dry beans.  Optimal soil temperatures for germination and emergence are about 5 to 10 degrees warmer.

Seed treatment will help provide protection against any pathogens, which can reduce stands due to seed rots and seedling blights.  It will also help protect the seed or seedling if we run into adverse conditions following seeding which further delays emergence, such as cool, wet spell or a late spring snow storm.

Producers are reminded that information on soil temperatures can be obtained from the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) station.  Current bare ground soil can be obtained by calling the weather station at 398-3008, upon hanging up make sure to hit the # sign, to end the call.  Additional information on soil temperatures and other weather information can be obtained at the NDAWN website which is http://ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu.

MINIMUM SOIL TEMPERATURES FOR GERMINATION OF VARIOUS CROPS

 CROP                                                        Min. Soil Temp (F)

 Growing point stays below ground until the 5th leaf or 5th node stage.

Spring wheat/Durum/Barley                              40̊

Oats                                                                 45̊

Peas                                                                 40̊

Lentils                                                              45̊ 

Chickpea                                                          45̊ -50̊

Corn                                                                50̊ 

Growing point above ground in between cotyledons once the seedling emerges.

Canola/Mustard/Crambe                                  40̊

Flax                                                                  48̊

Sunflower                                                         45̊       

Soybean                                                           50̊

Dry Beans                                                        55̊

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