Howdy!!!
It is hard to believe it is already graduation day and the end of May but here we are and with our cold temperatures and late emergence it hardly seems like this time of year.  I have included in this ag alert growing degree information from around the state to emphasize the climate of the whole state.  I checked on growing degree days for our area this morning and Barley we are at 482 GGD, using April 15 for a planting date, and last year at this time we were 802 GGD.  Corn is facing the same dilemma with GGD as of today, using a May 1 planting date, at 141 compared to a year ago GGD of 225.  As you can see we will need to speed things up a bit but remember real warm days only accumulate a maximum number of units no matter how warm it is.  One last reminder to everyone is to make sure your marketing plans are in order.  With all of the turmoil in the oil industry and the world wide weather conditions markets could and will change very quickly.  We still have very good opportunities in all crops to take advantage of a portion of your crop.  To those of you who say, “I got burn’t last year and will not have that happen again,” my question to you would be “can you afford for wheat to go lower with input costs as they are?”  I would be visiting with your local elevator to explore the possibilities of some forward marketing, using what ever strategy you feel comfortable with.  I know of producers who have $10.80 cash and upwards of $11.20 cash locked in for fall delivery, wheat, compared to the $8.00 range (new crop), at present.  I am not suggesting you contract your whole crop as things can happen, such as a hail storm, but I would certainly think about a small portion of your APH.  One last comment is I might also consider some 2009 pricing.  There is some very nice pricing opportunities available for wheat, corn and soybeans for 2009.  Check with your local elevator manager, merchandiser for help or information about next year’s opportunities.  The oil driven industry, weather and speculators can change a market in one big hurry, as we found out this past 8 months. 

 

 HOW DEEP DID YOU PLANT YOUR SMALL GRAINS?
        Now that the wheat and barley crop has emerged in most of North Dakota, it is a good time to confirm how deep the crop was actually planted, according to Jay Goos, Professor of Soil Science at NDSU.  "A farmer can confirm the effective seeding depth of small grains by measuring the length of the 'white zone'," says Goos.  The "white zone" is a term coined by Goos to describe the length between the seed piece, and an imaginary line on the stem, where the stem turns from white to green.  "Going to a field, digging up random plants, and measuring the length of the white zone can give a farmer an accurate measure of the effective seeding depth, after the soil has settled around the seed," he says.  "There are a lot of patchy and streaky stands of wheat in eastern North Dakota this spring.  This technique might prove helpful in the next week or so, to help figure out why some rows emerged more slowly than others.  Was the seeding depth too deep or too shallow?  Examining the white zone length might be useful in helping farmers figure out why certain rows emerged well, while others didn't."

        In most cases, measuring the length of the white zone is simple, as there is not much of a "bend" in the shoot.  "If there is a bend in the shoot, as when a shoot curved around a clod to emerge, it is more accurate to measure length of the white zone without unbending the shoot.  The vertical distance between the seed piece and where the stem turns green is the important measurement," according to Goos.

         If pressed to give an "ideal" length of the white zone in wheat, Goos would say that it would be about one inch for a typical year.   "Farmers sometimes need to seed more deeply than that, especially in dry years, in order to 'hit moisture,' but deep seeding is not without risk.   Tiller production and crown root production generally go down as seeding depth is increased, and if seeding is too deep, the stand will suffer.  Seeding too shallow has risk as well, involving the seed being stranded in dry soil,  or in a crust.   The worst-case scenario with shallow seeding is when seed begins to grow, and then dries out and dies.  Seeding too shallow also can lead to some heat stress on the crown if the weather turns very warm early in the season.  We observed this in 1988, with many hot days in May and June.  So, there is no ideal seeding depth for all conditions.  But, it is important that farmers get into their fields and learn to correlate the length of the white zone to what produces good stands and vigorous tillering."

In general, Goos says, farmers don't plant as deeply as they used to.  "No-till and one-pass seeding systems generally lead to shallower planting than systems used years ago, when the standard practice was to till the land and then plant a week or so later in much looser and drier soil." 

 

 EARLY CROP DEVELOPMENT IS SLOWED BY COOL WEATHER IN 2008
        This spring, conditions have generally been favorable for planting crops except where extremely dry conditions currently prevail.  Drought is becoming a concern in a growing area of the state .  Additionally, cool temperatures are slowing development of emerged crops and/or delaying emergence.  So how do temperatures this spring compare with previous seasons?

        Assuming a planting date of April 15^th, wheat growing degree days accumulations (GDDs) this season are 210 to 340 GDDs behind 2007 and 25 to 160 GDDs behind the long-term average, depending on the location in the state (see following table).  Typically, we can expect to accumulate 20 to 25 wheat GDDs during this time of the year, so in terms of calendar days the small grain crops are running about seven to ten days behind last year and one to six days behind the long term average.  Though the cooler weather we are experiencing this season slows development (probably at least one leaf stage behind the long-term average), it is also means that we are losing less water to evapo-transpiration which is good news given the dry conditions we are experiencing.  Furthermore, yield potential development in small grains is favored by cool temperatures during vegetative growth, particularly if other factors are not limiting.

        Corn GDD accumulations this season (assuming a 1 May planting date) also significantly lag behind those for the same period in 2007 and for the long-term average.  Corn GDDs are calculated using a 50 degree base (compared to 32 degrees for small grains), so they accumulate more slowly than wheat GDDs.  Since corn GDDs typically accumulate during mid-May at the rate of about 9 to 10 per day, corn development is running about a week behind last year in terms of calendar days but only two or three days behind the long-term average.  It usually takes about 125 corn GDDs before corn emerges, so we should start to see some of the early planted corn beginning to emerge soon.  Corn emergence is favored by relatively warmer temperatures and the colder temperature we have experience is not only delaying emergence, but it will likely decrease the uniformity in the timing of corn emergence.  Uniformity of emergence in corn is a basic component of a high yielding crop.

Wheat and corn growing degree days (GDD) for 2008 compared to 2007 and normals (30 year average) for selected locations in ND (data obtained from NDAWN).

Location	Wheat GDDs 2008*	Wheat GDDs 2007	Normal Wheat GDDs	Corn GDDs 2008**	Corn GDDs 2007	Normal Corn GDDs
Carrington	467	791	627	114	185	165
Dickinson	536	746	561	120	177	138
Fargo	525	865	651	130	209	152
Minot	523	789	573	115	187	135

* Accumulated wheat GDDs were calculated assuming a 15 April planting date.

** Accumulated corn GDDS were calculated assuming a 1 May planting date.

 

 NDSU CROP MANAGEMENT FIELD SCHOOL SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 19 AT CARRINGTON
        A crop management field school will be offered Thursday, June 19, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. The school is for crop advisers, but the program also will be beneficial for farmers. The school will provide hands-on training on crop, pest and soil management using field research and demonstration plots.

        Specific field sessions include:

*Weed identification - identify more than 60 living weed exhibits and review biology and control

*Herbicide mode of action - identify herbicide classes by examining crop and weed injury symptoms

*Wheat disease management - review disease forecasting and fungicide use strategies

*Insect management - review current insect concerns in grass and oilseed crops

*Corn and soybean – learn about plant nutrition

*Soil - explore below-ground factors affecting crop growth using a soil pit

        For further details and pre-registration information, contact the Carrington center at (701) 652-2951 or go to http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/carringt/. A completed pre-registration form and $50 fee is requested by June 16 ($75 after June 16). A total of 50 participants will be accepted on a first-come/first-served basis. An application has been submitted to the certified crop adviser program to provide participants with 4.5 integrated pest management, 0.5 soil and water management and 0.5 nutrient management continuing education units.

 COLD TEMPERATURES DELAY ALFALFA WEEVIL EMERGENCE
        Last year, the southern half of North Dakota had accumulated enough degree day (DD) units, 300 weevil DDs (base 48 F), to start field scouting for alfalfa weevil activity by May 22, 2007.  In contrast, this year the DD accumulations are much lower and range between 100-142 weevil DDs in the southern half (see DD map).  Alfalfa weevil infestations have been increasing in incidence and severity over the last several years.  However, it is difficult to predict if weevil populations will be higher again this year.  Alfalfa weevils overwinter as adults (see photo) in plant debris, woodlots, and ditches. As temperatures warms up adults migrate to alfalfa field to lay eggs.

        By using degree days with a base of 48F, the life stages and development of alfalfa weevil can be predicted (see degree day table). Go to the insect section in the NDAWN website:

http://ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu/insectdd-form.html

and select the degree day base of 48F to determine the accumulated degree days for your location.  Updates on the weevil DD accumulations will be posted in the next issues of the Crop & Pest Report.