IPM Notes from June 26, 2014

The sweet corn is in leaf stage 5. The weeds in the sweet corn field, as noted in the IPM notes the last two weeks, were recently sprayed and many are dying off. It remains to be seen if the larger weeds at the far end of the field will be killed-off. The larger the weed the more difficult to eliminate. The sweet corn is firing at the base and will need to be sprayed with nitrogen. The cereal leaf beetle is also a minor problem.

The field corn is in leaf stage 7. The field corn next to the wheat field shows a tremendous amount of window paining from the cereal leaf beetle. The beetle has left the drying wheat field for the greener field corn. There is also evidence of fras in the corn from the European corn borer.

The popcorn was planted last week and is already sprouting. The popcorn will be alternating with three rows of red and three rows of the yellow variety this year.

The soybeans are just sprouting and are in the unifoliate phase. A few have been eaten by deer or groundhog.

The wheat field is still drying out. Much of the wheat from the edge of the field have missing heads. These have been eaten by deer and birds.

The alfalfa field was just cut several days ago for the second time this year. A plastic 18 inch square was thrown into the field several times to randomly estimate the percentage of alfalfa, orchard grass and weeds that were growing. The alfalfa field still shows a fairly good growth of alfalfa and orchard grass in its second year. The alfalfa field was swept with nets, and a fair amount of small alfalfa weevils were found. They should be monitored in the future.

In the demonstration plots bacterial leaf spots were found on the tomato plants. The two outside rows of the strawberry plot still show powdery mildew, and will have to be sprayed again. The peanut plants show some light coloring in the leaves and will need potassium. The hops show a disease on the leaves. The peppers have rebounded slightly after being sprayed with water and epsom salts, and fertilized.

Below are the summaries for the insects caught in the three insect traps.

• Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 1 each of a lady bug and bumble bee.
• Trap 2 (Fall Army Worm) – 4 Fall armyworms, 1 bumble bee, 1 lightning bug.
• Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – 2 lightning bug, 1 lygus bug, 1 plant bug.

IPM Notes from June 19, 2014

The sweet corn is in leaf stage 5. As was noted last week the various weeds in the sweet cornfield are now taller and will become more difficult to manage if not sprayed with a pesticide soon. One needs to know what the weeds are, and then use the proper pesticide or pesticide combination on them. The predominate weeds are curly doc, jimson weed, velvetleaf and lambs quarter. Also, the sweet corn has different heights. This is due not so much to the different varieties being grown, but more so to standing water in the lower field levels from last week's rain.

The field corn is in leaf stage 6. It is past the milk stag and into the doe stage. The field corn shows some window paining from the cereal leaf beetle, but looks very good. The field corn was sprayed with nitrogen on Wednesday, the day before.

The alfalfa field was cut once already this season and will be cut this weekend for a second time. Usually alfalfa is cut when about 10 percent of its flowers are in bloom.

The wheat field still has moisture issues as it continues to dry down. The wheat field also contained many mature cereal leaf beetles.

The popcorn was recently planted this past week and will be the red and yellow variety.

The demonstration plots are looking fairly well, but there are a few issues. The pepper plants are suffering from too much water and perhaps too many woodchips from the mulch used last year and this year. The plants are showing leaf drop and a much lighter leaf color. They were sprayed last weekend with a mixture of one gallon water and one tablespoon epsom salts (magnesium). They were also fertilized today as well. The strawberry plants showed some powdery mildew, which may have come from the straw (wheat) that was used. The hop plants showed some tent caterpillars.

Below are the summaries for the insects caught in the three insect traps.

• Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 3 black cut worm.
• Trap 2 (Fall Army Worm) –2 flies of the diptera species
• Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – 1 each of European Corn Borer and chaffer bug.

IPM Notes from June 12, 2014

A Field Guide to Weedy Plants of New Jersey was issued at the beginning of the IPM walk today. It's a small pamphlet, published by Rutgers University, containing pictures of some of the most common weedy plants in NJ. Some of the weeds noted on the IPM walk today were white and red clover, curly dock, velvet leaf, spiny and red amaranth, red thread and cheat grass.

The sweet corn currently is in leaf stage 3 and 4. Due to the longer winter, current cooler, rainy weather, the number of growing degree-days has been considerably less than what it normally should be for this time of year, and hence the sweet corn (and field corn) are smaller than what they should be. The sweet corn field is also beginning to accumulate more weeds due to lack of foliage cover from the smaller sweet corn. The sweet corn will also need to be side-dressed with nitrogen, as the plants begin to show some slight yellowing.

The field corn is currently around leaf stage 5, and will also need to be side-dressed with nitrogen. It's important not to fertilize before a heavy rain, since the fertilizer can simply wash away before the roots have a chance to take it in. Also its important not to fertilize all at once, but fertilize when needed over time. Know your plant and its fertilizer needs. The field corn also has a 5 to 10 percent issue with suckers, due to the variety grown.

The rainy weather shows the flag leaf of the wheat crop having cereal leaf beetle damage, rust, powdery mildew and brown root rot. The wheat grain hopefully will not be affected by headscab disease and mycotoxins. How much resistance does this wheat crop variety have to disease?

In the demonstration plots the peanut plants are showing strong new growth after being eaten by deer and/or groundhog. The strawberry plants are doing very well. The June bearing berries varieties of Chandler and All-Star are very sweet, while the everbearing berry Tribune will ripen later. The hop plants look healthy for the most part, but show some leafhopper damage. The suckers need some pruning. The blueberry plants have improved from a year ago with some protective caging, and the berries should be ready in another month. Some of the pepper plant leaves look light green and probably should be sprayed with water and epsom salts. The tomato plants and herb plants look healthy.

Once again, there were not many insects caught in the three insect traps. This may be due to the cooler, rainy weather. The summaries are below.

• Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 1 each of black cut worm, sap beetle, lightning bug and lady bug.
• Trap 2 (Fall Army Worm) – 1 true army worm
• Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – 1 each of European Corn Borer, click beetle and noctuide.

IPM Notes from May 29, 2014

Before the IPM walk today some literature was passed out regarding the various growth stages of wheat, what pests are prevalent at that stage, and the sampling method used for the respective pest. The current growth stage using the Feekes method is stage 11. This is also the beginning of the dry-down stage for the wheat. A diagram of a wheat kernel, showing the endosperm, bran and germ was also shown.

The actual walk through the wheat field still shows a fair amount of bluegrass. Due to the recent rain and cool cloudy weather the flag leaf and below the flag leaf are showing early signs of disease, powdery mildew, and insect problems from the cereal leaf beetle. The wheat field needs some sunny, hot, dry weather soon, or the problem will worsen. Current wheat harvest date is July 4.

The soil temperature was taken in the sweet corn field and found to be only 58 degrees. The cool weather is about a month behind what it should be, and hence, the crops are smaller too. Several estimates were taken in the sweet corn field to determine the yield per acre. One 17.5-foot row contained 24 plants, while another 17.5-foot row contained 16 plants. Since 17.5 feet is estimated to be 1/1000 of an acre, one can estimate 24,000 and 16,000 plants per acre. The difference in count could be due to different cultivars being counted and estimated.

The field corn is at stage 3. The field corn plants are showing much slug damage since it was planted in a no-till field having soybean residue to harbor the slugs throughout the winter and wet spring. There was some cereal leaf beetle damage as well.

Walking through the alfalfa field a few alfalfa weevils were noticed. The alfalfa grass is fed to the sheep, but is too rich a diet for feeding horses. Orchard grass is also present within the alfalfa field.

Among the weeds noticed were cheat grass, orchard grass, Italian rye, ragweed and curly doc.

• From Trap 1 (Black CutWorm) – Only 1 black cut worm was found. 
• From Trap 2 (Fall ArmyWorm) – Only 1 bee, and 2 Army Worm moths fond. 
• From Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – Only 1 ladybug found. 

In the demonstration plots, some of the new pepper plants were eaten by either deer, groundhog or rabbit. The strawberry plot looks good, having a few berries ripen. The hop plants are showing some damage from either thrips or leafhoppers.

IPM Notes from May 15, 2014

Prior to the walk in the field, Bill spoke briefly about GMOs.  He said no GMOs get in soybean oil because the protein of the GMO food does not get in the oil.  He also distributed two articles from independent groups regarding GMOs and Monsanto: Straight Talk on Genetically Engineered Foods produced by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit education and advocacy organization that focuses on improving the safety and nutritional quality of our food supply; and Monsanto v. Monarch Butterflies produced by Genetic Literacy Pro, where science trumps ideology.

Eleven soil samples were taken for a soil test of the field between the rye and pollinator traps.  When taking samples the following observations must be made:  soil type, topography for low areas and the entire field must be walked.  Three samples were taken from the headland area, one from the low area and the remaining from areas zigzagged through the field.  The headland area is the curve of the plow at the corners of the field.  At least two samples should be taken there. Samples from the field should be 6 – 8” deep and home samples 4 – 6” deep. Soil tests should be done every 3 years.  It is best to mix the sample soil when it is moist and then dry it.

Extra soil should not be added to low areas of a field as the texture will be different and with the new layer, the soil drains will drain differently.  It is best to put in a drain pipe or create a waterway.

Weeds identified:

·       Winter annual bluegrass (boat shaped leaf and seeding now)

·       Mares tail

·       Purple deadnettle (square stem)

·       Wild geranium

·       Purple vetch (used for erosion control, plant has tendrils and in legume family, takes nitrogen from the atmosphere)

·       Blue eyed grass (used for hay)

·       Red clover

·       Lambs quarter

·       Curly dock

·       Cheat grass

·       Pennsylvania smartweed

A rye cover crop was planted in the fall and plowed over.  Some was still there and observed were small grains or awns which were flat.  Deer do not eat rye. At the edge of the field was some rye that was pollinated and the pollen is visible on the seed head.

Tilling soil versus no tilling:  Soil has pore space and tilling increases this space. Soil particles contain 50% oxygen and water.  Opening up the soil increases infiltration, there is better germination and tilling gets rid of weeds.  No tilling puts a slit in the soil keeping the soil in place.  The farmer can cover more acres quicker. No tilling can cause a buildup of insects and diseases so soil needs to be tilled every once in a while.

Plot reports:

Strawberries - more straw is needed and was picked up May 13. There are no visible pests yet.

Peanuts – Spanish peanuts were planted which are a smaller peanut (like a bar mix) than the Virginia peanut. Spanish peanuts have a shorter growing season better in our climate.  The plants are yellowing at the top showing potassium, K, deficiency which will be added. Peanuts can have a calcium, CA, deficiency because of the shell and farmers put gypsum down to replenish it. If there is a nitrogen, N, deficiency, the plant robs itself of the N and the bottom of the plant shows the deficiency. Peanut plants have a peg under the soil which fruit under the soil.  Pegs should be planter higher so rain will drain from the plants.

Hops – Hops are seasoning for beer, some for bittering and others are for aroma.  The plants need to be pruned back now leaving an extra leader branch, or runner in case one dies on the string. Some plant should be left at the bottom when pruning. There are two runners per string.  Burlington County has 3 commercial hop growers.

Maturity time of crops was discussed.  For corn, 100 days may be stated from planting to plant maturity, but the corn may not be ready for harvest at that time. This applies to all crops.

Wheat field - The wheat field should be harvested by July 4.  The two top flag leaves are responsible to feed nutrition to the wheat seed head.  Powderly mildew was observed starting on the plants. The mildew must be watched and the top 2 flag leaves must be protected from it.  Rain and cooler weather is due so the crop may need spraying.  Spraying can be done with narrow, high-tire sprayers or airplane.  Airplane is expensive.

Some spots were observed.  Yellow on the outside and dark on the inside could be disease, fungus or rust.  Solid yellow spots are dead tissue and fertilizer burn.  Curved tops of the seed head are a genetic problem.

Cereal leaf beetles where found which do the window paning of the leaves.

Insect traps – were set at the corners of the corn field with the following pheromones:

1.     Black cutworm

2.     Fall army worm

3.     European corn borer

Trap colors are yellow and green which attract insects.

Birds were also spotted in the corn field.  Need to watch them as they eat seed.

Popcorn will be planted in the field south of the demo plots.

Notes by compiled Marilyn Bidrawn