The sweet corn is now in the ear stage and harvesting on the more mature varieties should begin any day. In the open spaces between each of the four cornrows the taller weeds are once again making a comeback with the increased sun exposure.
On the other side of the sweet corn, the pollinator plants are doing very well. They are attracting many of the pollinators to the vegetable plants of Shared Ground on Centerton Road side. Municipalities are beginning to understand that using pollinating plants with the right species and height as sustainability projects in places like drainage basins can save money.
The field corn is coming along. The corn was planted 2 weeks before the sweet corn but takes longer to mature. Sweet corn takes about 60-80 days to mature, whereas for field corn it's about 108 days. The corn is pretty well pollinated and the ears just need to grow. It will also be awhile for the milking in the corn to be noticed.
The popcorn for the most part looks fine, although there are some signs of corn borer damage, and some slight leaf burn from the use of urea.
Some of the plants in the taller soybean field show some very early flowering or R1 stage. The potassium deficiency mentioned last week now show greener leaves, as the plant is now absorbing potassium from the soil. On these taller plants can also be noticed soybean aphids. Hopefully ladybugs will be appearing on the scene (as they did last year) to consume the aphids.
The other soybean field has younger (and smaller) plants in the 3rd trifoliate leaf stage. These young plants are showing signs of spotting, and also curling from thrip damage. Since this field was a no-till field, insect damage and disease seem more prevalent. The plant should outgrow these issues in time.
In the demonstration plots the pepper plants, like last week, still show the effect of severe leaf damage by beetles. The daughter plants in the strawberry plants were cut back, fertilized, and sprayed twice for powdery mildew. For the first year they look good. The hop plants show foliage as weather worn, but are producing healthy large looking cones.
Below are the summaries for the insects caught in the three insect traps.
Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 2 click beetles, 2 moths.
Trap 2 (Fall Army Worm) – 1 chafer beetle, 1 armyworm.
Trap 3 (European Corn Borer) – None.
