The field corn is drying out, but will not be harvested until mid to late September. It currently is in the dent stage and the milk line in the kernel needs to be lowered to where the kernels have only about 14 % moisture. When it does there will be a black layer at the end of the kernel. Many of the plants for this variety have 2 ears of corn. When randomly estimating the corn harvest in a couple weeks the number of ears per 17.5 feet will need to be counted, not just the single corn plant. Some of the cornrows along the edge are showing heavy growth of fall panicum and fox tail.
The foliage of the soybean plants are turning up because they are drought stressed. However, soon after our walk today there was a heavy rainfall that should benefit the soybeans. When the soybeans are harvested in mid October the remaining nodules attached to the plant roots will create about one pound of nitrogen (nitrogen fixing) in the soil per one bushel of soybean harvested. So a 50-bushel harvest of soybeans will leave about 50 pounds of nitrogen in the soil, thereby requiring less nitrogen fertilizer for whatever is planted next spring.
The former sweet corn field is loaded with fall panicum and may need to be sprayed with a herbicide.
In the demonstration plots some of the pollinator plants were deadheaded and cut back. The pollinator plot has rebounded very well this year. The hops are drying up. Strawberry plants look okay. The birds are eating the millet. The giant pumpkin plants have done well for their first year. Two of the seven pumpkins were removed from the vine. The six tomato plants are producing well.
Below is the weekly summary for the insects caught in the four insect traps at the BCCAC in Moorestown.
Trap 1 (Black Cut Worm) – 1 each black cut worm and noctuid.
Trap 2 (European Corn Borer) - 4 each click beetle and milkweed bug, 2 each stink bug and spider, 1 katydid.
Trap 3 (Fall Army Worm) - 1 each Japanese beetle and ground beetle.
Trap 4 (Corn Ear Worm) – 6 noctuid, 3 corn ear worm, 1 unidentified moth.
Notes compiled by John Siemanowski
