Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Richard Petcher

Regional Extension Agent/Agronomic Crops

December 28, 2010

Wheat and oats are the crops in the ground at this time.  Presently this small grain crop is in good condition.  The Hessian fly is one of our major pests on wheat.  Quite a few acres in this area were planted in the varieties Crawford and Coker 9700 which are fairly new to this area.  Growers will want to know that Crawford is resistant to most Hessian fly except Biotype L., and Coker 9700 has no Hessian fly resistance. 

The “Cover Crop Revolution” is moving South.   Across the U.S. growers are gaining knowledge of the cover crops and how to manage them for maximum benefits in their crop rotation.  Dr. David Wright in Florida has been promoting cover crops and primarily the Bahia grass rotation.  Increased drought tolerance has been impressive.  This summer many growers experienced great loss of yield due to the extended drought.  In Washington County peanut growers experienced this drought more than in Baldwin.  Peanut average yield for the county was 1,500 pounds per acre.  One field, and only one field produced over 4,000 pounds per acre.  That one peanut field was planted following the Bahia grass rotation.   

Sunn Hemp is not a new cover crop, however it is a new cover crop to the U.S.  Sunn Hemp a tropical legume has the reputation of being one of the best soil-building cover crops in the world.  This plant grows very fast and typically reaches 6 feet in height in 60 days.  It also is a legume so it replenishes the soil with Nitrogen.  Within 60 days it typically replenishes the soil with over 100 pounds of Nitrogen, 10 pounds of Phosphorus and 100 pounds of Potassium.  It also adds 4 tons of organic matter and suppresses both Root knot and Reiniform nematodes in the soil.  Sunn hemp also has the reputation of being one of the best summer forages in the world for goats.  Goats thrive on this forage.  Goats are almost identical to deer in the eating habits.  Research is being conducted on this crop for goat, deer and wildlife feed.

There were 120 acres of sunn hemp in our area this past summer where growers were conducting their own on farm research with this new crop.   Every grower was greatly impressed with the growth of this crop and eager to see the next crop’s response that is planted following the sunn hemp.  I was most impressed with the research being conducted by Dick Higbee in Baldwin.  He planted nearly 10 acres of sunn hemp on very poor land that would not even grow soybeans.  The sunn hemp had moisture at planting and received barely over one inch of rain during the rest of its growing season.  At day 60 the crop was 8 feet tall providing well over 100 pounds of Nitrogen, 10 pounds of Phosphorus and 100 pounds of Potash to the next year’s crop.

Of the experiments conducted every grower was well pleased with the results. 

Seed for sunn hemp will be available for growers in our area hopefully by April 2011.  If you would like more information on this crop email me at petchrl@auburn.edu  

Email address: rpetcher@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5061, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.