Richard L. Petcher
Regional Extension Agronomist for SWAL
Baldwin County Extension Office
302A Byrne Street, Bay Minette, AL  36507
(251) 937-7176, cell (251) 202-1009, SL 7*145
E-mail petchrl@auburn.edu                                           

News Letter July 2007

                               UPCOMING PRODUCTION MEETINGS

Mississippi: George County Peanut and Cotton Scouting Meeting

This meeting was advertised in the June News however it has been postponed.  It will be a good meeting when rescheduled especially for Mobile and Washington County growers.

Contacts:  Mike Howell (601-795-1425) and Mike Steed (601-947-4223) MSU Extension

APRES The American Peanut Research and Education Society Annual Meeting

Place:  Wynfrey Hotel in Birminghan, AL.

Date:  July 10-13, 2007

Contact:  Irene Nickels, P.O. Box 613 Perkins, OK 74059, Telephone: 405-372-3052, E-mail: après_nickeli@att.net

Southern Peanut Growers Conference

Place: Edgewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida

Date:  July 15-17, 2007

For more information contact the Alabama Peanut Producers Association (334) 792-6482.

Small Grain Production Meeting

Place:  ALFA Building in Robertsdale

Date:  July 23, 2007

Time:  6:00 p.m. –  9:00 p.m.

Speaker:  Dr. Erick Larson,  Mississippi State Grain Specialist.

Huxford Row Crop Field Day

Time:  8:30 –noon.

Place:  Huxford, Alabama

Date:  August 15, 2007

Topics:  DeltaPine Cotton Research:  Dru Rush, DeltaPine-Monsanto Agronomist

AU Cotton Variety Test:  Dr. Dale Monks, AU Cotton Agronomist

Cotton Insects and Insects on Other Crops, Mike Donahoe, UFL Extension Director, Santa Rosa County

Peanut Variety Test:  Chris Baukum, AU Peanut Agronomist

Brewton Research and Experiment Station Update:  Randy Akridge, Station Superintendant

On Farm Research Projects in South Alabama:  Richard Petcher, Regional Extension Agent in Agronomy

CRP33 Program:  Dr. Mark Smith, AU Wildlife Specialist

Sponsored Dinner

                                                GRAIN SORGHUM

A few growers are considering planting grain sorghum.  Even though grain sorghum has a shorter growing season than corn, the grain sorghum actually requires more heat to finalize its grain fill and maturity.  Cool nights will actually shut down a grain sorghum crop.  That is why the last recommended planting date for grain sorghum is July 15 while corn may be planted up until August 1 and still have a chance of making a crop.

                                         LATE PLANTINGS OF CORN

The Tropical Bt corn would be the best choice of corn to plant from now until August 1, if you could get the seed.  Tropical corn seed is no longer being produced.  What you might purchase this year will be the last of the seed.  Some growers in North Florida are actually planting corn behind corn in July and early August.  They are selecting Bt versions of temperate varieties.  They seem to work OK. 

                             Automated Sprayer Control Applications:

                 by Amy Winstead & Shannon Norwood, ACES Precision Ag

Sprayers equipped with automatic boom-sensing technology are quickly becoming popular with growers across the state.  This technology uses GPS location to turn boom sections and spray nozzles on or off based on previously applied areas.  Individual boom sections are automatically controlled based on recorded spray application in the field, reducing skips and overlap and increasing spray efficiency. 

Current products on the market include John Deere’s Swath Control Pro, the Trimble Ez-Boom, Rinex Autospray, and Raven’s AccuBoom.  For more information on these systems contact us or visit the sites below:

John Deere

www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/ams/GS2/GreenStar_2_Swath_Control_Pro.html

Trimble

http://www.trimble.com/aggps_ezboom.shtml

Rinex

http://www.rinextech.com/files/as4080 flyer.pdf

Raven

http://www.ravenprecision.com/us/Products/category.jsp?Category=2

                           Wheat and Oat Recommendations for 2007

My top recommended Oat Varieties are Horizon 321 and Trophy.  Both are excellent grain and forage varieties.  These are the top two oat varieties for South Alabama for 2007.  Horizon can be ordered from Plantation Seed in Newton, Georgia (1-800-543-4164).  Trophy is sold by Terral Seed in Mississippi.  It will be distributed by AFC in Southwest Al.  Every other variety of oats will do OK but will not typically yield as good as these two. 

I think the climate in Southwest Alabama is more like South Louisiana than other parts of the U.S.  Steve Harrison with LSU is a plant breeder and is also conducting excellent research on wheat and oats.  I think we could gain valuable information from their plant breeding and research program.

South Louisiana wheat variety trial data has been posted at the following site:

http://www.agronomy.lsu.edu/LSUWheat/LSUWHEAT.html

As of today June 19, 2007 these are varieties that I would recommend for growers wanting to order seed now.  University data from Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi has not been posted yet.  Both Dr. Erick Larson, Mississippi Grain Specialist and Dr. Steve Harrison, Wheat and Oat Plant Breeder at LSU have reviewed this list and suggest these varieties for Southwest Alabama.

Wheat Varieties to choose from:

Terral LA 482  New and in limited supply.  It has an excellent disease package. It is early maturing and a very high yielder.

Terral LA 841  For the last 3 years this has been the #1 variety planted in Louisiana.  It is currently planted on 90 % of the acres in Louisiana and over 50 % of the acres in Southern Mississippi.  It should perform very well here.  It has an excellent disease package and is early maturing.   Highly suggest this variety.

AGS 2060  New variety, better yields in test plots than AGS 2000.  Marginal straw strength.  In our area AGS 2000 has still out yielded AGS 2060.

AGS 2010  Fairly new.  Resistant to Stripe and Leaf rust.  Replacement for Fleming. In our area AGS 2000 has still out yielded AGS 2010. 

AGS 2000 has consistently performed well in lower Al.  Its weakness is that it is not resistant to Yellow Striped Rust.  Marginal straw strength.  So far that disease has not been a big problem here.

USG 3209  Has consistently performed well in South Al.  It is susceptible to Yellow Stripped Rust.  Marginal straw strength.

Pioneer 26R87  New variety, very good variety for South AL.  A good variety to add to your on farm variety test.  Patented  variety (seed cannot be replanted for any purpose).

Pioneer 26R61  Performed well here.  Excellent disease and Hessian fly resistance. 

Pioneer 26R12  It has done OK here.  However it is better adapted to North and Central Al.  It may have problems some years here with vernalization.  If planting this variety, do not plant it late.  Patented variety (seed cannot be replanted for any purpose).

AgriPro Coker 9700  new, good variety.

AgriPro Coker  9663  OK marginal straw strength, relatively poor disease resistance, old variety.

AgriPro Coker 9553 OK new variety, excellent straw strength, resistant to Stripe rust and Leaf rust.

Croplan 8302 is most likely the best Croplan variety available for South Alabama. 

Patented variety (seed cannot be replanted for any purpose).

Fleming is an old variety that has consistently performed well here.  It is an early variety that you plant late and harvest early.

Georgia Gore is an old public variety that does well here.  It is often planted for grazing.  It will do OK for grain, but will most likely need spraying.  Not as high a yielder as the new varieties.  Non-PVP (Plant Variety Protection Act) variety which can be replanted or sold for any purpose.

Varieties for Late Planting:  LA 841 and LA 482 are both early maturing varieties.  Fleming also performs very well planted late.  Pioneer 26R61 will also perform well if not planted too late.

The two best risk strategies to insure a grower’s success are to plant on different planting dates (avoid early planting).  The best window for planting wheat and oats in our area is from November 15 through December 5.  The other strategy is to plant at least three different varieties if you are planting 100 acres or more.  These two factors will greatly affect your risk management with your small grain crops.

 On Farm Oat and Wheat Variety Test:  Much gratitude is due the growers and sponsors who helped to conduct these tests.   These results are very similar to Auburn University and University of Georgia Variety Tests.

                             Test: Oat Variety for Southwest Alabama

         Farmer Cooperator: Walt and Rod Richardson in Washington County

                   Planted: November 22, 2006, Harvested: June 1, 2007

                     Regional Extension Agronomist Richard L. Petcher

Support from the Alabama Wheat and Feed Grains Committee, Alabama Crop Improvement Association, Terral Seed, and Plantation Seed.

                            Test: Wheat Variety for Southwest Alabama

          Farmer Cooperator:  William, Bob and Ben Griffith, Baldwin County

                     Planted: December 22, 2006, Harvested June 9, 2007

                      Regional Extension Agronomist Richard L. Petcher

Two applications of fungicide were applied to the test.

Two varieties USG 3592 and Vigoro McKintosh were entered.  However were unable to harvest due to combine breakdown and then heavy rains. 

Support from the Alabama Wheat and Feed Grains Committee, Alabama Crop Improvement Association, Agri-Pro Seeds, Terral Seed, Plantation Seed and Royster Clark

                                       Soybeans Behind Corn

With the price of soybeans going up the option of planting soybeans after corn is looking attractive.  This is not a new practice.  Growers especially in Baldwin County who were growing corn would often plant soybeans behind the corn and make a respectable crop of soybeans.  Here are several factors that growers should consider.

First of all if Atrazine was used as a herbicide on the corn you can not plant soybeans.  There is a one year plant back restriction on Atrazine for any crop except corn and grain sorghum.  The second factor is to consider the yield of late planted beans.  The AU recommendations are to look at June 20 as your cut off planting date for maximum yields of soybeans.  For each one day after June 20 you are usually looking at a ½ bushel per day decrease in yield.  If you were to plant on July 20 your yield would typically be 15 bushels lower than if you had planted on June 20.  Instead of 45 bushels you would harvest 30 bushel soybeans.  With the price of soybeans going up 30 bushel beans would not be bad.  Fields where corn that is cut early for silage or hay due to the drought may be fields to consider.  Fields with irrigation may also be fields to consider.  Dry land corn fields would be some of the last to consider.  Both insect and disease pressure will be greater on late planted beans.  Growers should figure in their budget at least one and possibly two fungicide treatments for disease and probably two insecticide treatments for stink bugs.  A key to planting late planted beans is to plant them in narrow rows.  Upping the seeding rate a little will not hurt, but the key factor is to plant them in narrow rows in order to get the plants to grow more upright instead of staying short.  Late planted soybeans will be short.  However, planting them in narrow rows helps to encourage plant height and internode growth.  The number of nodes on a soybean plant has a lot to do with the soybean yield.  Getting them to grow upright fast is the key.  And that also requires moisture. 

Dr. David Wright, Extension Agronomist with the University of Florida says that planting soybeans behind silage corn has become a common practice in the Panhandle area of Florida.  Some growers are planting soybeans behind irrigated corn for grain and a few are planting soybeans behind dry land corn.  The earlier the planting the better.  In the past growers in Baldwin County would shut off planting around July 20.  However, in the Panhandle growers are planting through the month of August.  The soybeans of choice are in the Maturity Group 5.4 through 5.9.  Their yields have typically averaged from 35 to 45 bushels per acre.  Planting with a no-till grain drill is OK, however planting the beans in twin rows with a twin row peanut planter has become the practice.  The seeding rate is ten seed per row foot. Five seed in each twin row planter row has become the standard.

Again, this is not an Auburn University Recommended Practice.  However, some growers while the market is high may want to experiment with late planted soy beans.

The later you plant the more risk.  And the higher the price of beans the easier it is to take some risk. 

                                    Soybeans:  Asian Rust Update.

                              Dr. Ed Sikora, AU Soybean Pathologist                                

Soybean Asian Rust First Detect

Soybean rust was detected on leaves collected from the soybean sentinel plot on the Research Station in Fairhope, Baldwin County on June 25.  This is the first report of soybean rust on soybeans in Alabama in 2007.  This is the third consecutive year the disease was first observed on soybeans in Baldwin County during the last week of June.

Incidence ranged from 8 % on a maturity group III variety at the R6 growth stage to 15 % on a maturity group IV variety at the R4 growth stage.  Disease severity on infected plants was very low.

At this time growers in Baldwin County with soybeans in reproductive stages of growth (bloom through pod fill) should consider applying a triazole fungicide (Folicur, Top Guard, Laredo, Caramba, Alto, Orius) or tank mix (Quadris or Headline with one of the previously mentioned triazole fungicides).

The disease appears to be trying to move up the Mississippi River Valley by way of Louisiana.  It was found in two Parishes in central Louisiana earlier this week.  Please check the USDA web site at SBRUSA.net for the current distribution of the disease in the U.S.

The Auburn University Soybean Rust Hotline is 800-446-0388

Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi have also made available a soybean rust hotline for their states.  The number is 866-641-1847 if you are interested in hearing what they have to say.

In recent weeks a few more fungicides have received Section 18 emergency labels for use on soybeans in Alabama.  This includes: Topguard (trazole) Performed well under heavy disease pressure in AU trials in 2006.  Orius (triazole; same active ingredient as Folicure).  Caramba (triazole). Quadris Xtra (strobilurin/triazole premis).  Alto (triazole)

Conservation Buffers for Bobwhites

                          Dr. Mark Smith, Auburn University Wildlife Specialist

Where have all the quail gone?  That’s one of the most common questions I hear as a Wildlife Extension Specialist at Auburn University….and the answer often depends upon where you live in the state.  Several factors have lead to the decline of bobwhites in Alabama.  In agricultural areas of the state, the loss of appropriate nesting and brood rearing cover (habitat) is often the leading cause for the decline in local bobwhite populations.  Idle grassy areas, fencerows, fallow fields, and “weedy” edges once provided habitat for bobwhites; however, as agriculture became more efficient (and more competitive---we now live in a global market!) over the years these areas were eventually cleared and put into production (i.e., “clean” farming).  In other words, we have much less quail habitat now than we had, say, 30 years ago.  Luckily though, conservation buffer practices are one tool that we can use to enhance bobwhite habitat, and ultimately reverse local population declines, on Alabama farmlands.

Conservation buffers are intentionally managed strips of permanent cover (usually grass, but sometimes trees) established along the edges of a production field.  These grass buffers provide much needed habitat for bobwhites to nest, raise young, and roost while also providing security cover close to a food source (i.e., waste grain during winter).  Available through several USDA Farm Bill programs, conservation buffers are practical and cost-effective conservation practices that provide multiple environmental benefits (e.g., increased herbicide and nutrient retention, reduced soil erosion) and habitat for bobwhites and several different species of songbirds.

The USDA Conservation Reserve Program has a practice designed specifically for bobwhites.  Called the “Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds” practice, or CP-33, this herbaceous (grass/forb) buffer practice has been shown to substantially increase bobwhite and songbird populations on farmlands.  Whereas the CP33 practice is beneficial to bobwhites, it is also beneficial to the producer.  The CP33 practice offers substantial economic benefits for the landowner who enrolls his/her land into the practice.  These include: a sign-up incentive payment of up to $100/ac, annual rental payments and maintenance costs, cost-share assistance up to 50% of eligible reimbursable costs for establishment, and a Practice Incentive Payment of up to 40% of eligible establishment costs.  Buffers must be between 30-120’ in width and the CRP contract is for 10 years.  Furthermore, enrollment in the CP33 practice is open on a continuous basis (i.e., no waiting for an enrollment period or competitive ranking process of the general CRP sign-up).  Although CP33 may not be the answer for all producers, those wanting to simultaneously manage environmental concerns (herbicide retention, soil runoff) and wildlife habitat while receiving some return on their investment should consider the CP33 practice as a potential option.

For more information on the CP33 practice, contact your county USDA Service Center.  For information about managing wildlife on your farm, contact Mark Smith, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, at 334-844-8099 or email at mds0007@auburn.edu.