Wheat Harvest is Ready to Begin
Malting barley fields were harvested last week and wheat is very close. I am concerned as this rainy weather pattern holds that sprouting could be an issue. Most wheat was between 20 and 30% moisture this week but I have heard some as low as 15%. On good days, wheat will dry down between 2 and 3% moisture a day. Combines need to be ready to go and check some grain moistures in the earliest planted fields this weekend. If moistures are at least 20% and you are drying on-farm, best to harvest now before the next rain. I believe this is the best step for getting the highest quality grain you can this year. Much of the literature says that we can lose a pound in test weight with each rain event after grain maturity. I have not heard any reports back on VOM levels but hopefully the dry weather kept the fungus to a minimum. If you saw quite a few heads infected with Fusarium head scab, then you may want to increase combine fan speed to blow those shrunken infected kernels out. Research at Ohio State showed that when harvesting wheat from scabby fields, increasing the fan speed and air flow through the combine can reduce the scabby kernels and DON (vomitoxin) in the grain lot by an average 30 to 45%, and increase test weight by about 6%.
Be Ready for White Mold in Soybeans
Earlier planted soybeans are flowering this week. Unfortunately, this now means they are susceptible to White Mold. If the summer continues to be warm, wet, and humid, conditions are perfect for white mold to become an issue this year. The tiny white mold mushrooms emerge and release their spores up into the canopy. These spores land on flowers and feed on the decaying petals and gain access and infect the rest of the plant. If you have a history of white mold, what can you do now? We have some fungicides that are now labeled for suppression of white mold. The challenge is that a fungicide needs to protect every flower. Soybean plants continuously flower. White mold only needs to get on one unprotected flower and the game is over. Please let me know if you have plans to do any fungicide spraying so we can follow up with any results, good or bad.
Soybean Aphid Populations Continue to Grow
Soybean aphids were easy to find in every field I looked in this week. At this point, particularly on the earliest planted fields, any insecticide seed treatment will not control feeding aphids anymore. There are plenty of predators and parasites out there but soybean fields need to be watched carefully as aphid populations can expand exponentially very fast. Economic threshold is 250 aphids per plant. It has been many years since I have seen so many aphids this early in the growing season. Time to be diligent and scout!
2021 Corn and Soybean Yield Contest Entry Form Now Available Online
The NY Corn and Soybean Growers Association has released the 2021 entry form and rules for the Corn and Soybean Yield Contests on their website. Completed forms must be sent back to me by AUGUST 30. I have seen some fantastic looking corn and soybean fields in NWNY!
Online Survey for Soybean Cyst Nematode Risk Management Education
This winter at the 2021 Soybean and Small Grains Congress, Jaime Cummings, formerly of Cornell IPM, gave a presentation on Soybean Cyst Nematode. This is a new pest for us in NY as a recent statewide field survey has shown it to be active in 30 counties. The IPM Program has developed a survey to try to measure knowledge gained and intention to use a few IPM practices for soybean cyst nematode. If you attended this year’s congress and listened to Jaime’s presentation, please fill out this survey. It should take no more than 5 minutes. Thanks!
