Farm andWeather Summary

Includes: Farm Comments Crop Season Comments Weather Comment

Crop Season

The 2000 cropping season will be remembered as one of the driest in recent years. March through October precipitation was only 64% of the 30-year average for our area. Moisture was the main concern of area crop producers throughout the entire growing season. Only the months of June and July recorded slightly above normal rainfall totals. For the most part, temperatures during the first one-half of the growing season averaged cooler than normal, whereas above average temperatures prevailed during the rest of the year. The area experienced a very warm month of October for the second consecutive year when temperatures averaged more than 10 degrees above normal

Early Planting of Tomatoes in a High Tunnel with Plant Coverings

High tunnels have been successfully used in Iowa to modify the climate and extend the growing season for tomatoes and other crops. Without the use of supplemental heat these ventilated, single layered plastic structures have typically increased average inside air temperatures by 10°F or more over outside temperatures for the growing season. The same tunnel, however, will only increase the daily low temperature by about 1 or 2°F, thus making early season high tunnel plantings without additional heat or plant coverings risky in Iowa. Fabric row covers are commonly used in high tunnels to provide for an additional 2-4°F frost protection during cold evenings. The recommended planting date for high tunnel tomatoes in Iowa has been about April 16 (4 to 5 weeks ahead of the recommended outside planting date). Producers are also advised to have some sort of plant covering material available to protect plants during a late spring frost

Development of Research Farms, Field Days and Tours, and Acknowledgments

Includes: Development of Research Farm Armstrong Farm Neely-Kinyon Farm Lauren Christian Farm Field Experiments Field Days and Tours Acknowledgment

Farm and Weather Summary

Includes: Farm Comments Crop Season Comments Weather Comment

Armstrong and Neely-Kinyon Research Farms Summary

Includes Farm and Weather Summary, Research Farm Projects, Acknowledgements and Information on Experiments in Previous Annual Progress Reports

Evaluation of Two Soil Amendments

For many years, home gardeners have recognized the benefits of applying compost and other soil amendments to their soils. Though not considered a fertilizer by industry standards, compost is universally recognized for improving structure, water-holding capacity, and the nutrient content of our soils. In many gardening systems, including both organic and conventional, compost is often the major soil enrichment product. On occasion, other soil amending products, such as humic acid, have been tried by gardeners in hopes of achieving many of the same benefits of compost, but with less volume and cost

Lime Rates and Sources

A lime rate and source study was implemented in 1996 at the Armstrong Research Farm to observe liming practices in no-till situations. The addition of lime to raise pH to 6.5 for row crops has been a long-standing recommendation. Those recommendations have included thorough mixing of the lime material with the soil which might be expected from normal tillage practices. This study will measure any corn and soybean yield changes, and the possible stratification of soil pH over time using no-till production practices