Flint\u27s field crops newsletter about how planting the same types of crops each year can cause issues in terms of becoming complancent in your practices. He also discusses soil fertility issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ext-ua-flintreports/1146/thumbnail.jp

Flint, Ernest  Ernie , Jr.

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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Ernie Flint - Mississippi State Extension Reports Extension Agent Reports 2-1-2005 Field Crops Newsletter - February 2005 Ernest "Ernie" Flint Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ext-ua-flintreports Recommended Citation Ernest "Ernie" Hilmon Flint, Jr. collection, Special Collections Department, Mississippi State University Libraries This Document is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension Agent Reports at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ernie Flint - Mississippi State Extension Reports by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact scholcomm@msstate.libanswers.com.       Field Crops Newsletter:                                                                                                   February 2005  In General:   This is an extremely busy time for all of us, with meetings and planning sessions for the year.  I guess it’s good that we are busy because when we settle down and think about the prospects it’s very easy to get discouraged.  Hopefully, by the time things settle down we will have good news from somewhere.  Until then we can just stay busy reading and going to meetings.  This time is valuable because it allows us to recharge our batteries on information about new practices, new varieties, and new ideas.  Without it, I doubt that we would have adopted many of the great practices we have; take advantage of all the good information – a lot of it will be valuable to you, even if you’ve heard it before.  Crops:   There will probably be some comments about this, but everywhere I go I get questions about growing conventional varieties.  Most of the interest is about growing conventional soybeans and cotton, with fewer questions about corn.  As it does every time, the new increase in technology fees has apparently sparked a lot of thinking about the feasibility of returning to conventional varieties.  I must admit that it seems like the decision to raise tech fees has come at a bad time since commodity prices are all poor.  It’s pretty obvious that the people who make these decisions are not in touch with economic realities.  If cotton was 85 cents, corn at $5 and beans were $8.50, I don’t think there would have been much notice taken.     Of course we know that we can still grow conventional varieties – we did it until just a few years ago.  The fact is however, that we have become dependent on the simplicity these great technologies have provided us.  We have grown used to the idea of fields with essentially no weeds that can fend for themselves when it comes to some of the worst insect pests.  Not only have we gained pest control; we have gained something even more valuable – efficiency.  Technology has saved many trips over the field and has reduced labor requirements.  We have gotten used to these advantages, and we know that big adjustments will be needed to return to conventional varieties.  However, at the same time new weeds have found their way into fields, and old weeds have become tolerant or even resistant to herbicides.  Insects that were   once considered incidental in cotton are now major pests since we no longer spray regularly.  We are in fact spending a lot on both weeds and insects even though we thought we were past most of that.  Cotton producers in the Hill section have been fairly fortunate so far in being spared the plant bug/stinkbug nightmare the Delta has experienced.  Some Delta areas have been forced to spray almost as regularly for plantbugs and stinkbugs as was once required for control of boll weevils and worms.  And since many beneficial insects are also “controlled”, worms have found their way back into fields even though they are now ironically almost considered “secondary” pests.  There is little doubt that biotech has been the answer to what we once considered our worst pest problems, but other pests have taken their places.  For pests like thrips, aphids, plant bugs, and stinkbugs there is no “silver bullet”.  Conventional varieties are likely victims of “planned obsolescence”.   In recent years, only a few varieties have survived more than five years.  One might argue that varieties have been improving so rapidly that some of the older ones have become “obsolete”.  I doubt this is often the case.  Dr. Bill Meredith’s recent comparison of “obsolete” vs. currently available cotton varieties indicated that no significant change in yield has occurred in recent years.  His work and that of others has suggested that we may have been “recycling” cotton genetics for years.  It seems however, that a few of the most recently released cotton varieties may actually be better, but since their release we have experienced some of the best production years.  I don’t believe we can say these varieties are really better yet – at least until they have proven themselves in years of heat and drought stress.  This test may not be long in coming if long-range forecasts are accurate.  After getting a request from a producer for a list of early maturing conventional soybean varieties, I did a search of variety trials in the Southeast and came up with a “short list” – a very short list.  The public variety that was probably the best of the group was one that has been on the market for more than a decade; something very rare these days.  The list of conventional cotton varieties is not much longer even though it is commonly believed that conventional varieties are some of the best available.    Because of the threat of rust in soybean, most producers are looking to early-maturing varieties as a means of at least partially avoiding the problem.  This further shortens the eligible list of soybean varieties to the Group 4 and early Group 5 varieties.  There may actually be a few Group 3’s planted, but if you are interested in going that early you probably already know which varieties are available.  In soybean, the list looks like this: Manokin, Progeny 4910, Deltapine 4748S, Hutcheson, and Ozark.  There are likely others, and I have no idea about availability on any of them.   For cotton, there are a few remaining conventionals, but every year the list gets shorter.  I expect the supply is fairly short on most of the choices.  A list might look like this: SG747, SG105, DP393, PSC355, BCG295, FM966, FM958, DP491, and DP493.  There may be a few more that were only tested in certain areas of the South, and again - availability is the question.  Weed control will likely be the biggest challenge for anyone considering a return to conventionals.  With most cotton in rows, except for the limited acreage of UNR, an important tool is the hooded sprayer; plus we have Staple and Envoke for OT control of broadleaf species.  The selective grass herbicides are available, and we have the entire arsenal of pre-emergence and directed materials still intact.  For soybean, most of the herbicides that have ever been labeled are still available.  The trick is mastering the art of using them effectively without crashing your budget.  With the reality of rust, and the fact that planting in rows may be an advantage, directed sprays and hooded sprayers can be brought back into the program to employ less costly non-selective materials.  I have avoided corn intentionally because in many cases glyphosate-tolerant corn is needed to avoid injury from unintentional drift.  Even if every conventional cotton and soybean seed available is planted this year, the bulk of cotton and soybean fields will receive applications of glyphosate, and much of it will be applied after corn emerges; because of this most people will need to plant RR corns.  Only those few producers who have isolated fields can expect to use conventional corn without worry of damage.  If this sounds like I am walking both sides of the street, I guess you’re right; but conventional corn has almost no tolerance to glyphosate.  When it comes to Bt corn, this should be decided on a field-by-field basis, considering rotation and historical problems with corn borers.   Soil Fertility:   Planning for a crop when prices are poor is difficult enough without getting into soil fertility issues.  Among the decisions that must be made, this one should actually be the simplest since you can use an objective source of information as a basis – the soil test.  Unfortunately, most people will try to cut back on the cost of fertilization under these conditions as another way of reducing cost, when this should be the last thing we cut.  Without really thinking about it very much, many will do tillage that could be left off; and many will hire extra labor to do tasks that could be eliminated.  Some will buy a new equipment and vehicles before taking care of the basic soil fertility issues that limit yield most.  There is a lot more psychology involved than agronomy, and I doubt that I will make a dent in the problem here.  At least be conscious you are doing it and don’t blame your luck when profits are limited by failure to address soil fertility issues.   I think we can assume that the soil fertility budget may get trimmed this year; if I’m wrong in this I apologize.  But if it is reduced, you should prioritize any cuts so as to minimize the damage.  First, fix any soil pH problems by applying lime since this is both a good buy this year relative to other things, and because it can raise the efficiency of other fertilizer elements - especially P and N.  With that done, plan on supplementing any marginal K levels well enough to supply the needs of the crop you plan to grow this year.  If soil P is marginal, you may get a good economic response to low rates of starter fertilizers like 10-34-0, by providing a quickly available source to supply the plant while it develops the roots to find more.  If you are wrestling with this and need help let me know.   In Conclusion:   It’s easy to get “jaded” just thinking about all the things that need to be done, and at the same time consider the poor market situation.  Some radical decisions may be made this year; you’ve probably heard some already.  Believe it or not, the “sky” will clear soon and we will go about planting another crop.  It may look different, but somehow it will get done.  I can’t say that we have all the answers, but discussing it can’t hurt.  Call on us if you want to talk.  Thanks for your time.   Sincerely,     Ernest H. Flint, Ph.D., CCA Area Agent – Agronomic Crops  

Field Crops Newsletter - February 2005

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Field Crops Newsletter - February 2005

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