2021 Alabama Pest Report

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System Vegetable IPM program has started statewide insect monitoring program with a few locations active right now. Numbers will be updated regularly in the Alabama Pest Report. Below are the moth counts to date from all locations using sticky wing pheromone traps. Read More

The Seed...Where is it??

Last issue we had an entry titled, “The Seed is Where It’s At – Cotton Seed Calculators.” But another question involves seed delivery and timeliness of that delivery. 2021 has provided a strange start. We’ve never experienced such a delay in getting planting seed to the farm. It was mildly frustrating and somewhat concerning, but all is well now, we hope. Had mid-April been fair and warm with only an occasional shower, growers would have been “chomping at the bit,” and “fit to be tied.” Weather patterns largely discouraged planting until the last week of April, which lessened the real effects of shipping delays. Collectively, we avoided trouble by not really being able to get into the field early.
 
I’ve spoken with a couple of cotton seed industry folks about the reasons for lateness of delivery. Answers given for the late arrival of seed involve seed processing quantities, a Texas ice storm and trucking issues. A LARGE majority of cotton (planting) seed is produced and processed in Texas. Events there affect what happens all across the Cotton Belt.
 
The 2020 seed production crop required extra sorting to meet quality specs. In other words, a larger than normal volume of seed was evaluated to ultimately bag and ship what we’ll plant for the 2021 crop. That required extra time. In February, a significant winter storm in West Texas shut down seed processing for 10 days or so amidst a time of peak 24/7 activity. That represented a substantial quantity of bags and boxes that would have, could have been shipped to warehouses in the Southeast. An additional answer offered is that the shipping industry is facing numerous challenges related to COVID-19.
 
As an aside but somewhat related issue, the virus has had an effect on manufacturing, and is in part to blame for the shortages of many crop protection products.
 
Shipping delays may have saved us from “practice planting:” that is, jumping out too early and having to replant. Conditions were not favorable until about the 25^th of April. That weekend, we turned a page from very marginal to very good conditions for planting. Now, approaching mid-May, we’re getting nervous about wet weather delays, at least in parts of Central and South Alabama, especially so with rain forecast for this week.

Contact Steve Brown for more information.

Nematodes on Corn

All plants can act as hosts of plant-parasitic nematodes and field corn is no exception. Plant-parasitic nematodes attack and feed on the roots of plants disrupting the plant’s ability to take up water and nutrients. The most common above ground symptoms include yellowing, wilting, and stunting of corn plants. Field symptoms are more noticeable early in the season and appear as spots or patches in the field.  Below ground symptoms appear as lesions on roots, swollen areas or galls, lack of fine roots, and a general stubby appearance to the root system. Nematodes can cause damage and loss of yield without apparent above ground symptoms making it difficult to recognize the disorder in the field.

Nematode population density, soil type, and environmental conditions all play a factor is the level of yield loss. Sandier soils and fields dealing with other problems such as compaction or fertility deficiencies are more likely to suffer damage from nematodes. The most common nematodes effecting corn include the southern root-knot, lance, lesion, stubby-root, and stunt. Root-knot nematodes produce small galls on the roots a few weeks into the season.  Southern root-knot nematode can also attack common rotational crops including cotton and soybean.

Collecting soil samples are the most reliable method to correctly determine what nematodes are present in the field. Soil samples should be collected during the growing season through harvest. Soil samples should be collected to a depth of six to eight inches from 15-20 sites in the area that you suspect nematode problems. The soil should not be excessively wet or dry at the time collected, and once collected should be kept cool until they can be sent to the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory for analysis.

Management typically begins with crop rotation for most problematic nematodes with southern root-knot the one exception because of its wide host range.  Peanuts are not a host of southern root-knot nematodes and could be a considered a rotational partner in Alabama. All corn varieties are considered susceptible to southern root-knot, but some cotton and soybean varieties have resistance to this species and can be rotated with corn to reduce nematode populations. Other management practices to reduce damage from plant-parasitic nematodes include following a proper fertility program, reducing soil hard pans in problematic fields, and avoiding water stress through irrigation when practical.  There are a few nematicides that can be used to protect against nematodes.  Please refer to the Alabama Corn IPM Guide for more information.

Contact Ed Sikora for more information.

New Ag Lime Law Amendment Makes it Easier for Farmers to Compare Products

Governor Ivey recently signed Senate Bill 173, sponsored by Senator Larry Stutts, into law. The bill—assigned Act No. 2021-321—requires agricultural limestone products to be labelled with their Relative Neutralizing Value (RNV). This law will make it easier for farmers to compare agricultural limestone products based on quality.

What Is Relative Neutralizing Value?
Relative neutralizing value is a measurement used to determine quality of an agricultural limestone product. RNV is based on calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE; a measurement of the material’s ability to change pH) and particle size of the material. Fineness of liming materials affects how quickly a lime will react with the soil. In Alabama, material which passes through a 60-mesh screen is considered 100% effective, and material that passes through a 10-mesh screen (but not a 60 mesh screen) is considered 50% effective. The formula for determining RNV is provided below:

RNV = CCE x [(0.5 x A) + (1 x B)]

A = the percent of lime passing through a 10-mesh screen, but not a 60 mesh screen
B = the percent of lime passing through a 60-mesh screen
Since the 1970s, Alabama’s lime law has specified that products cannot be marketed as an agricultural limestone unless:

1. The material has at least a 90% calcium carbonate equivalent
2. At least 90% of the material passes through a 10-mesh sieve
3. At least 50% of the material passes through a 60-mesh sieve

Products which meet these requirements have an RNV of at least 63%. Therefore, producers can be guaranteed that a product is at least 63% effective if they buy an agricultural limestone product in Alabama. However, there is no easy way to compare lime products without doing some extra math. The new amendment to the lime law will increase transparency by requiring companies to provide RNV on labels, making it easier for farmers and retailers to compare products.

Why is this change timely?
Precision agriculture technologies have allowed farmers to become increasingly precise with lime applications. Technology for variable-rate lime application often requires RNV to be entered into computer software to determine the appropriate amount of lime to apply (example, more lime is required for a product with 63% RNV compared to a product with 90% RNV).
 
For more information, a video on agricultural limestone quality can be viewed here.

Contact Audrey Gamble for more information.