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C.O.R.N
Newsletter
2004-35
October 12, 2004 -
October 19, 2004
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Issues | CORN
Questions
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A) Corn Stalk Quality and Lodging Potential
B) Soybean Aphid – 2004 and 2005
C) Fall Treatments and Dry Weather – To Spray or Not To Spray
D) Seed/Variety Protection Laws
E) Proper Grain Storage, Part 1
F) Temporary Grain Storage Considerations,
G) Reconditioning Overly Dry Soybeans
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A) Corn Stalk Quality and Lodging Potential - Patrick Lipps
Dry weather and rapid harvesting of the corn crop are making corn stalk quality issues less of an issue. However, as the harvest season progresses the risk of corn lodging before it is harvested increases. Gibberella, Diplodia and anthracnose stalk rots are very common in Ohio and one or more of these diseases can be found in most fields, but certain hybrids have more of these stalk rot problems than others. If you have a lot of acres of corn yet to harvest, t it may be wise to visit fields during down times and squeeze a few stalks above the brace roots. If a high percentage of the stalks are soft then the lodging potential of this field is high. Standability may not become an issue until Ohio experiences some wetter weather and wind, but try to avoid losses by prioritizing harvest of the fields with the weakest stalks. Reported yields are excellent which means heavy ears. If the stalks become wet for a period of time the stalk rot fungi will grow rapidly and make stalks even more soft causing the heavy ears to increase leverage to make plants fall down, especially if assisted by high winds. The best advice right now is to keep the combines working and harvest the crops as soon as possible. Only bad things can happen to the corn crop left in the field from here on out.
B) Soybean Aphid – 2004 and 2005 - Ron Hammond, Bruce Eisley
Now that we are at the end of the 2004 growing season, we can finally say with confidence that the soybean aphid population was extremely low this past summer! We continually saw low numbers this past growing season, and had expected them to remain low; however, we were careful not too make to many predictions. But based on low numbers of winged soybean aphids in the fall of 2003 (having seen high numbers and many problems in the summer of 2003), many of us had predicted the low populations that we experienced this past year. It was good that most growers did not assume they would have problems, and kept waiting and reading this C.O.R.N. newsletter for up-to-date information on the aphid situation. By following this newsletter and sampling fields, growers in Ohio were able to save enormous amounts of money by NOT spraying.
So what is happening this fall, and any predictions yet for 2005? Well, current observations in the Midwest, especially from Illinois, shows large numbers of winged soybean aphids being caught in suction traps, which is similar to what happened in the fall of 2002. And what followed in the summer of 2003? Significant soybean aphid problems! Thus, we believe that the potential is there for problems with aphids in 2005! But remember, it is a POTENTIAL, not a certainty! Researchers and extension personnel from across the Midwest will be meeting this coming winter to discuss what might happen next summer, and information from those meetings will be distributed widely. But the early indications do suggest that soybean aphids will become a problem once again.
What can growers begin doing now? You should begin by making plans on how to best manage the problem IF it occurs. The first thing to do is to plan on keeping abreast of the situation through this C.O.R.N. newsletter and winter meetings. Gain as much information as you can! Growers who experienced a problem in 2003 might want to consider using tramlines or skip-rows when planting to make it easier to treat by ground application if it becomes necessary (we will have more information on tramlines/skip rows in future newsletters). Although information is not yet clear on this, early plantings appear to often have fewer problems than late plantings. Growers should decide how they will scout their fields, whether to do it themselves or with a crop consultant. The only way to determine whether a field will need treatment is to scout each field on a weekly basis and use thresholds. By keeping abreast of the situation, gathering all the information available, and scouting your fields next year, you can successfully manage this pest!
C) Fall Treatments and Dry Weather – To Spray or Not To Spray - Mark Loux
Parts of Ohio are currently extremely dry, and we have received numerous questions about the effectiveness of fall herbicide treatments on drought-stressed weeds. Specifically, producers want to know whether it is cost effective to apply herbicides this fall for control of winter weeds when dry weather may reduce control. The short answer – we are unsure of the effectiveness of fall herbicide treatments under dry conditions, but the most effective fall treatments in OSU research have been consistent in their control of winter annual weeds across a range of weather conditions and application dates (see articles in previous issues of C.O.R.N. for a list of these treatments). Has our research been conducted under the type of dry weather that some producers are experiencing? Probably not. Ideally, we would suggest that producers wait for a resumption of rain that would presumably result in the increased susceptibility of weeds to herbicides. We hesitate to make this recommendation, however, because a sudden switch to very wet conditions could result in an inability to apply herbicides for the rest of the fall. In that case, it would have been better to apply earlier in the fall even if control was somewhat reduced due to dry conditions. The bottom line - fall herbicide treatments are the most effective means of remediating a heavy infestation of winter annual and biennial weeds and dandelions. Spring herbicide treatments can be extremely variable in their control of dandelion. Spring treatments may not control overwintering vegetation rapidly enough to solve the problems associated with this vegetation – increased insect populations, slow soil drying and warming, and interference with tillage and planting. So, in our opinion, the benefits of the fall treatment outweigh the possibility of reduced control due to dry conditions.
D) Seed/Variety Protection Laws - Jim Beuerlein
The development of new plant varieties and hybrids requires a great research effort, lots of time, and is a very expensive activity. Because the seed of many crops is easily reproduced and sold, it is often difficult for developers to recover their development cost, much less earn a profit. Without incentives to develop new varieties, our country, and farmers in particular, would not have the many new varieties developed to date and could not expect to receive the benefits of future variety development.
The principal incentive for research and development of new varieties is granted in the exclusive right to reap the financial rewards of that effort for a number of years. There are two methods by which developers of plant varieties may profit from their development effort. These methods are 1) protection through a certificate of plant variety protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and 2) a utility patent.
1)The Plant Variety Protection Act:
This act was developed to promote the development of new varieties. It allows plant breeders to determine who can sell seed of the varieties they develop, which helps them recoup the funds expended to develop improved varieties. This system provides farmers with a continuous stream of improved varieties with increased yield potential and resistance to insects and diseases, and improved adaptation to adverse growing environments.
The Amended Plant Variety Protection Act became effective April 4, 1995, and covers all crops included in this guide except hybrid corn. The following actions are prohibited without the authority of the owner of a variety:
- Selling or offering a protected variety for sale
- Sexually multiplying the variety as a step to marketing it for seeding purposes
- Using seed marked or labeled "propagation prohibited” to propagate the variety
- Dispensing the variety to another person without telling that person the variety is protected
The law specifies how a farmer whose primary occupation is growing crops for food or feed (not growing crops as a source of seed to sell) may use seed. Seed protected under this law must be sold by variety name (except for turf, forage crops, alfalfa and clover). A producer who has obtained the seed with the authority of the owner may use the seed for growing a crop and save the seed that results from that crop for his/her personal use. He/she may not sell this reproduced seed to a second producer.
Title V: This option of variety protection allows for the sale of seed by variety name only as a class of certified seed. Non-certified sales are prohibited. Seed may be called “Certified” only after meeting all the requirements and standards of an Official Seed Certifying Agency, which in Ohio is the Ohio Seed Improvement Association.
2)Utility Patents
Utility patents are a means of protection for varieties with special characteristics, especially those developed through genetic engineering or biotechnology. Examples are Roundup Ready and Glyphosate Tolerant varieties and hybrids, Liberty Link varieties and hybrids, Yield Guard Plus, Hercurlex, and Clearfield Hybrids.
Table 1 shows what activities are permitted and prohibited by farmers and seed conditioners under the different seed protection laws.
Table 1: Seed Protection: Rights and Responsibilities
FARMER:
| '94 PVPA
| TITLE V
| PATENT
| Allowed to save seed
| Yes*
| Yes*
| No
| Allowed to sell seed (noadvertising)to neighbor if in compliance w/ state laws
| No
| '70 PVPA
only
| No
| CONDITIONER:
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| Condition varieties for farmers
| Yes*
| Yes*
| No
| Store seed for farmers
| Yes*
| Yes*
| No
| Clean or stock as step in marketingvariety
| No
| No
| No
| Deliver or load seed to a third party
| No
| No
| No
| Advertise farmer saved seed
| No
| No
| No
| Sell or act as broker for farmersavedseed
| No
| No
| No
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*Limited to the amount of seed needed to plant a farmer's own holdings
(land owned,leased or rented).
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