Weekly Ag Update

By ned birkey

msu EXTENSION EDUCATOR EMERITUS

SPARTAN AG 

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center’s outlook to Oct. 13 called for near normal temperatures and leaning below normal outlook for precipitation. The next full moon (Hunter’s Moon) will be Oct. 26. FYI, the forecast for Hell, Mich., on Oct. 31 will be partly sunny with a high of 59 and low of 42, and no lightning storms or loss of power forecast.

Poor soybean seed quality at harvest may affect the price received this fall and the quality of seed for planting next spring. Late season rains may result in soybean seed diseases, such as purple seed stain and Diaporthe-Phomopsis fungal seed decay complex. Purple seed stain doesn’t lower the yield but can least to dockage of grain and discoloration exceeding 50 percent of the surface increases the possibility of delayed germination. Diaporthe causes more losses in soybeans than any other single fungal disease, with cracked, shriveled seed reducing test weight and seed quality. Saved seed can be treated with a fungicide to increase the chance of germination and prevent seedling diseases. For 2027, farmers should use resistant varieties, planting pathogen-free seed fungicidal seed treatments, use crop rotation and tillage.

Planning 2027 crops and investments should include considering conducting research on your own farm, with your own soils and weather, machinery, and management. Kip Cullers who held the world record soybean yield at one time, had a plot near the house so he could watch it every day. This can be as simple as trying a variety with and without a seed treatment, half on one side of the planter and half on the other side. The key is to think “backward” in that how are you going to measure the result easily with your combine? Or, maybe using a new spray or additive, then skip one round for each replication. The skipped round simply uses the spray without the new additive. Use wire flags of two colors to help identify which treatment is which when you combine. Do at least four replications of each treatment and note yields and variety characteristics on your pocket seed company notebook.

Plant Fall bulbs when the soil temperature drops below 60 ºF, roughly six weeks before the first hard frost/freeze (28ºF) for a beautiful spring garden. Set bulbs point up at a depth about three times their width, in well-drained soil with full sun to partial shade. Common flower bulbs include alliums, crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, irises, snowdrops and tulips. Larger bulbs produce stronger plants and more abundant blooms. If wildlife like squirrels, deer or voles are an issue, consider wire cages or pest-resistant varieties like daffodils.