VOL. 16 NO. 4 Another Good Pennsylvania Corn Crop Forecast in 1971 Good, sound cultural practices based around a seed variety which pel formed well in 1971 That’s the key to the 1971 coin crop in Pennsylvania, Penn State Umveisity officials told more than 100 farmers and coin industrymen at a special meeting at the Farm and Home Center Wednesday night “We think that based on the best information we have, the com yields should follow about the same pattern as this year,” said Joe H McGahen, extension agronomist What did really happen this year? "We had a record yield of corn. On state (research) Rootworm May Be Worse Than Blight “The' northern corn rootworm is potentially the greatest prob lem m corn,” Dr Robert Tetra ult, Penn State University Ex- told local - the ? ,Farm and meeting Wed nesday mghf. - - r The corn, rootworm, along 4-KB Council Ploys Sonta The Lancaster County 4-H County Council Thursday col lected cooxies and toys for dis tribution dining the holiday sea son The ccoKies will go to the Brethren Home at Neffsville Marlin Bollingei is dehvenng the cookies. Tim Breneisen and Miss Joan Lucas, a&rstant extension home economist are dehvenng the toys to tr.e YMCA on Noith Duke Street, Lancaster. The Council also announced plans to visit a children’s home during the Eastei season to en tertain with a skit and egg hunt. But Farmers Still Must Use Safe Practices, Dr. Forney Warns "Crash Program' May Stop Hog Cholera, Pa. Official Says Largely oecause of pi ogress this summer in Virginia and Noitb Carolina, the hog cholera outlook now is the best that it has been for many yeais. Dr. Homer S Forney, Harrisburg, chief ci the miscellaneous diseases onision of the Buieau of Animal Industiy, said this week The progress in Vuginia and North Carolina against the dreaded swine disease now makes the U S goal of wiping out hog cholera m the U S by 1972 seem feasible, Di Forney said. Eecent repoits show that only one or two counties aie still quarantined in Virginia and plots we had 150 bushels to the acre aveiage,” McGahen said McGahen also estimated that the overall loss in Pennsylvania in 1970 from t’~e corn blight was not moie than two to five pei cent Arnold Lueck, associate Lan caster County agricultural agent, who spoke briefly in mtroduc mg the Penn State officials said Pennsylvania was the lead mg corn producing state in 1970 outside the Corn Belt, pnmai ily because the state’s crop “wasn’t huit badly” by the blight Penn sylvama moved up fiom the fifteenth ranking state in 1968, to fourteenth in 1969 and with some other soil insects, with an insecticide before plant pose a potentially greater prob- mg, he said lem than the blight in large part ' because growers are unaware of them, Tetrahlt said, ln outlining the 'from"-" insects “he said losses of” 10 to 20 per cent are not uncommon from insects on Pennsylvania farms This compaies to an estimated overall loss from blight in the state this year of only two to five per cent. Besides corn lootwoim, which has built up to serious levels must faster than Penn State officials had originally expected, lessei insect pests include seed coin maggots, centipedes and slugs Besides the use of vanous chemicals, coin lootwoim can be contioiled with crop rotation since the insect feeds only on com However, the lootwoim will again be a senous pest within a yeai if there aie neaiby infested fields Two to thiee yeais of protection from crop rotation is about the most that can be expected, he said A 10 to 20 per cent crop loss from insects can also be expect ed if corn seed is not treated North Carolina still has only a few pioblem spots, Di Forney said The two states are of particu lar importance to local swine pioduceis because of their prox Farm Calendar Saturday, December Id Fulton Grange Youth Cpm-Jmrt tee, Chustmas Caroling Tuesday, December 22 7 30 p m —Ephiata Adult Fai m ers Feeding Course, Class Numbei 3, Agucullure Do ~ pailment, Ephiata High-' School Friday, December 25 Merry Christmas' Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 19,1970 eleventh in 1970 Lancastei County alone had 150,000 acres ot com this yeai In stating that coin piospects foi next yeai should be about the same as this year, the ex tension officials weie, theie fore, making an optimistic foie Cust “We just don’t shaie the scam philosophy foi next yeai,” McGahen said Dr Don Petersen Penn State extension plant pathologist, said, “We view the blight situation for next year as about the same as this yeai ” Yellow Blight Woist Petersen also stated. “The yel- i innty and because the two aie among the major souices of feedei pigs for this aiea The reduction of the swine disease in Virginia and North Carolina stemmed fiom a“crash piogiam by a special task force’ /of 172 poisons including 160 ’veterinarians and livestock in spectois fiom 40 states Duimg the piogram, some 12,000 head ■ ol hogs with choleia oi exposed to it weie destioyed The of the clash piogiam in Virginia and North ,_Caiphna is shown b.\ the fact -'that in the foui month peuod beloio the piogiam these two states alone accounted foi o'’ei 60 pei cent of all hog choleia From All of Our Staff To All of You low leaf blight was by far the most impoitant in Pennsyh ania” in 1970 This was tuie despite all the national attention and damage the new Southern leaf blight caused elsewheie, Peter sen emphasised The yellow leaf blight fust leceived major attention in Lan castei County in 1969 The Penn State officials pi edict it will still be an impoitant problem in 1971 Petersen says yellow leaf blight piimanly stems fiom overwintering in local coinfields To help fight yellow leaf blight, he uiged desti action of debris, either by plowing it under oi discing it If disced, addition of about 40 pounds of nitrogen will help, he said If debus is left unattended, “you aie ovenun tenng the oigamsm on your fields,” he said But based on Penn State is- Memj C/trisbnas cases icported in the US Di Foiney explained. The U S still has some per sonnel in Vngmia and North Carolina to finish the clean up woik that was started Indica tions aie that similar ciash pio giams will be instituted any where m the U S that hog choleia becomes a seuous piob lem If the task foice procedme i= followed, Di Foiney says he thinks the goal of making the U S Gee of choleia by 1972 seems leahstic at the piesent time ” Besides a few clean-up aieas in Virginia and North Carolina Di Foiney said his reports $2.00 Per Year seaich, Peteisen sa*d he dis agiees with some authorities that the Southern blight will overwintei The Penn State ro seaich shows it will not over winter But it “has a great capacity foi traveling long dis tances’’ from the south wher® it will oveiwintei, he added. Plant Early for Success The key to a successful crop in 1971, both Petersen and Mo Gahen stressed, is to plant early They believe both the yellow and Southern blight will hit corn fields again in 1971 But if the crop is planted early, they think the crop will again mature before major damage can result. When should corn be planted in 1971’ Wait until the last fiost, then count back 14 days and that’s when the corn should have been planted, McGahen joked. While this method is technically impossible, the point to be emphasized is that the earlier the crop is planted the better, according to McGahen. Avoid’Stress on Corn The 'Penn State men also e»> plained why some farmers who had serious blight problems also had serious stalk rot problems. McGahen said, “Anything, such as blight, which puts stress on a plant increases the inci* dence of stalk rot Poor culti vation, pool application of in* sectieides, loot worms, all cause stiess, increasing the problems of stalk rot ” Petersen added, “A lot of the stalk lot in the past year stem* med fi om lea- Plight ” For Best Results in ’7l McGahen and Peteisen sum* mauzed, the following recom mendations to help farmers get through the 1971 season with