ti— Uwcaster Farming, Saturday t Jtmary 14,1978 Techniques of By JOYCE BLTr Staff Correspondent BAIR - With top-quality alfalfa hay selling at prices well over the hundred dollar mark per ton, fanners are taking a second look at the popular forage as a cash crop. Informing growers of the latest techniques in alfalfa management and pest control was one of the purposes of the January 3 York-Adams Alfalfa and Small Grains meeting, held at the York County 4-H Center. Penn State forage specialist, Dr. John Baylor, emphasized the importance of establishing good stands of alfalfa through the use of certified seed, liming and fertilizing according to soil tests. To maintain yield persistence over several years, the control of weeds, he stressed that insects and diseases must be carefully managed. Entomology winners named HARRISBURG - Sylvia Royer of .Lebanon R 4, captured the championship in first-year 4-H entomology classes at the 62nd Farm Show. Winner for second-year members was Kevin Shope of Duncansville, Blair County. Third-year winner was Julie Bower of Danville, Montour County. Nancy Mays of 1212 Nissley Road, Lancaster, captured the title for fourth-year members. Potato honors recorded HARRISBURG - Two Lehigh County potato exhibitors made their marks at the 62nd annual Penn sylvania State Farm Show last week. Timothy Geiger, Schnecksville Rl, won the championship in the 4-H division with the Superior variety. And, Charles Koenig, New Tripoli Rl, exhibited the heaviest potato for 1978. COMPLETE FARM PAINTING We Use Quality PAINT AERIAL LADDER EQUIPMENT • Modern and Efficient Method • Reasonable Prices • Spray-On and Brush-In Method • Sandblasting If Necessary FOR FREE ESTIMATES WRITE ESN SPRAY PAINTING (Daniel S Eih-C Ralph Miller) SPRAY-ON AND BRUSH-IN PAINTER Box 350 A Ronks, PA 17572 or call this number 717-687-9155 INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL Dr. Baylor, as well as others on the program, noted that it is critical to avoid harvesting alfalfa stands from late August through late September. During that period, the plant is preparing the buds and rihzomes that will determine the following year’s crop, as well as feed the plant through the winter dor mancy stage. Studies at the University have shown that plants not distrubed during that early fall feed storage period develop larger numbers of longer and heavier buds. In reviewing the most common disease threats to alfalfa stands, Dr. Baylor noted that bacterial wilt, once a serious problem with the forage crop, has been brought under control through improved genetic varieties carrying an imbred resistance to the wilt. Antbracnose, a fungus infestation, becomes a problem when weather becomes hot and humid, usually about the second or third cutting stage. The disease will attack new You just can’t beat a flock of Shavers. Take a look at this record of 50,000 Shaver layers; the production, the feed conversion, the percentage of grade “A" eggs. We can’t give you the profit figures, but you can use your imagination. (NAME OF FLOCK OWNER WITHHELD. BUT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST) loimr: 100 ! t 1 It I 1" I i I 4- ! I -f ♦ • •4 1 !li.—^ I I •-I ' T T a _ . — 4- ♦ 9 50 S 40 ®2O 21 22 23 24 25 2* 27 SHAVER STARCROSS 288 Baby Chicks & Started Pullets GREIDER FARMS, INC. Mount Joy, PA alfalfa management explained seedlings and is charac* the afternoon session on terized by dark lesions on the using preservatives in plant stems, straw colored forage harvesting factors stalks, and drooping necks. that affect the quality. Also known as Wet Foot According to studies, an Disease, Phytophthora Root alfalfa/grass mixture Rot is another fungus most results in a better-quality often seen on heavy wet feed than either red soils. A blackened and rotted clover/grass or timothy, root system and yellowed, Proper handling of the stunted plants are symptoms forage is important, with Dr. of the fungus. . Baylor stressing that no Another alfalfa problem is artificial - drying, aOr caused/by v Fusarium Rott preservative technique can Rot, termed by Dr. Baylor as make top grade hay from “old age disease.” Most old, toughened fibrous frequently seen on stands at material, least two to three years old, Research by Penn State the bacteria enters the plant has shown that the through physical damage to '“chemicals are best added by the above ground stalks, nozzle at the throat of the such as breakage from baler, sprayed on the hay as equipment passing over the it begins to move through the plants. machine, for the most Varieties of alfalfa seed practical mixing through the that are anthracnose mass. resistant, while giving good yields and stand persistence, include Saranac AR, Arc, WL3II, Conestoga, Olympic and Vanguard, sometimes called Victor. IVo varieties, Apollo and WL 318, have a resistance to Phytophthora, but not to anthracnose. Dr. Baylor spoke during WHY SHAVER i . , t * 4 93 fc 9¥% i SUMMARY: Number of days in production Percent hen-day production Pounds feed per dozen eggs ... Eggs per hen (hen-day) Grade A eggs Pounds feed per 100 hens Total Mortality Experimentally preserved hays were fed through ewes and received higher ac ceptance than did the field cured forages. Acidthreated hays compared favorably with heat-treated in quality, and dry matter-losses were reduced. The acid-treatment method also resulted -in' FLOCKS MAKE MORE MONET! * Oale:fi/oY. 31, 74 Pullets Housed: 35 1 i I t i I i ' t t \ , . £v* 75% 1 i * AGE IN WEEKS about a quarter-ton greater yield recovery per acre. Dr. Baylor warned that acid treated hay does lose some color after treatment, in dicating the loss of carotene from the forage. Distribution of the chemical is critical, and uniform windrows are a must for the method’s best performance. Extension agents John Swartz, Adams County, and John Smith, York Cotmty, hosts for the meeting, gave recommendations on con trolling insects on alfalfa. Stressing management as the key to alfalfa production, Smith warned growers that pesticides should not be used as a crutch, but as a carefully timed tool. Potato leaf hopper is the insect causing the most problems in area fields, according to the agriculture agents. „ The hoppers sting the plants, infecting them with a stunting virus. Once the insect has attacked, sprays are of no use, so early control of infestations is the only answer. One recommended way to 'V O Hoiw/Ptn No.; flee.*, & f -f t - * ‘ i 9SH ' t *• 3Q s.'fA sen 11. 7* 3U.S l.H* i ' i Mi I 4 * SM %BV*. ft, /r 77 u -“Jf- examine the alfalfa stands i through the use of a sweej net. One leaf hopper-pei sweep in established field and one per two sweeps u newly-planted acreage is ai indication to apply sprays Critical insect buildup turn is mid-June to early July. Swartz noted that nev stands should be carefull] protected, with sprays ap piled at four to six inches o: growth.' While some new varieties of alfalfa will hole their color when infectec witn the virus, they still lost TON, protein and height. New, 1978 ASCS cost sharing practices were announced, and special emphasis on vegetative cover crops. Approximately 80 per cent of the cost of lime, seed and fertilizer wUI be shared for establishing new cover crops that wifi remain for a five-year life span, plus the year of planting. Cost sharing- on improvement of cover areas is also 80 per cent of the charge's for lime and fer tilizer on areas retained in the cover planting for five years. , \ tx - f -1 1- t 9/Z _t~r; r T •4--r r_ :__L-, , + "t —(—• --* —r t ♦ t -4- -i— +-• *Sri- -ri . : t 100
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