Drought brings on switch to incorporation Herbicide incorporation - by no means a new farming tool - is the subject of in creased grower interest this year. Reasons? For many, last season’s widespread drought conditions, especially around planting time, is the key. As is well known, many thousands of acres that had been treated with surface applied herbicides were so weed infested that growers were faced with a very real threat to their yields. Without rain after ap plication - often for fairly extended periods - these herbicides just couldn’t work. Extensive salvage operations to restore ef- fective weed management & had very mixed results. * When growers lose their RKHRRDTOII investment in chemical as well as risk a loss on their crop, it adds up to a poten tially devastating one-two punch they can ill afford. What’s more, the weather outlook down the road continues to be uncertain, at best. Some weather specialists go so far as to indicate an increasing probability of drought. Others say, more con servatively, there is at least ample evidence that growers should not depend on the generally good weather pattern they have gotten used to over the past 15 to 18 years. They advise, further, that growers should, con sider adjusting their management stratagies accordingly to minimize the affects of weather variables, particularly drought. As a result, the particular advantage of incorporation when it comes to “weather insurance” has taken on a fresh appeal. While the basic principles of applying preplant her bicides and incorporating them into the soil have remained pretty much the same, in recent years newer equipment and refinements in application techniques have made herbicide in corporation an even more valuable farm tool in terms of efficiency and con venience. Basically, however, the advantages of incorporating a preplant-applied herbicide into the soil are quite evident. Most importantly you don’t have to rely on rainfall to activate the herbicide - it’s already positioned in the top two or three inches of soil where it can start working on weed seeds as they germinate. Weed competition for soil nutrients, moisture, and sunlight is largely eliminated and crops get off to a vigorous start and good, high-yielding stands are established. Controlling weeds early also frees up growers’ time for other important jobs during the busy spring season. Experience over the past few years has shown the tandem disc followed by a spike tooth harrow, or some other leveling device to be the most effective tool for adequately mixing the chemicals into the soil before planting. Power driven tillers are also recommended. When possible, application and incorporation should be done in the same operation. The result is a chemical barrier across the full area of the field that controls weed growth - even deep ger minating weed seeds must pass through the chemical as they grow toward the sur face. Most herbicide specialists recommend concentrating the chemicals in the top two or three inches of soil to avoid dilution. Incorporation equipment and the calibrated depth and uniformity of herbicide placement - can vary considerably. As a loose rule of thumb, however, the most herbicide will be placed at GROUND DRIVE SPREADERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY ★ PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW! ABOVE PICTURE SHOWS OPTIONAL FRONT STEERING AXLE & WHEELS WITH TONGUE, SALES & SERVICE A. L. HERR & BRO. Quarryville, Pa. 17566 Ph. 717-786-3521 about half the depth the equipment is operated; if the disc is set to operate four inches deep, most of the herbicides will be deposited in the top two inches. A second cross discing is often recommended to increase uniformity of application - especially m heavy, cloddy soils. Tooling up for soil in corporation can be relatively simple and inexpensive. The first step is to check the adaptability of existing equipment. Smaller acreages may require only a simple spray boom fitted to a tractor or Ullage tools. The spray unit can be followed by a disc and harrow for im mediate incorporation. Another workable system consists of a tank or drum sidemounted on a tractor to feed a belly boom. Discs that follow should be set to cut slightly narrower than the spray pattern. Equipment designed for smaller farms can cost as little as $lOO. Larger acreages require more elaborate systems with bigger tanks, pump, and spray boom fitted to either tractor or discs. Otherwise, the grower can use one of the variety of specialized kits. These are easily assembled units and include such features as adjustable booms that can be fitted to variously sized discs and incorporation equipment, low friction chemical resistant hose, and unifor mly engineered nozzles. Gandy units are used to apply granular materials. Field experience indicates that use of a spike tooth harrow after the disc im proves the mixing action in the soil. A shallow set spring tooth harrow can also be used behind the disc with good results. Plank floats or cultipackers following the discs also nelp mixing and smooth the seed bed for planting. There are several other factors that can affect weed control with herbicide in corporation that should also be considered. They include different soil textures, rainfall after apphcation, and the specific weed spectrum in the field. For example, preplant herbicides like Sutan + and Eradicane on com, Vemam and Treflan on soybeans, and Eptam on various crops Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 28,1978 must be incorporated im mediately after application. Delay allows a breakdown or loss of active ingredient and reduces the effectiveness of the treatment. Growers usually solve this problem by applying the herbicide and incorporating from the same rig in one trip over the field. Rainfall, is heavy after application, may leach the more soluble herbicides too deeply into the soil. Other factors like soil texture, temperature, and pH may affect performance, too. Label instructions for each herbicide should be con sulted in taking account of these variables. Weed spectrum, of course, is critical in choosing an affective herbicide or combination to do the job. Bladex and atrazine are highly effective on many of the common broadleaf problems in com. When grassy weeds, particularly some of the newer “problem” varieties, are evident, Sutan + or Eradicane may be the choice on com. Sutan + is also labeled for tank-mix ap plication with atrazine or Bladex for broader spec trum control. Eradicane, generally used on com to check tough weeds like WHAT'S NEW STATIONARY CONVEYOR A new Fox stationary conveyor box being in troduced by the Farm Equipment Division of Koehrmg will help reduce time spent waiting while forage wagons and trucks are being unloaded. With the new Fox stationary conveyor, loads of silage or haylage are simply dumped on the conveyor platform. The truck or forage wagon is then free to return to the field for another load while the After 5 P.M. Call Dave Trout, 717-786-2920 johnsongrass, wild cane (shattercane), and quackgrass, is now registered for use as a tank mix with atrazine. Finally, mention should be made of one of the newer, innovative techniques for incorporating herbicides - herbigation. This, of course, pertains only to irrigated crop production and as the name indicates it refers to applying herbicides directly on the crop through the irrigation system. There are various ways of doing this depending on the type of irrigation system used. Stauffer Chemical Company which introduced the her bigation concept has several herbicides EPA - registered for this use pattern. Crops on which it is currently being used successfully include com, alfalfa, nee, sugar beets, potatoes. Instead of discs or other tillage equipment, in corporation is achieved as the water from the system moves the chemical into the soil. Whatever technique is used, however, herbicide incorporation is one of the better ways to minimize the risks of weather and to help maximize herbicide ef fectiveness. conveyor feeds the forage material into a blower. As a result, Fox engineers ex plain, farmers and ranchers may find that they will need less hauling equipment and manpower. The large capacity Fox Stationary Conveyor Box is ideal for the farmer or rancher who hauls silage or haylage long distances and needs quicker tum-around on unloading. It has four heavy-duty apron chains with a two speed transmission which moves material forward to the beaters and then can be shifted down to a slower speed to properly feed en silage into the forage blower. With the hydraulic flow control valve, the conveyor has an infinite number of speeds to properly meter the ensilage into the forage blower. Pintle chains are used throughout with heavy worm drive for minimum main tenance, says Fox. The conveyor is designed to be driven with tractor hydraulics. The two wheel axle and the tongue design makes it easy to handle when moving, says Fox. The Farm Equipment Division of Koehnng, headquartered in Appleton, Wis., is a major manufac turer of forage harvesting and handling equipment and 31
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