Pounce replaces toxaphene for cutworm control FAYETTEVILLE - Cutworms can be a problem in most East Coast com, especially that which is planted no-till. Where fields have a cutworm history, growers find it practical to use a pre-emergent chemical at planting to avoid almost certain loss. For most, toxaphene has been used to forestall such damage until 1987 when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decreed that it not be marketed or even applied. For Eugene Hege and many other area growers, Pounce (R) 3.2 EC insecticide, newly labeled in 1985 for cutworm and true armyworm control infield com, was used as a preventive treatment. “Pounce is a good, low cost alternative,” says Hege who farms with hie son, Brian, near Fayet teville, Pa. “Cost of chemical for four ounces per acre was less than $5-recoverable by saving just two bushels of yield. “But we did much better than that,” Hege continues. “We har vested 11 bushels per acre more where the Pounce was used.” The Heges had Willard Chemical Co. custom apply Pounce on 170 acres of no-till com. A 100-foot-wide check strip was maintained un treated in order to check results. By having the Pounce tank-mixed along with their liquid fertilizer and com herbicides, they had no additional charge for application. Hege, and more recently Bryan, who is a graduate of Penn State, have been growing no-till com for eight years. Previously, com was all reduced tillage on their Duffield soil. They operate a major hog enterprise and use lots of manure on com ground. With careful soil testing and an intensive soil nutrition program, they grow lots of continuous corn. One field, Hege states, has been in continuous corn for 33 years. Cutworms are the prime problem creating the need for use Heges to use a Pounce pre emergent treatment. “We perhaps have more armyworms than we think,” Hege says, “and may be getting some beneficial kill on these as well.” He points, out that stand count on the corn treated with Pounce was some 1000 more stalks per acre. Application of a corn rootworm insecticide, Furadan (15G(R) in secticide/nematicide, is a regular practice. Though it is a broad .spectrum insecticide and kills a number of com insects, it does not control cutworms and ar myworms Both Furadan and Pounce are needed on his no-till crop, according to Hege. i Across the state line, in New Jersey, the Jelliffee Brothers also used Pounce in 1985. The brothers, Bill and Jake, made their own application on 500 acres of no-till corn. Like Hege, they spent less than $5 per acre for chemical, used pre-emergent at a four-ounce-per- acre rate, and tank mixed the Pounce with their regular com herbicides. They also had a rye cover crop. “The chemical worked,” says Bill. “We plan to use it again on our no-till com. We really didn’t have any problems on our conventional com except for a couple of small fields.” The brothers produced a total of 1238 acres of corn in 1985. In one seven-acre field near his home, Jake said the rye crop was baled for dairy herd bedding. “We haybined the rye and planted no till com with no pre-emergent treatment. We had big infestations of both cutworms and armyworms. We sprayed with Pounce as a rescue treatment and replanted immediately in the row. The chemical worked.” Kill was total, he said. In another 35-acre field which was moldboard plowed and planted in com, armyworms wiped out the new com. “We broadcast the Pounce was a rescue treat ment,” Bill says, “and we killed out the infestation. I think we also got some slugs.” The Jelliffee Brothers always use a com rootworm insecticide and figure this boosts corn yields by seven to ten bushels per acre. However, on all no-till com and in some other instances with con ventionally planted com, they have found that they also need Pounce for cutworms and ar myworms. Pre-emergent treat ment of no-till com will be the rule again for this coming season. Joe Newcomer, staff agronomist for Willard Chemical Co. at Frederick, Md., agrees that the pre-emergent treatment is needed. Willard, custom applicator for the Heges, operates five locations in the Mid-Atlantic region and not only supplies crop chemicals but also handles a major custom ap plication business. Newcomer says five key insect problems threaten com for this area. He puts European com borers as the main threat, followed by black cut Joe Newcomer Eugene Hege worms-the species controlled by Pounce. For cutworms, Newcomer recommends a pre-emergent treatment. “There’s too good a chance that growers won’t spot an infestation until too late to prevent heavy losses,” he says, “unless they scout their fields closely.” Other insect problems identified by Newcomer after European corn borers and black cutworms are corn rootworms (Northern, Southern and now Western), ar myworms (though these are usually limited to corn after small grains and late-planted com), and, finally, the com stalk borer (which can be controlled to some extent by the pyrethroids). Newcomer says the Pounce, which was custom applied by his firm this past season on no-till com, accounts for 83 percent of all com acreage in areas served by Willard.. A big advantage of the pre-emergent treatment is that i( can be tank mixed with liquid fertilizer and herbicides with no extra charge for application. Further, Pounce is ettective According to Newcomer, “Pounce controls a broad spectrum of in sects and is a logical replacement for toxaphene.” As an agronomist for Willard, he has field-tested the product for the past three years and is “happy with the ef fectiveness of Pounce. ’ ’ Pounce (R) 3.2 EC insecticide is manufactured by the Agricultural Chemical Group of FMC Cor poration, headquartered in Philadelphia. The spring of 1985 U.S. soybean farmers welcome Soviet purchases ST. LOUIS, Mo. - It is time for a thaw. Whitewater, Wis., soybean farmer John Hoffman could be talking about his home state’s wintery weather, but he isn’t Hoffmann is talking about the Soviet Union. For the first time in more than a year, the Soviet Union is buying U.S. soybeans. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Soviet purchases of U.S. soybeans totaling 1,077,800 metric tons, or just less than 40 million bushels Hoffmann, who serves as secretary of the American Soybean Association, was in the Soviet Union in December on a trade expansion mission for U S soybean farmers. Traveling with Hoffmann were ASA staff vice president Michael Phillips, and staff of the Soybean Association’s Vienna office “These soybean purchases may mean a significant warming in United States-Soviet agricultural relations,” says Hoffmann “But now the Soviets are looking for a stronger commitment from the United States Trade has to be a two-way street.” The Soybean Association is already working to pave that street. In meetings with Soviet officials, Hoffmann learned of Soviet con cerns about access to high technology...and the Soviet desire to be treated as a respected, valued trading partner of the United States. At stake for U.S soybean far mers is a 696-million-bushel market. That’s what the Soybean Association estimates the Soviet Union could need to adequately meet animal nutrition requirements “Wc are providing the Soviets with technical assistance and information about soybean, meal We want them to chose U S soybeans,” says Hoffmann We can offer technology to them that Asbury, NJ, farmers Bill, left, and Jake Jelliffee. was the first tune that Pounce was cutworms, armyworms, Common labeled as a pre-emergent treat- stalk borer and European corn ment for cutworms and ar- borer prior to ear formation at the myworms. Pounce may also be same recommended rate as the used as a rescue treatment for pre-emergent treatment. other soybean suppliers can’t provide “The Soviets have decided to feed their people better. They have made a commitment to improve animal production efficiency and upgrade livestock feeds The Soviets are going to purchase protein; the questions are how much of that protein will be soybean, and where will they buy ” During the meetings in Moscow, groundwork was laid for a feed manufacturing short course this spring in the Soviet Union And preliminary plans were made for joint cattle feeding trials which will feature local feed ingredients and soybeans The Soviets also indicated interest in increasing use of vegetable oil products such as margarines and mayonnaises The Soybean Association’s Phillips sees this expanding Soviet interest as a continuing chapter in a long-term effort to secure Soviet soybean markets “Since the lifting of the 1979 gram embargo, the Soybean Association has worked hard to recapture lost ground in the Soviet Union,” says Phillips. He cites soybean farmer par ticipation in trade missions; the addition of staff to the Soybean Association’s Vienna office which serves the Soviet Union; and ef forts in the United States to foster policies which facilitate trade In particular, Phillips points to Soybean Association efforts to preserve contract sanctity and prevent future grain embargoes “When the United States uses food as a weapon, U.S. farmers lose,” says Phillips. “The Soybean Association is working to insure that contract sanctity remains in law as a protective shield for farmers ” Anti-embargo contract sanctity, which President Reagan signed into law in January 1983, says that while the President may still declare a gram embargo, he cannot cancel shipment of private export contracts for 270 days after that declaration Soybean Association legislative efforts also include a proposal for a new trade category-Major Ex port Market - for nations like the Soviet Union which are not eligible for Most Favored Nation status Phillips explains that MEM would allow a country preferred duty treatment for goods it sells in the United States, but would not provide the export credit eligibility that goes with Most Favored Nation status MEM could easilv apply to the Soviet Union Hoffmann says, “U S soybean farmers want to send a clear message to the Soviet Union We are serious about reliable sup pliers We are committed to preventing trade embargoes, preserving the sanctity of con tracts, and reducing market barriers. The Soybean Association wants to build the United States' share of the Soviet soybean market instead of being its soybean sup plier of last resort ” GIGANTIC SELECTION IN Lancaster Farming's CLASSIFIEDS
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