ClO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 6, 1991 Insect Problems Can Be Managed Effectively DEKALB, 111. Each season insects cause major damage to com fields. But farmers have sev eral ways to prepare their crops for these yield-robbing culprits, said DEKALB Plant Genetics regional agronomist Larry Martin. “A farmer needs to review his tillage practices, crop rotations and the weather that occurred the previous year and maybe during the present crop season,” he said. Martin also suggests examining last year’s scouting records which may reveal insect populations. Those numbers may give growers a guideline about what to expect, during the current year. “If the number of insects was high last season, it could be high again this year,” the DEKALB agronomist said. Martin says farmers have sever al management techniques they can implement to reduce insect damage. “Scouting could be done on a daily or weekly basis to monitor insect populations,” he said. “This will tell a grower whether the problem will be detrimental to the profit line of the operation.” Crop and ullage rotation also may help reduce insect infestations. Martin advises growers to become familiar with situations favoring insect damage. Seedcom maggots and seedcorn beetles attack when germination is delayed by cool, wet soil after planting. The agronomist suggests growers use diazinon and Lindane planter-box treatments to protect the seed before germination. This HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A STORAGE TANK! YOU CAN’T BEAT IT! GIVE US A CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE! ♦ASCS APPROVED UNDER THE COST SHARING PROGRAM • Installation & Maintenance of Concrete Bunker Silos • Stone Wall Repairs • PreCast Gunite Lined Water or Manure Storage Tanks ‘We re Tfie *Concrete Specialists" MAR-ALLEN CONCRETE PRODUCTS, INC. Gunite Construction • Precast Concrete Products Bridge Repair • Tank Repair • Holding Tank* • Installation • Pre-Qualrfied by Penn Dot RO #2 Ephrata, PA 17522 (717) 859-4921 Subsidiary of Seal-Crete Corp. treatment also protects against light wireworm populations, he says. In continuous com, rootwoim infestations can be moderate to severe. Martin recommends ap plying a soil insecticide at plant ing unless scouting last summer revealed average rootworm beetle populations below .75 per plant This threshold drops to .5 per plant in first-year com. When com follows soybeans, the potential for rootworm prob lems is low.- “Exceptions are if the previous soybean crop was very weedy or had 5,000 or more volunteer com plants per acre, or if northern com rootworms survive two seasons in your area,” Martin said, “In the letter case, an insecticide applica tion may be necessary.” Com planted after pasture or grass sod may suffer stand loss to wireworms, grubs, sod webworm, com billbug and cutworms. Early spring baiting may help determine the degree of wireworm threat. Scouting will determine cutworm problems. “Plan to use a rescue treatment if 3 percent of the plants have been cut off and remaining cutworms are less than 3/4 inches long,” Martin said. Weather conditions during egg laying will determine the severity of European com borer damage. Com leaf aphids, chinch bugs, and spider mites are most active when it is hot and dry, but there is no way to predict severity in advance, Martin said. • Dam, Reservoir & Spillway Repair • Slatted Floor Systems • Silo Repairs Two Convenient Locations! RO #2 Box 18A Cherry Tree, PA 15724 (814) 743-6334 Ask For Mike Early Planting Results In DEKALB, 111. Planting early not only increases yield potential but also helps growers improve cropping efficiency. “It has been well documented that delayed planting of corn results in significant yield reduc tion,” said Larry Martin, regional agronomist for DEKALB Plant Genetics. Early planting encourages root development, which helps seed lings take advantage of high nutri ent concentrations in the soil, he said. In addition, it maximizes efficient use of spring soil mois ture which leads to earlier deve lopment of a plant canopy to shade the soil and reduce evaporation. Pollination may also improve because critical silking and tas sclling stages may be reached before subsoil moisture is exhausted, the DEKALB agro nomist says. Early pollination can increase grain formation, improve yields and produce higher test weights at harvest. STEEL CULVERT PIPE An Additional I % DISCOUNT is offer, d if paid by Cash Money or Certified Check Over Forty Years of Reliable Service Fuel Oil, Gasoline Mon , FH 111 E. State Street, Quarryville, PA 17566 8 AM - 4 PM Phone: 717-786-2166 Martin also says early planting requires growers to consider some special hybrid characteristics. “We may want to choose hybrids that are better able to take higher populations,” he said. “Some hybrids have less of a flex type ear and need higher popula tion for ultimate yields. Other hybrids have more of a flex-type ear so can stand lower populations.” Martin says farmers who plant early will want to increase that population because of cool soil. “If the weather warms up enough so that all those plants ger minate, then the grower will have a higher population in the fall to harvest,” he said. “So it’s impor tant the farmer plants a hybrid that performs and yields well in high populations.” Analysis of more than 5,000 g MILK. FT DOES A BODY GOOD.' MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION, INC have removed the end (heads). Lifting lugs *'* attached. No coating. These tank shells make an Inexpensive, quick strong bridge. Tank shells burled with 3 feet of ground cover support 80,000 lbs. Diameter Weight/ Thickness Lengths Price, F. 0.8. Inches Lbs. Inches in Stock Quarryvllle (Approx.) (Approx.) 64 1615 .167 (7 ga.) 12’ -0” $125 64 2312 .167 (7 ga.) 17’ -11” $2OO 64 3010 .167 (7 ga.) 23’ -10” $3OO 84 5400 .420 (% ”) 23’ -2” $3OO 96 4723 .240 {% ”) 16’ -0” $l5O 96 6075 .240 (% ”) 21’ -4” $2OO 96 7425 .240 (% ”) 26’ -8" $250 USED STEEL PIPELINE PIPE Diameter Weight Thickness Lengths Price Inches Lbs./Ft. Inches In Stock Per/Ft. Section Depth In. Section & Size In. 28% ”x 10” 24”x9” 28% ” 24” HOWARD E. GROFF CO. .312(Vk ga 100 USED STEEL I-BEAMS Flange Width In. Web Thick ness In. %” %” High Yields DEKALB Field Analysis Com parison Trial (FACT) plots indi cates the highest yields are from com planted between April 30 and May 6 in the northern tier of states. In the southern Com Belt, the optimum time to plant is around April 27, and in the mid- South April 5. Martin suggests the following management tips for early planted com: • Aim for the high end of plant populations. • Choose hybrids with high ger mination rates under cold conditions. • Band starter fertilizer. • Place seed no more than 1-1/2 inches deep. • Manage weed control early. • Avoid planting in soils that are too wet. $20.00 9’ To 49’ Price. FOB Quarryvllle Lengths In Stock 29’3" 24-i" 10" 9” HOURS: and can 1200 >2OO
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers