fPENNSmm MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC.
Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday July 17,1993—Page 1
Trials Prove
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANDIS VILLE (Lancaster
Co.) ‘‘lt’s been a tough year
for preplant or preemergent
herbicides,” said Bill Curran,
Penn State weed specialist.
“We haven’t had consistent
rainfall to mobilize them.”
Curran spoke to about 80 ag
industry representatives,
including farmers, who were a
part of the annual weed tour on
Tuesday at the Penn State
Southeast Research Farm.
Many farmers came to see'
what they knew or suspected
already without adequate
rainfall, herbicides aren’t very
effective, either applied pre
plan! or, in some cases, postern
ergent to com.
Curran said that one thing
that stands out is that the post
emergent herbicides have
proven more effective in con
trolling weeds in the trials,
simply because they are less
The Corn Industry
H. Louis Moore
Ag Economist
Penn State
In the early 1980 s, Pennsyl
vania as a com producer was
expanding.
After harvesting a record
crop in 1985, the state appears
to be declining as a com pro
ducer, Com acres harvested
increased from 943,000 acres in
1970 to 1.3 million acres in
USEFULNESS OF
PSNT FOLLOWING
ALFALFA IN
WISCONSIN
Greg Roth
Doug Beegle
Penn State Agronomists
A 4-year study at the Univer
sity of Wisconsin recently pub
lished in the Journal of Produc
tion Agriculture revealed that
the presidedress soil nitrogen
test (PSNT) often overesti
mates the nitrogen (N) require
Corn Herbicides Need Sufficient Rainfall To Work
weather-dependent to work,
many don’t require rainfall.
However, some of the draw
backs to post-’s are that if you
don’t get them on early enough,
they’re not going to do an
adequate job, said Curran. Far
mers must be timely in their
application.
Curran showed the tour
attendees some of the results in
using a rye cover crop in com to
help conserve soil, its use as a
possible forage crop, and as a
way to suppress weeds and
retain soil moisture.
Although rye can be an
effective cover crop, according
to the weed specialist, when it is
harvested and how much is
taken off will affect no-till com
in different ways.
Four separate plots show the
effects of com with no rye, rye
killed early, rye killed at late
boot stage, and rye cut off as
ryclage. Also, the plot exa-
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1980 and dropped to 930,000
acres in 1992.
Small grain acreage has
declined more than com in
recent years. Wheat acreage
dropped 25,000 acres to a new
low of 185,000 acres in 1992.
Oats acreage dropped 20,000
acres in the same 12 year per
iod. Soybean acreage, however,
tripled to 285,000 acres.
Acreage is only part of the
ments for com grown following
alfalfa.
In this study, researchers
L.G. Bundy and T. W. Andra
ski of the University of Wis
consin measured the response
of com to N at 24 sites between
1988 and 1991. At each site,
com followed alfalfa and a
sample to 1 foot was taken
when the com was 6 to 12
inches (aft.
' Where no fertilizer was
applied to the com, the PSNT
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At the annual Lahdlsvllle Farm Weed Tour Tuesday afternoon, Tracy Lewis,
Leland Miller, and Glenn Kerr Inspect a site involving triazine programs in
reduced-tillage corn. Photo by Andy Andrews.
A Pennsylvania Perspective
story of grain production.
Yields have increased dramati
cally in recent decades, offset
ting some of the decrease in
acreage. In 1992 the per acre
yield of com in Pennsylvania
was 117 bushels, a record. In
1980 the average yield was 75
bushels. By contrast, the yield
per acre nationally was only
41.8 bushels in 1952. Forty
years later (1992) the national
yield per acre was 131.4
bushels.
Pennsylvania has in recent
years ranked 15th among the
states in com production. We
should maintain this ranking
for some time into the future.
North Carolina is the 16th state
Corn Tour
BY CAROL PEARCE
Bradford Co. Correspondent
HUGHESVILLE (Bradford
Co.) —The host of the Hughes
ville Crop Expo 93, on Friday,
July 9, was MunCre Farm,
owned by Lester Foust.
The com tour started with a
discussion on com uniformity,
populations, and row spacing.
A look at the effect of com plant
populations from 24,000 plants
per acre (ppa), to 32,000 ppa
and the effect it has on the yield
was illustrated by Greg Roth
from Penn State. On this site,
the com looked very good from
the 24,000 ppa up to 32,000
ppa, but there arc a few prob
lems with the increased popula
tion. There was a yellowing at
but produced only 98.8 million
bushels in 1992 compared to
Pennsylvania’s crop of 118.8
million bushels. Pennsylvania
produces about 1.2 percent of
the nation’s com for grain.
With the production of most
major grain crops declining,
Pennsylvania is becoming
more dependent on grain
shipped in from other states. In
1980, Pennsylvania ranked
29th in cash receipts from
crops. By 1992 the common
wealth has gained one position,
moving to 28th, In 1992, Pen
nsylvania ranked 12th in cash
receipts from marketing of
livestock and livestock pro
ducts, the same ranking as in
Featured At Hughesville
the bottom of some of .the com
plants, and there is the com that
is late emerging, which causes
the rows to be uneven.
Com plants that have an
Doug Beegle, Penn State, with nitrogen information.'
1980.
According to these figures,
Pennsylvania is among the
nation’s leading livestock
states. We have the nation’s 4th
largest dairy industry and
growing poultry and hog
segments.
What about the future? Pros
pects for some price improve
ment for com look good. U.S.
feed grain production this year
is projected to be at least 30 mil
lion tons less than in 1992.
Harvested acreage will be
down and yields will drop
sharply from a year ago. Flood
losses are only speculative at
this time but will be substantial.
(Turn to Page 4)
upright leaf are better in the
higher population then the
other varieties whose leaves
may spread out.