DAVID R. HIEBERT
Westmoreland Co.
Correspondent
NORVELT, Westmoreland Co.
—How will products and tech
niques work under real condi
tions? Recently Penn State Exten
sion and the Westmoreland Coun
ty Soil Conservation hosted
afternoon and evening sessions to
discuss the process and products
used in the test plots next to the
Westmoreland County Fair
grounds. Ag Technology Days
was an opportunity for farmers to
interact directly with several
experts right on the field.
According to Don Fretts, Scott
dale, who introduced the agenda
for the day, this was a chance for
all'— even successful fanners
to pick up some pointers and see
some new, helpful Canning tech
niques. He registered about 25 dif
ferent farms represented by 40-45
individuals at the two sessions.
The experts who interacted with
the modest afternoon crowd of
about 20 included academians and
product representatives. Demon
stration and information booths
for services included production
credit and a service for feed value
analysis.
Bill Curran, Penn State, began
the afternoon session by asking
participants to identify 10 com
mon plant specimens gathered
from the area. Curran used the
samples to talk about weed control
methods. He noted that annual
weeds can usually be controlled
best by spraying in the spring
when the plant is small. Perennials
—which regenerate from a part of
the previous year’s growth—usu
ally require a different strategy.
Quackgrass should be 7-10 inches
high to provide enough foliage for
absorbing the herbicide. When the
above ground growth is smaller,
the roots may survive and con
tinue to grow.
Out on the plots, Curran intro
duced ways to reduce the amount
of herbicide needed for weed con
trol. The suggestions included
using a combination of pie- and
postemeigence treatments, combi
nations of herbicides and timing.
The com expert, Greg Roth,
Penn State agronomy, helped par
ticipants evaluate early season
com development in the test plot
He offered some specific mathe
matical tables to help evaluate the
variations in the com stand. Herbi
Make Belter Allalla Hay
j
You know planting PDNEER® brand bale sooner at higher moisture,
Alfalfa Seed yields more pounds of putting'more tonnage in the bale and
high quality hay But what a difference boosting the amount of protein you
Pioneer moculants make Tests prove harvest per acre. Genuine PIONEER®
inoculating with 1155 allows you to brand 1155 Alfalfa Hay Inoculant.
®, SM, TM Trademarks end service mirks, registered or applied for, of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Des Moines, IA All sales are subject to the terms of labeling and sale documents ® 1994 PHII
Ag-Tech Day Demonstrates Cro
cide residue, weather, and equip
ment adjustment can all cause var
iations. a problem when uniformi
ty suits mechanized farming the
best General perimeters for plant
ing call for com to go between
IV4 ” to 314 " deep.
Under wet early conditions, the
planter should be adjusted toward
the shallow end of that continuum,
and toward the deeper end under
later, dry conditions. Roth pointed
out that more variation is accept
able if the com will be cut for sil
age. Late sprouting com is about
as bad as a weed if the crop is to be
harvested as shelled com.
Roth’s handout included a dia
gram for determining the stage of
early com growth, and mathemati
cal steps to help die farmer answer
that most difficult question:
“Should I roplant?” Part of the
evaluation included the farmer’s
own assessment of the soil: Good
soil could support more plants
than poor soil. Roth suggested that
a com field should have between
20,000 and 25,000 plants per acre
at harvest for optimum yield.
In the discussion about peren
nial weed control strategies, crop
rotation was suggested as one way
to reduce the spread of perennials
such as thisdes and milkweed. But
tillage might spread morning
glory. Bill Curran specifically
suggested using Banvel, Round
up, and/or 2-4-D in the fall as a
way to control late growing
perennials.
In two larger plots, pest control
and replanting forage are being
demonstrated. Kurt Kinderwater,
agronomist, and Glenn Kerr, field
scout, both employed by Brubak
ers Agronomic Consulting Ser
vice, discussed pest control. Kin
derwater suggested that farmers
get and learn to use the sweeping
net if they are serious about inte
grated pest management (IPM). In
the short, dry, second cutting
alfalfa stand, Kurt found three
leafhoppers on ten sweeps with
the net He said that the threshold
for an economic benefit from con
trol in this plot would be when 3-5
hoppers are found. Before a deci
sion to apply insecticide is made,
the owner should also evaluate
how many beneficial insects may
be killed.
Kerr showed a cut worm he
found on a field inspection. He
noted the signs a farmer should
look out for, and recounted horror
In a basic introductory activity for the Ag-Tec day at the Westmoreland County Fair
grounds Farm, Dr. Bill Curran far right, asked participants to identify 10 different prob
lem weeds front the area. Perennials and annuals, he noted, require different control
techniques. And some annual species may have look-a-like perennial cousins growing
In the same field (CF29). Photo by David Hlebert.
stories of entire fields being deci
mated sometimes before the
farmer even knows it’s happening.
In a plot on the hill top, two
companies had provided seed to
demonstrate alfalfa planting. Ron
Dodds, of the Seed Way company,
noted that the Pea-Cal seed mix
ture contains Canadian field peas
and triticale. This combination
should grow quickly after plant
ing, shading the ground for weed
control without hindering the
alfalfa. Harvesting the triticale
a cross between wheat and rye
is ticklish. Peak feed value is
retained for only about 72 hours.
The test plot also showed the
effects of low rainfall; only 1 inch
of rain had fallen since planting
May 1. Growth which should have
been 8-10 inches high was only
3-4 inches high. In spite of the
poor conditions for the Pea-Cal,
the alfalfa stand looked good.
Future Ag-Tec days are planned
for the same location on August 4
and September IS. The plots are
open for anyone to see. Contact
the Westmoreland/Penn State
extension office, P.O. Box 250,
Greensburgh, PA IS6OI for
copies of the test plot procedures.
ping Technf
Maryland Ice Cream
ANNAPOLIS, Md. A cool
flavor of Maryland 23,520
pints of Baltimore ice cream
left the Port of Baltimore after
Memorial Day for Saudi Arabia,
according to Maryland Secretary
of Agriculture Lewis R. Riley.
‘The shipment, complete with
two ice cream dipping parlors and
related paper goods, were sold by
Lee’s Ice Cream of Baltimore to a
firm in Saudi Arabia. It is sche
duled to arrive June 13,” Riley
said.
‘This is the first shipment of
many we expect to make,” said
Lee’s Ice Cream president Scott
Garfield.
“We developed the contact for
(he deal at a trade show booth ar-
M
t
I ''-,
• 1
.""1
12% increase in
dry matted yield
19% increase
in protein yield
- - J
„;• ' '
i i i
'■■■■- -i-
Call 1-800-247-6782 for copy of trial data
m
■■M Renew...
PIONEER
wuno wwoocre ■■Ml 50UVC#*
PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC.
UWEtttr farming. Sirturdiy, tW4>A23
To Saudi Arabia
es
ranged for us by the Maryland De
partment of Agriculture’s Interna
tional Marketing Section,” Gar
field said.
‘This shipment of ice cream is
an example of the increased pre
sence of Maryland food products
in the international marketplace.
We are continuing to make out
standing progress in finding for
eign buyers for our products,” Ril
ey said.
For more information on the
Maryland Department of Agricul
ture’s International Marketing
Program, contact the Maryland
Department of Agriculture, Mar
keting Services, 50 Harry S. Tru
man Parkway, Annapolis, MD
21401, (410) 841-5770.
UNI-HYDRO
IRONWORKER
35 to 120
Tons
Selling: Scotchman.
Uni-Hydra Mubea
DAVID S. KING
873 S. Railroad St.
Myerstown, PA 17067
Answering Service
(717) 866-6556