Page 28—Ag Progress Section 1, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 14, 1999
ROCKSPRINGS (Centre Co.)
Dwarf trees, living mulch, and
“bug maps” are among the cut
ting-edge research projects that
will be highlighted in guided tours
of the Russell E. Larson Agricul
tural Research Center during Penn
Stale’s Ag Progress Days, Aug.
17-19.
The free 30-minute bus tours,
which leave every 20 minutes
each day, will take visitors
through Penn State’s horticulture,
plant pathology, agronomy, and
entomology research farms, and
the USDA Pasture Systems and
Watershed Management Labora
tory research farm.
On the horticulture farm, visi
tors will see an experimental or
chard where apple trees are grow
ing on wires, trellises, and poles.
The Penn State Low Hedgerow
Drought Will Rob
COLUMBUS, Ohio Many
Ohio com Helds could have major
yield losses because recent scat
tered showers weren’t enough to
salvage the crop from season-long
drought, said Ohio State Univer
sity agronomist Peter Thomison.
The projected yield loss would
be “significant” in many parts of
Ohio, particularly the parched
south central region, Thomison
said. Losses could exceed the
1988 drought, the worst in recent
memory, he said.
Although late July brought rain
in 1988, com yielded a disappoint
ing 85 bushels per acre, and soy-
beans 27 bushels per acre. In con
trast, Ohio’s 1994-98 average
yields for com were 129.2 bushels
per acre, and soybeans were 40.9
bushels per acre.
The prospect of low yields
combined with low crop prices
could be a “double whammy” for
farmers in drought-stricken parts
of Ohio, said Ohio State agricul
tural economist Allan Lines.
“I think it will probably end up
bringing Ohio farm income down,
particularly in the grain sector,”
Lines said “But in the livestock
sector this could result in a little
better net income because of low
er feed prices.”
Com in Ohio’s drought-stress
ed areas needs as much as one
third of an inch of moisture per
day when the crop is entering (as
Cutting-Edge
Trellis System is part of an effort
to grow smaller dwarf and semi
dwarf trees, which can reduce the
need for large equipment, make
labor more efficient and reduce
the amount of pesticides needed to
protect the crop.
Other horticulture plots include
research on the use of clear plastic
mulch in the production of sweet
corn, on how plastic mulch and
trickle irrigation affect the yield
and quality of melons, peppers
and tomatoes; and on ways to en
courage beneficial fungi that can
help plants utilize soil phosphor
ous while helping to protect their
roots from pathogens.
On the plant pathology farm,
the tour will feature studies aimed
at helping growers eliminate,
manage, or reduce crop damage
from diseases. Visitors will see an
seling, the peak demand period for
water, Thomison said.
“The recent showers helped
some, but the benefits were short
lived,” Thomison said. “With the
high temperatures we basically
used up that moisture in a day or
two.”
Weed pressures are another
drought-related variable that can
cut into yields because some
herbicides need rain to be effec
tive, Thomison said. Also,
drought-weakened stalks can set
the stage for plant lodging prob
lems, a condition that causes yield
losses at harvest.
To make things worse, many
com fields have uneven stands
due to variable soil moisture
levels, Thomison said. Poor pol
lination leading to ultimate
yield loss occurs when plants
are not at the same growth stage.
There’s still enough time for
rain to help Ohio’s soybeans be
cause the plants’ peak demand for
water is a 70-day flowering and
pod-fill period, said Ohio State
agronomist Jim Beuerlein. “But at
some point, July has got to have
lots of moisture to make the pod
and fill it out,” he said.
From April 1 through July 11,
Ohio’s northwest and north cen-
tral regions were within 1 inch of
average precipitation. The state’s
driest areas were central, south
central and southeast, which are
Research At Ag Progress
orchard containing 68 varieties of
ornamental crabapple trees, which
are part of a long-term study of ap
ple diseases.
Plant pathologists also are
evaluating the use of plant disease
resistance, mulching, reduced till
age, fungicides, and environment
al information to develop better
disease control strategies. Use of
weather data allows producers to
use fungicides only when condi
tions favor disease development,
potentially reducing pesticide use.
The agronomy farm portion of
the tour will feature research on
the use of crownvetch and other
legumes as a “living mulch** in
corn and soybean crops. Scientists
have found that these legumes can
provide ground cover and reduce
soil erosion and provide nitrogen
to the main crop, potentially re-
Ohio Com
about 4.5-6.0 inches below aver
age moisture. The rest of Ohio
ranged about 1.0-3.5 inches below
average precipitation. Overall,
Ohio is averaging a 2.83-inch
moisture deficit
The drought comes alter a year
of slumping com prices, which
could set back Ohio farmers’ in
come for a second year in row.
Thomison said most of the Com
Belt west of Ohio is expecting an
outstanding crop year, which
could increase grain surpluses and
further depress already-eroded
prices. He said Ohio only pro
duces 5 percent of the nation’s
com, so its yield losses will have a
negligible effect on national
prices.
PENNSYLVANIA DHIA
FOR SMART DAIRY DECISIONS
ducing the need to apply fertilizer.
Other agronomy research foc
uses on breeding and management
trials for a variety of crops, includ
ing com, soybeans, alfalfa, wheat,
barley, and forage grasses. Visi
tors also will see a study on how
various tillage systems affect run
off, and research on how different
crop rotations influence com
yield.
At the USDA Pasture Lab, the
tour will include research on clov
er varieties that are resistant to
clover root curculio, an insect pest
of clover and alfalfa, and studies
to improve the establishment and
management of switchgrass, a
warm-season grass that can be
used for livestock grazing and
wildlife habitat
Entomology studies to be dis
cussed on the tour include re-
Yields, Farm
Farmers can get Ohio State spe
cialists ’ recommendations for
crop management during the
drought by subscribing to “Ag
Answers,” a joint online service
operated in conjunction with Pur
due University. For information,
send an e-mail messgae to Amy
Raley at ahr@aes.purdue.edu or
consult the Ag Answers home
page at
http://www.aes.purdue.edu/Ag
Answers/Ag Answers.html.
Ohio State specialists also give
weekly crop condition updates in
the onlilne Crop Observation and
Recommendation Network
(CORN) newsletter. To subscribe,
send an e-mail to corn-out
on@postoffice.ag.ohiostate.edu.
TEST WITH THE BEST
PA DHIA
1-800-344-8378
University Park,PA
www.dhia.psu.edu
Come by and visit us at AG Progress Days
search on the use of global posi
tioning satellites and related tech
nology to monitor pest and
beneficial insect populations. By
mapping insect “hot spots,” scien
tists hope to develop better control
strategies, reduce the amount of
insecticides needed to manage
crop damage, and delay the devel
opment of insect resistance to
pesticides.
Visitors also will see plots with
traps baited with insect sex phere
mones. Entomologists use these
traps and others like them at
more than 100 sites in four states
to monitor and forecast com
pest populations. Data from the
traps are used to generate maps
that are available on the World
Wide Web to help growers, crop
consultants, and others determine
the need for control measures.
Income
If you have problems subscribing,
contact your local Ohio State Ex
tension office or send an e-mail
message to labarge.l@osu.edu.