FlB-Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February i, 2003
! ' t
(Continued from Page FI 4)
worm are problems in Johnston’s area.
One way to eliminate a poor stand is
to take care of the planter. Probably
something people overlook the most is
their planter, said Johnston. You
could have the soil fertility up to 100
percent but you have to have the seed
in the ground. For him, a seed firmer,
placed in the seed tube, has helped to
ensure the seed gets into the seed rut.
The planter tends to bounce around a
lot and the seed firmer helps to keep
the seeds where they’re supposed to
go. Johnston uses a John Deere plant
er to plant 15-inch row com. This year
Johnston battled an early spring frost.
We had four mornings where the
weather was below 32 degrees, and one
morning it dropped to 25, he said. Al
though he debated replanting, he left
the stand to grow. The com rebounded
to produce some of his best yields. The
setback the com received actually al
lowed it to be ready to receive the
moisture the area received when the
crop needed it the most
Subsoiling once a year, usually in
the spring, has also helped to loosen
the soil. He has also done custom work
subsoiling for customers, with dramat
ic results. He planted four varieties of
soybeans and two varieties of com,
just to try different varieties and see
what’s best for the area, he said.
Johnston does the spraying, plant
ing, harvesting, and trucking on his
operation, which allows him see every
(Continued from Page FI 7)
pop-up fertilizer treatments. Overall,
the liquids and dry starter fertilizers
yielded about two percent higher than
the check; however no single treatment
was statistically superior. During the
growing season conditions were dry,
especially during July and August.
Nutrient Uptake
In general, differ
ences in nutrient up
take at the V-6
growth stage were
small in our formu
lation study. There
were no treatments
that significantly in
creased uptake
when compared to
the check. Nitrogen
uptake using pop
ups was increased
about 14 percent
over the check,
while the dry start
ers averaged three
percent lower than
the check. Ironical
ly, only three gallons
per acre of each liq
uid was applied
while 180 pounds
per acre of each dry
fertilizer was used.
Conclusions
The on-farm
study data suggests
that an early growth
response from a
starter will occur
about SO percent of
the time, however
this does not always
translate into a yield
response. We saw no
Back Run Farm
thing from start to finish. This is his
eighth year growing com. Once on the
career path of veterinary medicine,
Johnston spent some time with a
friend who did agronomy work, which
helped him realize that he enjoyed
being outside and working with crops.
He procured the job at Agronomy?
Right after college. The job has offered
a flexible schedule, which is imperative
over planting or harvesting time.
Although his full-time job and farm
ing take the lions share of his time,
Johnston also enjoys fixing and restor
ing two-cylinder John Deere tractors
and hunting. According to Johnston,
deer take a toll on the com while
groundhogs consume the soybeans. Es
pecially in the fields close to the moun
tain foothills, deer pressure can be in
tense, so he plants timothy hay, since
deer walk right through it to the corn
field. Deer probably account for five
bushels an acre loss, he said. He is the
son of Harry and Darlene Johnston.
There were 84 participants in the
2001 Pennsylvania Five-Acre Com
Club Contest In the three-year aver
age ear com awards Harry Johnston,
McConnellsburg, took first place with
an average of 191.7 bushels per acre
with Pioneer 33G26.
In the ear com class, Harry John
ston, McConnellsburg, took home sec
ond place with a plant population of
25,478 with Pioneer 33G26 and a yield
of 211.3 bushels per acre.
significant yield response from starter
when the soil P was above 117 ppm.
Using a phosphorous starter on a high
P soil has no apparent advantage. A
better practice might be to substitute
with ammonium sulfate as we have
found it performs at least as well as
10-30-10 and is a good source of nitro
gen.
Pop-up fertilizers are also showing
promise. We saw an increase in early
season nitrogen uptake and seem to
yield as well as the dry starters pro
vided early season N, P and K avail
ability is good. Low application rates
and less handling of material also
makes them attractive.
raF.I.R.S.T.
i i v♦ ♦ * » f \ *
Hybrid Test Reports
Farmer's Independent Research
of Seed Technologies
2002 BETTER HYBRIDS Harvest Report for Northern Delmarva [OMNO]
Tim Bishop, 532 Stagwell Rd, Queenstown MD., 21658 [ EASTON ]
son conditions: Sandy clay loam, 0.5%510pe, moderately well drained
1.4 0.m., 6.5 pH, moderately high P, morerately high H
Soybeans/Roundup Ultra at 32 oz7A
No-till
PREVIOUS CROP/HERB:
TILLAGE/CUinVATION:
nitrogen program; 100# as 32% with herbicide + 75# as 30% sidedress coulter injected
pest management: Roundup Ultra + Define + Aatrex, Regent 4SC
PLANTED - SEEDING: April 26 - 30,600/A
HARVESTED • STAND; September 25 - 26,700/A
COMPANY
MID-ATLANTIC
DOEBLBLS
GARST
GOLDEN HARVEST
GOLDEN HARVEST
CLARKE SEEDS
MID-ATLANTIC
MYCOGEN
MYCOGEN
DOEBLERS
MID-ATLANTIC
GARST 8288
O MYCOGEN 2A791
PIONEER 34M94
O HYTEST SEEDS HT780681
MID-ATLANTIC MA9O6OYG
O HYTEST SEEDS HT7761
CAMPBELL 7255
O DEKALB DKC6O-08YG
SCHILLIN6ER SEED SS6IB
O SCHILLINGER SEED 55727
GOLDEN HARVEST H-9231
O DEKALB DKC6O-17RR
/ Test Averages = 89.9 15.2 0.5 26.7 $224.3Q
rfOfr* isd(.lO) = 16.0 0.8 1.0
F.I.R.S.T. Manager CV. = 13.0 3.8 129.9 O
YIELD/INOOME FACTORS; BASE MOISTURE - 15.0% | SHRINK = 1.01 DRYING » $.020/Pt/Bu | PRICE » S2.SO/Bu
FIELD NOTES
No rainfall from June 20 through Aw
id others are available at www.agsci.com
This report am
Landis Bros., Inc.
/fJBtM Rouio OBJ Routf. i/ 2 JO F ■'( 'jii'cii Road I^3/^
AM M O
- ‘ ' 717-bS3-2;MO 7,/ '‘.W-26bU
(Continued from Pago Fl 6)
YIELD MOIST LODGING STAND INCOME O
Bu/A % % (000) $
HYBRID
105.5 14.3 0.3 25.8 $265.2
105.3 16.4 0.7 26.7 $260.4
105.0 14.7 0.3 24.9 $263.2
102.5 16.0 0.0 25.0 $254.2
99.7 15.9 1.0 27.6 $247.4
99.0 13.5 2.0 26.8 $250.5
98.2 13.2 0.7 27.9 $248.9
97.6 15.9 0.7 26.3 $242.3
97.6 14.8 1.7 27.6 $244.5
97.6 14.9 0.3 27.2 $244.1
96.0 14.4 0.0 25.4 $241.2
95.8 17.7 0.3 25.9 $234.4
95.2 16.2 0.3 26.8 $235.6
94.6 14.7 0.3 28.0 $237.1
93.8 18.8 0:7 24.4 $227.5
90.8 14.3 0.7 26.0 $2283
90.6 16.6 0.7 27.3 $223.4
90.3 16.1 2.7 26.8 $223.8
88.2 13.8 0.0 27.1 $222.6
87.5 13.4 0.7 27.8 $221.5
87.4 15.8 0.0 25.9 $217.1
86.5 14.5 0.0 26.8 $217.3
85.9 15.2 0.0 27.3 $214.4
85.9 16.4 0.3 25.7 $212.2
MA9094
760DT
8443
H-92478L
H-9471
a736RR
MA9O7ORR
782181
7474
749XYG
MABOIIRR
8362TT
lust 10, amazini
Mid-Atlantic (((dependant Itch Service*
335 Marietta Avenue
Mount Joy, PA 17SS2
TOP 24 OF 3i TESTED
AVERAGE of (3) REPLICATIONS
there was any com!
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