Valentine Updates
Happy Valentines Day.......for your well being I hope you did not forget YOUR valentine. I generally do not post anything on this blog unless something is happening in the agronomic world. I can't...
View ArticleAlfalfa: The lesser of two weevils.
I found small Alfalfa Weevils in two different producers’ alfalfa fields today. This is very early for the weevils to get started, but there they were! The weevils were very small and mostly buried in...
View ArticleFirst Hollow Stem
I found wheat that was at the stage of first hollow stem today in southern Grant county. It was Billings wheat planted at the end of September, ungrazed, and in a high fertility enviroment. I had...
View ArticleAphids and Fungicides!
Aphids: We are starting to see the aphid population explode. Most are Bird Cherry Oat aphids (black) but all colonies have some Greenbugs mixed in. At the same time the beneficials such as the...
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Canola Insects
Canola: Had reports from just west of here of cabbage aphids in the canola and I have found a few in our area. 1 field out of 10 so far. They will congregate around the flowers and pods, (see...
View ArticleCanola Insect: update
I went back to some of those fields that I did not find the aphids on earlier in the week.....but did find them now in the same locations within the fields that I had looked at previously. The aphid...
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Worms in Grain Sorghum
Unfortunately it seems that most of the full crop grain sorghum fields are or are becoming infested with the Beet Army worm. So far they have confined themselves to the 6 to 8 inch sorghum locating...
View ArticleOh!......................I'm back.
Well………it has been a heck of a year so far………..again! Warmest 6 month period in recorded history in the first six months, followed by triple digit temperatures for days on end……….again. A continuation...
View ArticleCanola 101
Since the first major crop to be planted this fall will probably be Winter Canola, I thought we might review the basics. Canola 101 Insurance: Contact your insurance agent and get all of that “squared...
View ArticleWorms in Canola
Agronogram: Worms are starting to show a presence in the canola fields in our area. They were present in over half of the fields I visited today (10/15/12). All the fields with worms were in 4 to 5...
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Canola and the Freeze
There are several locations scattered through out N. Central Oklahoma that seem to be showing early freeze damage from last weekends freeze. The bulk of the damage seems to be on no till canola,...
View ArticleRain?........Grass Control in Wheat?
With the blessed moisture ( although some what limited) we recieved over the weekend, perhaps we can germinate some of these unwanted plants (grasses) in our wheat fields. Fall is often the best time...
View ArticleFallow Ground Managment
For those producers who have fallow ground this winter, now may be an opportune time to manage some of those unwanted plants that can cause havoc on the next intended crop for those acres. For...
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It's Never Too Late! (repeat)
It’s never too late! I noticed Kaleb wrote something on the other side of the web site that mentioned something about his working relationship with his Dad (me). Made me think about working with my Dad...
View ArticleTo "Mud" Or Not To "Mud"....That Is The Question
I have had many questions in regards to the application of “drilling mud” on our crops here in north central Oklahoma. Here is some information and some thoughts: Info: Drilling mud is created and...
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Winter Grain Mite
Winter Grain Mite Winter grain mites are showing up in wheat in the very northern sections of Grant County. Under “normal” conditions it takes so many mites to even begin to threaten wheat that they...
View ArticleWeevil-Wheat-Canola
3/5/13 Beautiful moisture event!!! An inconvenience………..but beautiful moisture. I found alfalfa weevil in alfalfa buds yesterday. They were extremely small, not a concern just yet, but they are here. I...
View ArticleFirst Hollow Stem and Jointing
3/14/13 I found first hollow stem today in early October planted, ungrazed, Billings wheat. This field has looked good all winter and has not “lacked” for inputs. I suspect I could have found “FHS” a...
View ArticleAphids
3/19/13 Over the last two days I am have been seeing aphids in some wheat fields (a small percentage of fields). There have been both the black Bird Cherry Oat aphid as well as Green Bugs. The numbers...
View ArticleJointing Wheat
I wanted to get this out there. This afternoon I found jointed wheat in southern Grant county that I am sure two days ago had not jointed. This is significant in that it is demonstrative of how...
View ArticleFungicide!
I have been asked several times lately about fungicides on this years wheat crop. It really boils down to, as almost everything does, economics. Will it pay? A fungicide application does not increase...
View ArticleFreeze damage to the wheat?
Below is the growth stages and low temperatures and low temperature durations as well as the symptoms that affect winter wheat. These came from both K-State and Texas A&M Growth Injurious...
View ArticleCorn, Wheat,Canola, Alfalfa Update
Observations update: In general, not field specific. Corn: Most of the corn that I know of was not emerged at the time of the freeze last week and seems fine. The seeds have a sprout and roots when you...
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Aphids in Canola
What I believe to be Cabbage Aphids have been found in area canola fields, mostly around edges. If the aphids build in numbers they can reduce canola yields significantly enough to justify an...
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Armyworms in Wheat
Armyworms in wheat reports and observations have started to come in this week, mainly from the northern and eastern parts of Grant and Garfield counties. I have seen at least three fields in eastern...
View ArticleA Wheat Crop to Remember: A May to Remember
On May 1st of this year I think I could have offered 25 bushel per acre for Grant and Garfield counties wheat crop and 80% of the producers would have sold it to the “fool” who was offering. On May...
View ArticleField of Dreams Update
This is the 4th year we have had the Field of Dreams (an intensely managed 10 acre wheat plot) going and its first year as a no till farm. This year the difference between the producers practice on...
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A dreaded thing might be here! Resistant Pigweeds
I am afraid that we might be having the appearance of glyph sate (Round Up) resistant pigweed (Palmer Amaranth, not Water Hemp) showing up in some fields in southern Grant County. If this is the case...
View ArticleCanola 101 (repeat)
Since the first major crop to be planted this fall will probably be Winter Canola, I thought we might review the basics. Canola 101 Insurance: Contact your insurance agent and get all of that “squared...
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Soybean Pods
9/6/13 I am starting to see more soybean pod damage in the fields. This damage is probably caused by grasshoppers, or the soybean pod worm (aka the corn ear worm) or both. The economic threshold for...
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Canola: Worms, glyphosate, replant.
10/15/13 Diamond Back Larvae: Much of the 5 to 6 leaf canola is starting to show evidence of an infestation of the Diamond Back Larvae (worm). This is evident by the "shot holing" of the leaves, and...
View ArticleA Few Observations: Winter Crops
“Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would...
View ArticleSoil Temperatures
Soil temperatures: At times this fall I have felt the winter crops just weren’t thriving as one might feel like they ought to be. The sun was shining, moisture was adequate, and the air temperature...
View ArticleLooking For First Hollow Stem
I have had many inquiries about "first hollow stem" in the wheat, recently. It is time for that to occur IF things were NORMAL. I have looked in some of the earliest wheat planted that has been...
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Might be there be some Mites
Found winter grain mites in a field of wheat in northern Garfield county yesterday. Some of the wheat that has browned down in spots in our area(s) is probably due to excessive early growth ( double...
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First Hollow Stem
I am calling first hollow stem in our area, at least in the early varieties. Found it in central Garfield, west side of Kay, and barely in Grant. All examples were in ungrazed fields. Very late, but...
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Canola Heal Thyself?
Interesting to see what these winter canola plants are doing. The green leaves (branches) forming are coming from below what looks like a completely lifeless bud. These pictures...
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Alfafla Weevil Beginning
Alfalfa weevil are just starting to pinhole the alfalfa leaves as they exit the bud. Hay producers should be aware of this but may or may not want to extend the coverage of the chemical by delaying...
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Wheat Spots/Dry soil
4/8/14 I have been receiving numerous phone calls from producers concerned about spots showing up in their wheat. These spots often bring to mind BUGS but upon examination it has always been thus far...
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Thoughts on the Crops
“For the despondent, every day brings trouble; For the happy heart, life is a continual feast.” Proverbs I haven’t written anything...
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Swathing Canola
Rarely in our short history of winter canola have I seen straight cutting work out very well for the producer, so even with the short nature in both yield and stature of this canola crop, the fields...
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Sorghum head worms
Getting a number of calls about what is probably the corn ear worm, aka the sorghum head worm, aka the soybean pod worm. In the double cropped grain sorghum this worm is in the whorl of the leaves...
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Palmer Amaranths
Agronomic life as we in north central Oklahoma have known it has shifted… changed, this summer. Glyphosate resistant Palmer Amaranth pig weeds have popped up all over Garfield, Grant, and Kay...
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Canola: Insects and Glyphosate
Most of the winter canola I have looked at this fall has the presence of the Diamond Back Larvae. None to date have had a high enough population to warrant an insecticide alone, but I would add the...
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Might there be Mites? (again)
Winter grain mites (see picture) maybe starting to show up in producers’ wheat fields. Dry weather is conducive to their ability to build up a high enough population to damage wheat yields and most of...
View ArticleSugar Cane Aphids and Grain Sorghum
1/13/2016 Sugar Cane Aphids and Grain Sorghum The middle of January may seem a funny time to be talking about a pest that needs warm (hot) weather to proliferate and do its damage and a crop that won’t...
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First Hollow Stem in Grant County
I have found early (short) first hollow stem on early planted, large, un-grazed, wheat in southern Grant county. (Variety unknown) 2/22/16 Grazing wheat after first hollow stem has been found to be...
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Alfalfa Weevil Starting to Hatch
It looks as if the Alfalfa weevil hatch has begun in north central Oklahoma. The ones I found today (3/2/16) were very small and buried in the bud (see picture). At this stage they are not...
View ArticleFreezes and Winter Wheat
Below is the growth stages and low temperatures and low temperature durations as well as the symptoms that affect winter wheat. These came from both K-State and Texas A&M Growth Injurious...
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Bird Cherry Oat Aphids (BCOA)
Bird Cherry Oat Aphids are starting to reach critical numbers in many fields across the area. These aphids are piercing, sucking insects that if sufficient in number can cause the plant sufficient...
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