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Volume
3 Issue
10
July 25, 2006
Drought Is Officially Declared
July 21, 2006
The U.S. Drought Monitor Program of USDA and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Agency has officially designated northwestern,
north-central, and east-central portions of Minnesota to be in a
severe drought as of July 18th. Other regions of the state are
designated as moderate drought and the southern most counties are
shown as abnormally dry.
Twospotted Spider Mites:
Background on this potential soybean pest
Twospotted spider mites are present in our field
crops every year. Under certain circumstances, their populations can
increase dramatically and result in significant yield losses. Two
important conditions that favor their buildup include
hot dry weather, and the use of
insecticides.
Corn Suffers from Water Stress
Water stress on corn during flowering and pollination delays silking,
reduces silk elongation, and inhibits embryo development after
pollination. Moisture stress during this time reduces corn grain
yield 3-8% for each day of stress.
Sclerotinia
Disease in Sunflower
Sunflower is starting to bloom and the beautiful yellow fields are a
pleasure to observe. At this time of the year sudden sunflower plant
wilt may be observed. The disease, sclerotinia in sunflower, is
expressed in three different ways: sclerotinia wilt, middle stalk
rot and head rot.
Use
Caution When Harvesting and Feeding Ditch Hay
In recent years, there have been several cases of significant
soybean injury as a result of manure applications from livestock fed
ditch hay that had been treated with picloram or clopyralid. This
injury has reduced grain yields, and in some cases, resulted in
total yield loss.
2006 Waste Pesticide Collections
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will offer waste
pesticide collection opportunities during August 2006 to pesticide
users in select areas of Minnesota. These events help farmers
properly dispose of unwanted and unusable pesticides that accumulate
in barns, sheds and garages. Continued storage of waste pesticides
can pose a threat to people, animals and the environment if
released.
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