Category Archives: Field Corn

View the Program: Virginia Eastern Shore Ag Conference and Trade Show

We look forward to seeing you January 25th and 26th at the 27th Annual Eastern Shore Ag conference & Trade Show! You can find the program online at: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AEczhxLIHkUCwmY&cid=05F6B732110DB231&id=5F6B732110DB231%2129963&parId=5F6B732110DB231%21813&o=OneUp. Virginia pesticide re-certification and Certified Crop Adviser credits will be available. See the program for more information.

The event will be held at the Eastern Shore Community College Workforce Development Center, 29300 Lankford Highway, Melfa, VA 23410. When you enter the driveway to the Community College, we will be meeting in the building to the left.

The Annual Oyster Roast will be held on Wednesday night, January 25th beginning with a social at 6:00 pm and oysters served at 6:30 pm. Along with oysters, there will be all-you-can-eat barbecue, sides and beverages. Tickets will be $35.00 in advance and $40.00 if purchased the day of the oyster roast.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact either Theresa Pittman (tpittman@vt.edu) or Ursula Deitch (ursula@vt.edu) for accommodation. Thank you!

Virginia Cooperative Extension logo

Virginia Eastern Shore Ag Conference and Trade Show

Join us in Melfa, VA for the 27th Annual Eastern Shore Agricultural Conference and Trade Show on January 25-26, 2017. This event is free, open to the public, and will be held at the Eastern Shore Community College Workforce Development Center. We will offer Virginia Pesticide Recertification credits for categories 1A, 10, 60, and 90. We will also offer Certified Crop Adviser Credits for nutrient management (2), soil and water (1), integrated pest management (4.5), crop management (6), and professional development (0.5). Click on the following link for topic areas being presented: ag-conf-press-release-2017

Registration is open for the Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School.

CropSchool

November 15-17, 2016
Princess Royale Hotel in Ocean City, MD

Registration is open for the 22nd annual Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School. This year’s school will feature 2 ½ days of timely presentations in the areas of crop management, nutrient management, pest management, soil and water management, and climate. This year, the school will also feature the popular Crop School on Wheels field tour (limited to 50 participants). Nutrient management (VA, MD, DE, PA), pesticide, and certified crop adviser (CCA) credits will be available. Register early for the best selection of sessions.

The session schedule is online at: https://cdn.extension.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/09/23151701/2016_CMS_Program_Final.pdf

Registration information is posted at: http://www.cvent.com/events/2016-crop-management-school/event-summary-bbd4a7d2717545af9770626ef761a930.aspx?tw=E3-C1-0B-14-32-A0-CB-AB-1C-D6-9A-06-46-74-20-5F.

Contact Amy Shober (ashober@udel.edu) or Jarrod Miller (jarrod@umd.edu) with questions about the school. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School is organized by Extension Specialists from Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland featuring speakers from across the nation.

Why is my late-planted 110 day RM maturing in 100 days (or less) this year?

Recent observations from around the state have found corn maturing at a fast pace this year, especially corn that was planted late.  The most commonly used method for assigning corn hybrid maturity ratings is based on Days to Maturity.  This typically indicates the number of days it would take a corn hybrid to reach physiological maturity or “black layer”.  But temperature drives corn development, not calendar days.  So the “thermal time” to maturity calculated using growing degree days (GDD) is a more accurate measure.  Especially when the growing season has been particularly warmer or cooler than normal.

The chart below shows the difference in cumulative GDD between 2016 and the 30 year mean temperatures beginning on JUNE 1.

GDD_16

 

 

We are 6, 7, and 10% above the “normal” GDD accumulation for August 31 at Suffolk, Richmond, and Orange, respectively.

This might explain why a 110 day RM corn is maturing more quickly than expected based on the “day” count.  The plant has actually accumulated heat units at a faster rate this year.

If May 1 is the starting point, we are 3, 4, and 7% above the “normal” GDD accumulation for these sites.  So this effect is likely to seem greater in later planted corn.

Yellow Corn

We are seeing yellow and stunted corn around Virginia duYellow Corn Plante to many different factors that range from nutrient deficiencies to cool and wet growing conditions. Take a look at this article to give you a few reasons for this poor looking corn and different things to consider prior to making your sidedress nitrogen applications. Yellow_Corn_26May2016

 

Stink bugs already in small grain and field corn

Our overall mild winter and wet spring are the kinds of conditions that favor survivorship and early development of stink bug populations. Because of these conditions, this could be a summer when we see higher than normal stink bug infestations in a lot of crops including field corn, cotton and soybean. Brown stink bugs are already being found in small grain fields and areas of North Carolina are reporting pretty heavy stink bug pressure on seedling field corn.  See this article by Dr. Dominic Reisig at the NCSU station on Plymouth for details https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/2016/05/how-to-avoid-a-stink-bug-disaster-in-corn-2/

We need to be thinking ‘stink bugs’ this summer and aligning our field scouting, sampling and threshold efforts in that direction as the summer progresses—and that applies to cotton and soybean fields as they mature.

Slug problems on corn

Slug damage on no-till corn.

Slug damage on no-till corn.

With all of the rain during the first week of May, and with seedling corn having emerged, we are hearing about slug pest problems, particularly in no-till corn.  Eastern Shore of Virginia is one area reporting issues.  Slug problems are a common concern in no-till systems when conditions are wet in the spring (see VCE Factsheet No. 444-109  https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/444/444-109/444-109.html) .  Another useful VCE factsheet on slug management in no-till corn from Bobby clark and Rod Youngman is:  http://offices.ext.vt.edu/shenandoah/programs/anr/CropandSoilEnvironmentalSciences/Slug_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Growers must keep four things in mind right off the bat: 1) corn plants are often not killed outright by the slugs and quite often have the ability to outgrow the leaf feeding injury by these slimy little beasts unless populations are very high and weather conditions are bad.  Soybean cotyledons, however, are more susceptible to being killed because their growing point can be damaged; 2) if it stops raining for a few days, then the slugs will go away and hide as they require high moisture levels; 3) replanting is an option, but a grower needs to factor in the economics see VCE Fact Sheet https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2905/2905-1293/2905-1293_pdf;  and 4) if you are considering a chemical control measure, keep in mind that there are only a select few effective options such as slug bait products containing metaldehyde or iron phosphate.  These are not easy to apply (need to be broadcasted) and are fairly expensive.  However, these products are efficacious and will most often alleviate the slug problem long enough for your seedling plants to reach a sufficient size to no longer be economically damaged by slugs.  See VCE Fact sheet No. ENTO-178 for a recent efficacy evaluation that we did with slug baits.  http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-178/ENTO-178-PDF.pdf

 

26th Annual Eastern Shore of Virginia Ag Conference & Trade Show

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Ag Conference & Trade Show is on! We are snow free, and looking forward to a great event on January 26 and 27, 2016. The event will take place at the Eastern Shore Community College Workforce Development Center in Melfa, VA. The full program can be found at: http://issuu.com/esarec/docs/flipbookfinal/1. We have been approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) CEU credits (details at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f34f3spg4quni7a/CCA_Credits_Handout_2016.pdf?dl=0), Virginia Nutrient Management Credit (1 credit), and Virginia Pesticide Recertification credits (information in the program). See you there! Directions can be found at: http://es.vccs.edu/about/mapdirections/.ESCC

Eastern Shore Ag Conference & Trade Show

Join Virginia Tech, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Association of Potato and Vegetable Growers, and Industry to hear updates, research information, and innovative products for grain, oilseed, and vegetable crops important to Virginia’s Eastern Shore on January 26 and 27, 2016. This event is free and open to the public. Announcements concerning conference updates, weather delays and/or closings, etc. will be made at: https://www.facebook.com/EasternShore.Soils. Highlights of the program can be found in the attached flyer.

Ag Conf Press Release 2016