Please join us for Virginia Tech’s Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center (ESAREC) 2017 Research Field Day on Wednesday, September 13th. Registration is free, open to the public and will begin at 8:00 AM at the ESAREC complex located at 33446 Research Drive, Painter, Virginia 23420. The field tour will begin at 9:00 AM and conclude with lunch at 12:30 PM. See the attached flyer for specific projects to be highlighted and more information.
If you would like more information or are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact Lauren Seltzer at 757-414-0724 ext. 11 or email at mlpeyton@vt.edu.
Kudzu bug has been spotted above threshold (1 nymph per sweep – use at least 15 sweep samples in multiple parts of the field) in south central Virginia and in parts of central North Carolina. Kudzu bugs typically move into soybean in July-August in our state. Distribution surveys conducted by the entomology department in 2016 showed that kudzu bug are present in many soybean growing regions of our state.
Please consider the following information before making the decision to spray for this pest.
I’ll keep you posted on what we are seeing in soybean throughout Virginia. Please call if you have something to report.
Sally 919-801-5366
As another reminder, the Virginia Ag Expo is Thursday, Aug. 3 at Renwood Farms in Charles City. The event opens at 7:30 am and will run through mid-afternoon.
There is something for all corn and soybean farmers in the field this year. Go on the field tour and you will be able to chat with Extension Specialists, company reps, and others about the research being conducted or anything else on your mind.
As always, the Ag Expo is home of one of our numerous on-farm corn hybrid and soybean variety tests. This year, you will view 31 corn hybrids from 11 companies and 47 soybean varieties from 14 companies. Drs. Mike Flessner and Charlies Cahoon will demonstrate off-site herbicide injury with some of our newest seed/chemical technologies. Dr. Wade Thomason is evaluating in-furrow and starter fertilizer in corn. The soil fertility team, led by Dr. Mark Reiter, is investigating fertilizer recommendations to ensure optimum production for high yielding soybeans. You will view one of Dr. David Holshouser’s seeding rate trials as he is in the process of establishing variable rate seeding recommendations. You will also see an experiment that you may have viewed at last year’s Ag Expo investigating the interaction of planting date with relative maturities. Companies are participating in our plots with in-furrow and foliar sprays that offer potential to enhance yield potential under high-yielding conditions. Finally, you’ll go below ground to view Virginia’s state soil, a Pamunkey loam, and discuss this yield contest-winning properties with NRCS personnel.
This is a walking, go-at-your-own-pace tour designed to fit your interest and schedule. Buses will be running continuously to take you to and from the plots. Enjoy!
Corn earworm larva in sweet corn.
Corn earworm and fall armyworm are two important pests of a number of agricultural crops in Virginia. Sweet corn, in particular, is extremely vulnerable to attack by the larvae (or caterpillars) of these moth pests. Monitoring moth catch numbers in pheromone-baited traps can help IPM decision-making. See at the end of this post the Action threshold for spraying insecticides on sweet corn based on corn earworm trap catch. In general trap catch less than 1 per night means relatively low pest pressure and sprays can probably be spaced 5-6 days apart during silking. However, a catch of >1 or >13 moths per night means moderate and high pest pressure, respectively and a more frequent spray interval is justified.
In 2017, we are monitoring these pests on sweet corn farms in 11 different counties in Virginia. Moth Trap Catch Data are being recorded by: Katlyn Catron & John Few (Montgomery Co.); Jason Cooper (Rockingham Co.); Ursula Deitch (Northampton Co.); Helene Doughty (Virginia Beach); Kenner Love (Rappahannock Co.); Laura Maxey Nay (Hanover Co.); Steve Pottorff (Carrol Co.); Stephanie Romelczyk (Westmoreland Co.); Laura Siegle (Amelia Co.); Rebekah Slabach (Halifax Co.); and Mark Sutphin (Frederick Co.)
Here are the trap catch results (moths per night) for several locations around Virginia for this week (note we do not have data for all locations):
| Region | County | Field | CEW moths/night | FAW moths/night |
| Eastern Shore | Accomack | ESAREC | 1.1 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Virginia Beach | Pungo 1 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Virginia Beach | Pungo 2 | 3.9 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Northampton | Bridge Tunnel | 6.6 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Northampton | Capeville 1 | 3.6 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Northampton | Capeville 2 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Northampton | Eastville | 0.6 | 0 |
| Eastern Shore | Northampton | Nassawaddox | 1.0 | 0 |
| Piedmont | Amelia | Field 1 | 2.7 | 0 |
| Piedmont | Hanover | Field 1 | 2.1 | 0 |
| Piedmont | Hanover | Field 2 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Northern Neck | Westmoreland | Field 1 | 3.0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah Valley | Rappahannock | Field 1 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah Valley | Frederick | Field 1 | 2.3 | 0 |
| Shenandoah Valley | Frederick | Field 2 | 3.5 | 0 |
| New River Valley | Montgomery | Whitethorne | 1.9 | 0 |
| New River Valley | Montgomery | Wall field corn | 1.1 | 0 |
| New River Valley | Montgomery | Wall sweet corn | 20.8 | 0 |
| Action threshold: Number of Corn Earworm Moths Caught in Pheromone trap | |||
| Per Day | Per 5 Days | Per Week | Spray Interval for sweet corn |
| <0.2 | <1 | <1.4 | No Spray |
| 0.2 – 0.5 | 1.0 – 2.5 | 1.4 – 3.5 | 6 Day |
| 0.5 – 1.0 | 2.5 – 5.0 | 3.5 – 7.0 | 5 Day |
| 1.0 – 13.0 | 5.0 – 65.0 | 7.0 – 91.0 | 4 Day |
| >13.0 | >65.0 | >91.0 | 3 Day |
Please note: the date for the Virginia Ag Expo is August 3, 2017.
“Focused on Productivity, Management and Stewardship” is the theme for the 2017 Virginia Ag Expo. The Virginia Ag Expo, hosted by the Virginia Grain Producers Association and the Virginia Soybean Association in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, is the largest agricultural field day held in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As an educational, marketing and social event farmers and agribusiness look forward to the Virginia Ag Expo each year.
Renwood Farms, owned and operated by The Stanley Hula Family, will be hosting this year’s Ag Expo on August 3. The Hula Family’s farm is a diversified operation growing over 6,000 acres of corn, soybeans and small grains; along with seed conditioning and sales. A focus on management and productivity at Renwood Farms has produced the world record corn yield of 532 bushels per acre by David Hula. In addition, the USG soybean seed that produced the world record yield of 172 bushels per acre was grown and conditioned at Renwood Farms.
Over 150 exhibitors and sponsors will have on display all of the most up to date equipment, goods and services for agricultural producers and property owners no matter how large or small.
The event opens at 7:30 am. The field tour, starting at 8 am, is a walking, go-at-your-own-pace tour designed to fit your interest and schedule. Buses will be running continuously to take you to and from the plots.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided by Virginia food vendors. Attendees will be able to eat any time from 6:30 AM to 2:00 PM.
Renwood Farms is located at 17303 Sandy Point Road, Charles City, VA 23030.
June is usually the time of the year when full season soybean is kicking into high gear and we begin planting double-crop soybean. And like always, various issues are beginning to arise, whether its the weather or finding out mistakes made a few weeks earlier.
Unbelievably, double-crop soybean is wrapping up in many areas due to small grain maturing earlier than normal. Out of necessity, we were forced to harvest wheat and plant soybean at the same time we were trying to make timely postemergence herbicide applications and generally trying to pay attention to the rapidly growing soybean that we planted in April and May. But, issues such as these are not unusual.
This week, I thought I’d mention a few things that we are facing and continue to remind you of the need to plant as soon as possible and adjust seeding rates accordingly.
Planting Date. We are now losing about 1/2 bushel per acre per day with each delay in soybean planting. Plant as soon as possible, but don’t cause more serious problems by planting into too wet or dry soils.
Seeding Rate. My data indicates that seeding rates now need to be at least 180,000 seed per acre, even on the best of soils. I would bump those up about 20,000 seed for each week’s delay in planting. See Soybean Seeding Rates for June and Later for more information.
Replanting. Generally, replanting does not pay this time of the year (due to the planting date penalty) unless the stand is horrible. For more information, see Soybean Replant Decisions or contact me.
Seed Treatments. I’ve seen few benefits of fungicide or insecticide seed treatments this time of year. Plants usually emerge and grow quickly. The exception is wet soils – soybean will emerge very slow when soils are saturated. With that in mind, you may consider a fungicide on the seed if you have poorly-drained soils, your soils are already wet, and rain is predicted.
Seeding Depth. Those of you know that I usually don’t like to plant soybean greater than 1 inch. But, I’ve found that planting soybean at 1.5 inch (and occasionally 2 inches) works just fine when soils are warm. Sometimes, it’s better to plant deeper to hit moisture than to plant into dry soils.
Weeds. First, Drs. Charlie Cahoon and Mike Flessner is who you need to consult regarding weeds, but here are a few of my observations. We may have let a few weeds get too big for adequate control – this is especially a problem with glyphosate-resistant weeds. Marestail continues to be a problem. When this weed is glyphosate resistant and you’re not growing Liberty-Link soybean, about the only somewhat effective herbicide that we have left in our arsenal for Roundup Ready soybean is FirstRate, although a few other herbicides may burn the weed – just don’t expect very much from anything. I’ll let you mull over your other options if you have planted Xtend soybean. Finally, don’t depend on glyphosate alone – even if you weeds are not yet resistant, its a good practice to diversify to insure that they do not become so.
Having trouble controlling herbicide resistant common ragweed? Make plans to attend the field tour, this coming Thursday (June 22nd, 2017) near Lawrenceville, Virginia. Complete information is below. Please RSVP as soon as possible.
View a complete spectrum of preemergence and postemergence herbicides in soybeans in the field to see what works best for yourself. Also, learn about integrated weed management approaches that work within our cropping systems. 
It appears that wheat harvest will be 1 to 2 weeks ahead of schedule this year. We actually harvested some high-moisture wheat and planted soybean plots behind it today (May 31) in northeast N.C. This is good news for soybean. Earlier planting means greater yields! This is clearly shown by the recent data obtained from our multi-state, multi-year double-crop project.
With earlier planting, have my recommendations for double-crop soybean changed? In general no. But below are a few things to consider.
Seeding Rate: In general, you can probably back off on your seeding rates from what you were planning if you get your double-crop soybean in by mid-June. I’d suggest that you start out with 120-160,000 seed/acre (depending on when you start planting) and gradually ramp that up by 20-30,000 for each week delay in planting. For more information, see my recent blog, Soybean Seeding Rates for June and Later.
Relative Maturity: Actually, my standard recommendation still stands, more or less. Plant as late of a relative maturity (RM) as possible that will mature before the frost. However, there are now some caveats. By planting a week earlier, you’ll gain about 3 days in maturity. Although a slightly later RM may work, I wouldn’t count on it – frost date will affect this more than planting date. So, don’t plant a later RM.
But, can you plant an earlier RM, say go from an early-5 to a late-4? Possibly. Why do I say this? Two things. First, by planting a week or two earlier you have greater yield potential (see the above graph), which is due to the ability to grow more leaves. So your yields are not necessarily so dependent on leaf area as they are with a late-June to early-July planting. A slightly earlier RM planting in early- to mid-June will only have slightly less leaf area than a later RM. And, we have generally found that under greater yield potentials, early RM will yield more than later ones. Still, these are not great reasons to change your RM. Generally, stick with what you planned.
Due to the rainy weather over the past two weeks, we are still planting full-season soybean in some areas. In addition, it appears that wheat harvest is not far off (some wheat at the Tidewater AREC was at 23% moisture today!). So, should we be increasing our seeding rates?
In general, yes. But, big increases probably will not be needed until late-June. Below are some seeding rate data that we collected from soybean 
planted in early-June after barley. First, we don’t have a lot of data of soybean grown after barley, so I don’t have as much confidence in the exact seeding rate needed. Note that there is a wide range in the optimal seeding rates, illustrated by the area between the dotted lines in the graph. Although, these data may not directly apply to full-season soybean (no small grain), it should be close.
I think that we should now be using 120,000 to 160,000 seed/acre. The range will depend on the planting date. In general, I’d suggest bumping up your seeding by 20-30,000 seed/acre per week through June.
If you remember the seeding rate data that I shared in this blog last month for May-planted soybean (see Soybean Seeding Rates – How Low Can We Go?), I stated that maximum yields could be obtained with only 95,000 to 110,000 seed/acre when the yield potential is greater than 40 bushels/acre. That’s pretty low, but was adequate for maximum yield under good growth conditions. For less than 40 bushel potential, seeding rates needed to be a little higher. In the above graph, it appears that more seed is needed to obtain 55 to 70 bushels/acre after barley, I cannot fully explain why; therefore, I would assume that this response is primarily due to the location that we obtained the data (again, we don’t have a lot of data).
Once we get into mid- to late-June,
I’d rather see a seeding rate of 180,000 to 220,000 seed/acre, depending on planting date. This is based on the data to the right. You’ll notice that, like full-season soybean, the optimal seeding rate falls with greater yields. This is most likely due to greater leaf area with those high-yielding locations. As I’ve stated often, the seeding rate response can usually be traced back to whether or not the crop developed enough leaf area to capture 90-95% of the light by early pod development. Unfortunately, I don’t have any double-crop data planted following wheat with yields greater than 55 bushels/acre. I hope to solve that problem this year with new experiments.
