Phillip Sylvester, Extension Agent – Agriculture, Kent County,  philllip@udel.edu;  Jarrod O. Miller, Extension Agronomist,  jarrod@udel.edu;  Cory Whaley, Extension Agent – Agriculture, Sussex County,whaley@udel.edu;  Amy Shober, Extension Specialist – Nutrient Management and Environmental Quality,ashober@udel.edu;  Mark VanGessel, Extension Weed Science Specialist, mjv@udel.edu; Bill Cissel, Extension IPM Agent, bcissel@udel.edu; and Alyssa Collins, Extension Plant Pathologist (Penn State),collins@psu.edu

Winter wheat and barley planting season will be here soon. Now is a good time to review yield, test weight, and disease resistance data from land-grant university variety trials. This data will help you select varieties adapted to our region. Seed may be in short supply this year, so be sure to inquire about availability as soon as possible. Here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your small grains as we head into the fall.

Continue reading

The quick schedule for the Mid Atlantic Crop Management School is up on the web. We expect registration to be live next week, after Labor Day.  Check back next week for more information: https://sites.udel.edu/agronomy/cropschool/

Although corn is still undergoing grain fill in many Delaware fields, estimates of yield can be performed right now. The University of Kentucky has several methods for estimating yield, depending on the amount of information you have on hand: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/agr/agr187/agr187.pdf. Since these methods involve counting kernels and rows on a few ears, you will need sharp eyes and the ability to keep your place. Continue reading

The 2018 UD small grains trials are now up on the web:

Barley trials (Georgetown, DE): https://cdn.extension.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/27053340/Barley-Results-2018.pdf

Small Grains (statewide locations): https://cdn.extension.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/13072419/UD-Small-Grains-Variety-Trials-2018-corrected.pdf

Jarrod Miller, Extension Agronomist, University of Delaware

(edited version from UMD Agronomy News Blog, July 2017)

Pesticide drift and volatility are important considerations this time of year. Drift to adjacent fields is typically due to wind, which is why you select the correct nozzles and check wind speeds. Volatility describes how likely a pesticide will become a gas, allowing it to move off target. The best way to control volatility is to choose less volatile pesticides or apply during cooler weather. While wind speed can be easy to determine, another cause of drift, a temperature inversion, is not. Continue reading