Crops Flashcards
Grass tolerance to poor drainage
Decreases as follows Reed Canary Tall fescue Smooth brome grass Orchardgrass Timothy Alfalfa
Small grain tolerance to poor drainage
Decreases as follows Rye Oats Wheat Barley
Corn water requirement
15-18 inches
Most sensitive to drought 2wks before silking to 3 weeks after (July to early august)
Drought here can reduce grain yields by 50% and silage by 35-50%
Wet July usually results in high yields
Soybean water requirement
15-18 inches
Most drought sensitive during pod and seed fill (August). Can reduce yield by 50% with a dry august
Cool temps during grain fill
Can increases yield by extending the grain fill time
Fall harvest management alfalfa
6-7 weeks rest between second to last and last harvest of the season
6-8 inches of regrowth before a killing frost
Half milk line occurs at what DM
35% DM
Soybean maturity groups grown in northern ny and New England
Central ny
Northern: groups 0, 1
Central: groups 1,2,3(if planted early)
Forage GDD calculation
Use base 41 degrees F
What temp to plant corn
45-50
What temp to plant soybeans
50-55
Silage rate compares to grain corn rate
Plant About 4,000more kernels per acre for silage
Final stands 3,500 more
Alfalfa NDF CP
NDF 38%
CP 19-20%
Pure grass
NDF
CP
NDF: 50%
CP: 17-18%
Corn Silage
NDF
CP
Starch
NDF: low 40% range
CP: 8%
Starch: low 30% range
Small grain yield if harvest for forage at mid-boot stage
About 40% lower than if harvest at dough grain stage
Acid tolerant crops
Rye and oats can grow well at pH 5.5-6.0
Acid sensitive crops
Barley, wheat, soybeans, corn require pH above 6.2 for max yield
Cool season grass
Water requirement
Twice that of warm season grasses
Water requirements for forage grasses
Critical at establishment
NOT critical at reproductive stages
Corn and wheat can tolerate standing water at this growth stage
Flowering and beyond
Soybean sensitive to poor drainage
Early in the season
During flowering bc N fixation is affected
Alfalfa pH
6.6-7.0
Barley
Birdsfoot trefoil pH
6.3-6.5
Clovers
Corn
Grasses
Oats pH
5.8-6.2
Soybean pH
6.6-7.0
Wheat pH
6.3-6.5
Water needs of a crop
Bell shaped curve
Increasing through reproductive development (silking, heading out)
Decreasing during grain fill
Full stand of alfalfa
4 live plants per square foot
Or 40+ shoots
Length of growing season in northeast
120 days
Corn and soy optimum temps
86 max
Base 50
Corn and Soy GDD
GDD= ((high of the day+low of the day)/2) -50
Max= 86
Min=50
Sunny weather
Dry weather
Speeds maturity
Cloudy weather
Wet weather
Slow maturity
Forages GDD
Base 41
Count after 5 consecutive days above 41
Birdsfoot trefoil
Low accumulation of root reserves
Can persist under frequent, but not close, grazing better than alfalfa or red clover
Red clover
Short lived perennial,
Acts as biennial in NE
Drought tolerant
Fall tillage best on
Heavy clay loams with minimum slope that are typically too wet to work in the spring
Spring tillage dis and adv
Too wet
Secondary tillage leaves soil more susceptible to crusting
Loosens soil, seedbed in good condition for 1-2 months
Less erosion potential than fall tillage
Reduced/chisel/ conservation tillage must have _% residue to meet standard
30% residue
Certified seed purpose
Ensures varietal identity
Evaluates seed purity and germination
% pure live seed
=100%-(% weed seed-%other crop seed -%inert material)
=% pure seed x % germination
Importance of certified seed
Get variety advertised High seed quality No noxious weeds Few if any objectionable weeds Good germination Few if any off crop types Inspected and certified by official seed certification agency
Most important factor is selecting alfalfa varieties
Disease resistance to: Verticillium wilt Phytophthora root rot Anthracnose (only Hudson valley) Bacterial wilt (all mod varieties are resist) Fusarium wilt (not typically economic)
Alfalfa disease resistance HR R MR LR S
HR= 50% or more plants are resistant R= 31-50% MR= 15-30% LR= 5-15% S= 0-5%
Spring seeding
Late April early may for northern ny grasses
Late as Early June alfalfa
Fall seeding
Mid august for northern ny grasses
Early august alfalfa
Frost seeding
Broadcast before spring freeze thaw
Successful red clover
Fail reed canary grass and Birdsfoot trefoil
Corn Planting soil temp
Moisture
Depth
45-50
Dry soil usually okay
Optimum 1.5-2
If dry soil plant up to 3inches
Soybean Planting soil temp
Moisture
Depth
50-55
High imbibition rate (50% increase by weight) so very sensitive to dry soil
1.25-2inches
Small grain soil planting temp
Moisture
Depth
Temp rarely a constraint, germinate at 32
Can stand a range of moisture
Plant up to 3inches wheat
Grain corn seeding rate
30,000 on soils with good water holding capacity, planted at 32,500 bc 90% germ
26,000 on droughty soils
Narrow rows advantages
More favorable light utilization
So beans and corn respond better to higher seed rates
Flex ear
May yield higher at lower pops
Soybean bush varieties
Do better at wide row and low pops
Corn vertical leaf type
Responds to higher pops
Small grain row width
7” used in Northeast
Respond best to narrow row
Soybean row spacing
30, 15, 7”
Yield best at 7
But more uniform emergence with corn planter bc depth control
Kemper head
Bi directional head
Makes narrow row corn possible
Soybean seeding rate
Drilled
Corn planter
180k drilled
160k seed/acre 30” row
Silage seed rate
4k more seed/acre than grain
Seed at 36k, final 33 on high water holding
Seed to final stand of 27 on droughty
Wheat seed rate
2 bu/acre before mid October
2.5 bu/acre after mid October
Alfalfa seed rate
12-15 lb/ac
Red clover
Orchard grass
4-8 lbs/ac
Birdsfoot trefoil
Timothy
Seed rate
4-6 lb/acre
Smooth brome grass
5-8lb/ acre
Rees canary grass
8-10lb/acre
Replant alfalfa, need _plants per square foot
10-12 seedlings
Less than 3 for old stands
Replant grain corn
Final stand 16k or above, don’t replant
Replant silage corn
Less than 18k plants/ac
effects of frequent forage harvest
Increased quality
May decrease total yield
Decrease food reserves
Nitrogen rapid uptake in corn
V8 (knee high) and R1 (silking)
Actual lime required env and recommendation
=(recommendation / ENV of limestone)*100
Determine N crop needs for corn
((Yield potential x 1.2)- soil N - sod N - manure N) / N uptake efficiency