Minimum Till Small Grain

Well, we finally got some good general rains throughout the area and the temperatures may still be hot but football and fall is finally here.  That said, most wildlife and livestock producers like to plant small grains -oats and/or wheat, to supplement their grazing or attract wildlife.  So every year we wait on a rain, get out the tractor and disk, and plow at least twice to chop up and bury all that trash thats been growing all summer.  Then we fertilize and plow again and then we wait on a rain to plant and hope that there is enough moisture to bring up a seed.

Is there another way?  Yes! and its called minimum tillage even though its really not minimum till.  What I mean is that instead of changing your procedure you change the date.  If you will plow and even fertilize P and K in the months of July or early August you will have the field essentially ready to plant.  Then when you are ready to plant we can spray an over the top herbicide like Roundup with nitrogen fertilizer to eliminate small weeds and grass that have popped up and then you plant.  The seedbed may have a slight crust that a grain drill can easily penetrate.  Because you have done your tillage early the rains you get settle the soil and allow for a smooth packed seedbed.  The packed seedbed will inhibit weed seedling germination while allowing your small grain to push up through the grain drill row fast.  And this Roundup spray is cheaper than plowing!

Small Grain Forage or Grain

What is a small grain?  We use this term loosely when we generally mean a cereal grain such as oats, wheat, triticale, barley or rye or even rice although here we don't mean rice!  

Small grains are typically planted in the fall as temperatures begin to cool and we start to get fall moisture.  In this area we do plant small grains to actually harvest the seed but overall livestock raisers plant thousands of acres of small grains simply for cattle to graze in the winter and spring.

Planting Small Grains for Grazing

Triticale Variety

If you are strictly interested in grazing high quality small grains for your cattle herd or stockers or bred heifers, then here are a few guidelines:

• We plant early as in NOW, in order to get these plants growing so we can begin grazing early fall and through the winter if possible.
• Generally people don't worry about spending extra money on a named or numbered variety, they simply choose a bulk variety.  What small grain type to plant?  Well some people have their favorites but overall they all do well if planted properly.  In general either a triticale which is a wheat-rye cross or just rye is planted on very sandy soils because they just do better than oats or wheat on sand.  Oats are highly digestible and cattle do well on them, but they can winter freeze.  So you have lots of choices!
• How much seed do you plant?  Again people do have their preferences but to encourage fall grazing we plant more than if you just want to harvest grain.  So plant at least a bushel and more likely 2-3 bushels per acre.  For oats that means 3 bushels or 96 lbs per acre and wheat at 2 bushels or 120 lbs per acre or anything in-between. 
• Small grains do like nitrogen and phosphorus.  Nitrogen can be applied before and after planting but phosphorus does need to be applied to the soil before planting.  We get no response to phosphorus after planting.  How much?  A soil test sure helps to know but without it then a lot of growers use 100#’s of 18-46-0 per acre along with 100#’s of 34-0-0 in the fall followed by another 200#’s of 34-0-0 in January or early February.  
• Lastly if you plant early then watch out for armyworms and greenbugs.  You might have to spray or at least have the cattle ready to graze to keep them under control.

Bermudagrass Stem Maggot

 I sure don't want to sound all doom and gloom but we do need to make sure all our pasture and hay growers are aware of a severe problem that is only getting worse.  Bermudagrass stem maggot is here and it doesn't seem to be going away!

If you have coastal bermudagrass hay or pasture then you know about this insect. If you are not sure then walk out in your pastures now and look at the dead tips. This insect has four life stages: the adult is a small fly, the adult lays an egg on the bermudagrass stem, the egg hatches a maggot or small larvae that burrows into the stem and feeds for several days.  The feeding it does cuts through the topmost leaves so that they die.  These leaves that died look just like a killing frost came through without the cold weather.

Alicia, Coastal and Tifton 44 are the most susceptible since they are finer textured bermudagrasses.  Tifton 85, which is a coarser grass, just doesn't have much problem with BSM.  If you are going to be sprigging this next year you really should consider this insect and its potential damage in the future for your choice of grass to grow.

Soil Test or Tissue Test or Both?

How do you know if you need a soil sample or maybe a tissue sample?  What is a tissue sample?  Do I need both?

Most people are familiar with soil samples and we literally take hundreds every year.  Soil samples are very important where we are growing any annual crop like cotton, wheat, sorghum, etc.  And they are important if we are growing perennial crops like bermudagrass for hay, especially where we take multiple cuttings.

So what is a tissue sample?  Tissue samples are usually leaves but can be other plant parts that are taken or pulled during the growing season.  For instance, in pecans we would pull mature leaves from about the middle of the tree canopy.  These leaves are taken from several trees to make up a sample to send in to the lab.  These samples tell us if the plant is getting all the nutrients it needs from the soil and/or our fertilizer applications.  Sometimes we can supply a nutrient in the soil and the soil properties keep it from being available to the plant.  Or in the case of perennial plants like trees they may be getting nutrients from deeper down than the soil sample was taken.  The tissue sample along with a soil sample is a great way to make decisions  about crop fertility and know you are making a difference in crop yield.  As with soil samples it is important to take  tissue samples for several years to compare results from year to year.

Obscure Scale on Pecan

Bill Ree wrote this for his newsletter and I thought it needed to be shared.

As the name implies infestations are obscure and difficult to spot. Infestations, especially heavy infestations will appear as if someone has sprinkled ash on the limbs as shown in the attached picture. When checking for this type of infestation it is best to check on 3 or 4 year old wood.

These insects feed by inserting their mouthparts or styles into the conductive tissue of the tree and feed on the plant sap. They do not produce any honeydew. Heavy infestations can cause limb dieback and will reduce overall tree vigor.

In the life cycle of this scale, females will excrete a waxy covering about 1/8 inch in diameter under which they feed and lay eggs. When immatures emerge from eggs they are referred to as crawlers  which is the only mobile stage of this insect. Once a crawler has moved and settled in a new location it begins to feed, excretes the waxy covering and it will never move again. Fortunately, there is only one generation per year.  

There are some beneficial lady beetles and mites that feed on scale and a few parasites which help, but if control is needed that control will have to come from the application of a dormant oil. Although we now have some highly refined light summer oils, pecan is considered an oil sensitive crop and any oil application needs to be restricted to the late dormant season.

It is the general thought that oils kill insects by suffocation where the oil covering prevents respiration. Although the exact mode of action can be debated the bottom line is that there has to be good coverage.

Scale control can be difficult and with heavy infestations it could take a couple seasons for management. Some of the difficulties for control include:  the scale's waxy cover provides protection against pesticide exposure; some crawlers tend to settle under the protection of older scale covers, thus producing a layering effect; and crawler activity extends over a long period of time.

During the growing season, when dormant oil cannot be used, insecticide treatments can be used to control crawlers but these treatments must be correctly timed for crawler activity.

There are several types of horticultural oils on the market today which can cause some confusion, plus, labels on horticultural oils will contain a different terminology. Not all horticultural oils are the same and an understanding of label information is necessary to know the difference. The following is a brief description of different types of oils and an explanation of some of the information that should be found on the label.

Dormant Oil: This class of oil is the heaviest of the horticultural oils and is formulated for use on dormant plants only. Apply these oils as late in the dormant season as possible but before budbreak. Dormant oil effectiveness increases as temperatures increase and insect metabolism is accelerated.

Summer Oils:  Summer oils are slightly lighter than dormant oils and are formulated for use during the spring and summer on some plants.

Superior Oils: This class of oil is the most highly refined of all the horticultural oils. These oils are used primarily during the growing season; however, they may be used as a dormant oil by changing the rates.

When purchasing a horticultural oil it is important that you understand the information on the label. The following information should be on the label and will assist you in determining the quality.

Unsulfonated Residue (UR): this number is a measure of purity or degree of refinement and is always listed as a percent with 92 being the minimum. The higher the percent, the higher the purity.

Viscosity: This is a property used to define oil heaviness and is expressed in seconds. Horticultural oils fall into the 60 to 200 second range, with the heavier oils rating 100 or higher. The higher the number the more persistent the oil on the plant. Dormant or semi-dormant plants will tolerate heavier deposits than trees in leaf.

Distillation: distillation temperature range is a measure of the volatility of an oil. Horticultural oils have a distillation range of 400 to 488 F. The lower the distillation temperature the quicker the evaporation. Dormant oils will have a distillation range of around 438 F while superior oils will be around 412 F.

Gravity: This is another method of weighing oil. When related to viscosity and the UR it can provide an index to oil paraffinicity. Oils should be largely paraffinic to be safe for plants. Gravity is measured in degrees and the higher the number the more paraffinic the oil. Thirty degrees is the minimum standard.

Horticultural oils are an effective and safe way to control scale on pecans. In Texas, dormant oils are permitted in the Texas Department of Agricultures certified organic production (Organic Food Standards and Certification, Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1 Chapter 18).

Pecan is considered an oil sensitive crop therefore only dormant oils are recommended. Before purchasing and applying any type of horticultural oil ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. When applying, make sure there is good agitation in the tank. Even though you are making an application to a dormant tree, injury or tree death can occur if there is poor agitation which allows the oil and water to separate and trees receive high concentrations of oil.