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What a difference a year makesWhat a difference a year and plenty of winter and springtime moisture can make in a wheat crop and producer attitudes. Crop conditions were the best in many years as the fourth annual Small Grains Solutions wheat seminars rolled across the High Plains. John Deere Crop Systems Specialists Yancy Wright and Paul Richardel reported on local crop conditions at each stop which included Clinton, Okla., Great Bend, Kan., and Sidney, Neb. Crop conditions were consistently good to excellent across the region. "We didn't see any wheat out there that did not look just real nice," Wright said. Oklahoma South of Clinton, Okla., near Hobart, they walked through a field that was in the second year of no-till wheat. There was a little bit of tan spot, which is typical of no-till wheat. "Think about what you are doing with the combine in a no-till field," Wright said. "This can have an effect on seed emergence. Make sure you are cutting through the residue and getting the seed in the ground." Wright and Richardel looked at one field where a Ramped Calibration Strip (RCS) system had been used to determine the proper amount of topdress nitrogen to apply. In a single strip across the field this system applies varied amounts of nitrogen from zero pounds to 200 pounds. In a short amount of time the producer can see where the response to the additional nitrogen stops. Using this system they determined that 45 pounds of topdress nitrogen was just about right for his field. Good soil moisture conditions this spring make a topdress fertilizer application a good investment this year. The last field they looked at near Hobart was wheat planted behind cotton. This field was planted to a 2004 Oklahoma State University release called Endurance. Even though a relatively low seeding rate had been used the plant tillered well and filled in the rows. Endurance is a moderately tall semi-dwarf that is tolerant to low pH conditions. Kansas In the fields they scouted around Great Bend, Kan., Wright said everything looked excellent. They did see one field with lower leaf yellowing, which he attributed to either fall rust or herbicide injury. A small amount of wheat streak mosaic was found in another field. Again they saw some problems with seeding into high residue situations. One field of wheat that no-till planted into corn stalks had some crabgrass pressure in high residue areas. The best stand of wheat they found was planted behind a crop of alfalfa. This field showed a good response to a topdress application of nitrogen. A no-till field of wheat behind soybeans had a really good stand also. Except for some mustard beginning to show up in some fields, weed problems were minimal across both regions. Nebraska Moving north to the Sidney area, a variety of crop conditions were seen, primarily due to time of planting. The best stand was found in a field of no-till wheat seeded into wheat stubble. This field of Wesley had a good level of residue with some limited weed pressure. It had been fertilized at planting with 10-34-0 at a rate of five gallons per acre. There was some yellow striping and signs of iron toxicity seen. Another good field had been seeded with a hoe drill in a conventional wheat-fallow rotation. Planted Sept. 5 at a rate of 59 pounds per acre, the field had had manure spread on it for fertility. It had not yet been topdressed. There was some yellowing and stunting of the young leaves, which led the specialists to consider a possible slight wheat curl mite infestation in the field. Timing is everything in planting a good wheat crop and nowhere was that more evident than in three other scouted fields. In one field of no-till wheat in a wheat-fallow rotation, some residue blew off the tops of the more hilly parts of the field. There was better crop establishment where residue remained. Another late-planted field of Pronghorn was seeded in cool and wet conditions with a hoe drill equipped with double packer wheels. The conclusion was the field had some possible surface compaction leading to delayed development. Another late-planted field planted no-till into stubble suffered from light stands. Date: 8/10/07
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