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Meadowlark Extension hosts Jefferson County demonstration plot
By David G. Hallauer District Extension Agent, Crops and Soils/Horticulture It's time for a tour. The annual Meadowlark Extension District Demonstration Plot Program will hold its tour of Jefferson County plots on Aug. 22. This year's tour will encompass the morning and early afternoon hours with a full slate of excellent topics for area producers. Refreshments will be available beginning at 9:15 a.m., courtesy of Frontier Farm Credit Services. We'll meet at the Irrigated Corn Plot at Grantville, located 1.25 miles south of Highway 24 on Douglas and .5 miles East on 15th. Topics on the agenda, for our 9:30 a.m. start, include the variety discussion of irrigated varieties in the plot. Ronda Schuler, Jefferson County Conservation District, will share information on buffer strips and Jim Marietta, district conservationist with NRCS will pass along information on conservation programs available to producers. If time allows, we'll also look at a couple of soybean demonstration projects coordinated by cooperator Rod Bigham. After about an hour in the valley, we'll travel to Winchester for the plots located on the farm of Domann Farms, 1.5 miles north of Winchester on Saline to 166th. Topics at this stop are numerous, including the variety discussion of the Dryland Corn and Soybeans. Strip trials include a corn population demonstration, a nitrogen rate strip test on corn, and a view of one soybean variety with and without Cruiser. We'll also take a look at some fungicide response test strips on both corn and soybeans. We'll wrap up with lunch around 1 p.m., at Domann Farms. The meal is sponsored by Nortonville Farmer's Supply and participating seed companies and their representatives. A complete flyer with details is available Meadowlark District Extension Office in Oskaloosa and on the Web at www.oznet.ksu.edu/md7/ under the Publications link. You can contact the office at 785-863-2212 or me via e-mail at dhallaue@ksu.edu. Hope to see you there. Webworms As you drive to and from work each day, have you noticed all the webbing showing up on our trees? It's very evident, even at highway speeds, that something is causing a huge web in certain trees. This worm and the webbing you see is from the second generation of the fall webworm. The larvae of these insects are typically evident in August and September, with silk webbing enclosing the ends of branches and associated foliage. They'll be pale green to yellow to almost white in color with black spots. Caterpillars feed on a wide variety of trees including birch, crabapple, hickory, maple, pecan and walnut. While some Caterpillars will venture out of webbing to feed (the Eastern Tent Caterpillar comes to mind), fall webworms do not, remaining within the enclosed webbing. There, they will consume leaves, resulting in bare branches with dirty webbing attached. While this feeding may ruin the aesthetic appeal of infested trees, it is not harmful to tree health in the long-term since trees are now primarily allocating resources for storage as opposed to producing new vegetative growth. The most appropriate control technique (if feasible) is to simply prune out the webs that enclose the larvae. The use of insecticide sprays is typically ineffective because the Caterpillars remain in the webbing while feeding. If insecticides are applied, be sure to use high-volume sprays that penetrate the protective webbing. The larvae are also susceptible to natural enemies including many types of parasitoids and predators. You can assist natural enemies in reaching and attacking fall webworm larvae by opening-up the webs. None Date: 8/23/07
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