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Salvaging your windbreakBy Richard C. Snell Barton County Extension Agent--Agriculture The old saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees," is often the case when people look at a windbreak. After the May storms wrecked havoc with many shelterbelts or windbreaks, whichever term you prefer, many people wonder if life will ever be the same after all the years it took those trees to grow. People still tend to look at the shape or form of individual trees within the windbreak and expect those trees to look the same as a tree in the front yard. But in a windbreak situation it is the structure (the amount and arrangement of the leaves and branches) of the entire windbreak that determines its effectiveness. Trees are selected and planted close together in order to create a windbreak with a desired structure capable of meeting your objective. Just as the health and vigor of a windbreak requires management, so may the overall structure of a windbreak require care. Even if most trees were lost, there is still hope. As trees grow, the relationships among them change. The density and position of tree crowns change in relation to height above ground and neighboring trees. Most of these changes are small and with good planning your windbreak will continue to meet your objectives. Occasionally, these changes may affect the overall windbreak structure to the point that the windbreak no longer meets your objectives. In this case, some type of structure management may be required. For example, if the windbreak is too dense, structure can be significantly altered by careful tree removal. Similarly, if the windbreak is not dense enough, interplanting or underplanting may be needed. This type of management is very tricky and it is extremely important to keep your objective in mind. It is best to get the advice of an expert before undertaking this type of windbreak management. We have an area forester out of Hays, who I can schedule, if you desire an individual visit some time this year. Branches damaged by ice, wind, animal grazing, or bird roosting should be removed. Damage to the central leader of a tree causes the lateral branches to assume the role of the central leader and begin to grow upward. If left to grow, a double leader may develop, creating a weak spot in the trunk as the tree matures. Forked and multi-stemmed trees are prone to wind breakage, and don't grow as tall as single stem trees. However, before they are removed make sure the structural integrity of your windbreak will be maintained after removal. Remember that the effectiveness of a windbreak is dependent on the overall structure of the windbreak and not on the shape of any individual tree. Although good windbreak management may require pruning under some circumstances, the best rule of thumb is to avoid pruning windbreak trees unless there is a very specific reason to do so. In terms of planting back trees, which should not be done now but in fall or early spring, two rows of eastern red cedar or another species of juniper or arborvitae would be better than the old cottonwoods or similar tall species that were taken out. If you are driven to plant some broadleaf species, we will have many on our spring tree order form. County fair coming soon This is just a reminder that the Barton County Fair will be here soon and I need samples of wheat and alfalfa for quality testing by July 1. That still gives you some time to get it to me with an entry form. I do need more than just a few leaves or kernels though. Last year the grain inspection people spilled three bags on the floor and if I don't have extra for a back-up you are out of luck. I like to have enough to send for the sampling and a duplicate for show at the fair. This is why I ask for at least 10 pounds, 20 would be better on the wheat and on the alfalfa, 5 pounds would be nice from several core samples. You can enter up to three different varieties on each. Test weights and yields may be a little bit off, but the protein may be good in some fields. Let's test some and find out. Early indicators--poor test weight and yield We are just getting started with wheat harvest locally as I write this. Early indicators say test weight is off as well as yield. So what happened? Pretty simple really. You get to the month of March with great plant stands, nice moisture and potential for 70 bushel wheat. Then we have an Easter freeze containing 36 hours of freezing temperatures, followed by another freeze, followed by flooding rains, standing water, hail, wind and lots of leaf disease and that pretty much gives you 20 to 30 bushels per acre left if you are lucky. The powdery mildew and leaf rust are the primary causes of the low test weights in my mind. I am blaming the lodged wheat on the early freeze damage weakening the stem. Then the hurricane winds knocked them over. Some areas received hail 2-3 separate times. We had roughly 10-20 percent hail damage on our county test plot at Hoisington. I have also seen some isolated instances of head scab in the wheat this year. We used to get this every 5 years or so when I was in northeast Kansas. It is a wet, humid weather disease that causes individual white heads. It is more of a quality issue than affecting yield. Wheat growers have had it tough this spring, about the only bright spots have been the highest price in 11 years and mild weather during grain fill that kept us from hot weather damage. Date: 6/28/07
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