Ag
Connection 
Your local link to MU for ag extension and research information
September 2010
Publishing Information
Ag Connection is published monthly for Central Missouri
Region producers and is supported by University of Missouri Extension, the Commercial
Agriculture program, the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station and the MU College of
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Editorial board: Joni Harper, Managing
Editor; Mary Sobba, Parman Green, Gene Schmitz, Mark Stewart, Wendy Flatt, Jim
Jarman, Todd Lorenz, Wayne Crook, James Quinn and Kent Shannon.
Comments or Suggestions?
Please send your comments and suggestions to
Joni Harper, Agronomy Specialist, University of Missouri Extension, 100 E Newton
St., 4th Floor, Versailles, MO 65084, call 573/378-5358 or send messages by
e-mail to: rossjo@missouri.edu.
To send a message to an author, click on the author's name at the end of an article.
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Don’t Forget to Put Your Lawn to Bed for
the Winter
Fall brings a lot of activities that keep us scurrying around trying to
finish everything before winter weather sets in. One activity that is often
overlooked is fall lawn care and fertility for turf health. Keeping your
turf healthy in the fall with adequate nutrients goes a long way in fighting
off weeds, stress, and diseases during the summer months.
If you haven’t taken a soil test in the last 3-5 years, you might want to
consider collecting a sample to determine if soil pH, phosphorus (P) and
potassium (K) are at sufficient levels to keep your turf healthy. Contact
your County Extension Center about how to collect & submit a good soil
sample for analysis or on the web at:
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6954 Soil
Testing for Lawns.
Fall is the best time of the year to feed your cool-season grass lawn as the
roots remain active long after the lawnmower is winterized. Turf roots need
the additional nutrients to help them gain a competitive edge on weeds in
the spring. A healthy plant is better equipped for fighting off insects and
disease during the growing season. Nitrogen (N) is a major element necessary
for grass growth and is typically applied at a rate of 2 to 4 lbs/1000 ft2
annually depending on species. Fertility practices and general lawn care are
found in the Lawn Maintenance Calendar at: http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6705
. The preferred application time is September thru November. If you prefer
natural fertilization, avoid the use of corn gluten in mid-September when
you are over-seeding your lawn due to its adverse effect on seed
germination. However, corn gluten can be applied after seedlings have
emerged and reach a height of 1.5 inches at a rate of 0.8 lbs/1000ft2. For
more information see
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6749 for
Natural Lawn care.
Below is an excerpt from the Lawn Maintenance Calendar and contains additional fall consideration to make your turf healthy for the next growing season.
September
• This is the most important time to fertilize. Use well-balanced lawn
fertilizer to apply 1 to 11/2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000
square feet.
• Plant or sod new lawns early. Keep soil moist.
• Aerate where needed.
• Rake. Dethatch. Kill weed patches. Overseed thin spots. Resume
top-dressing if needed.
• Late September is the best time for broadleaf herbicides, especially for
perennial broadleaf weeds.
October and November
• Mow at regular heights until growth stops.
• Apply lime if soil test indicates need.
• Fertilize moderately after cool days slow leaf growth. Nutrients at this
time will encourage root growth and thickening of turf. Soluble nitrogen
fertilizers are used more efficiently by turf in late fall.
• Keep leaves from packing and smothering grass.
Source: Todd Lorenz, MU
Extension Agronomy & Horticulture Specialist
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Japanese Beetles a Crop Pest?
Typically thought of as a garden or lawn pest, Japanese beetles (JBs) will
feed on a variety of agricultural crops.
Japanese beetles were accidentally introduced to the United States in 1916.
Since that time, they have become one of the most devastating landscape
pests in the eastern United States. Japanese beetles are prolific and feed
on 220 plants in the U.S. and more than 400 worldwide.
As little as 10 to 15 years ago, Missouri was somewhat free of this pest
with only a few scattered pockets being found. Some experts in the Eastern
US said we would not have a problem since we have such high clay content
soils. However, we have abundant habitat for this particular insect and
numbers this year have been the highest historically for Missouri.
Large areas of turfgrass and pastures provide desirable habitat for
developing grubs with no effective natural enemies. Since the grubs feed on
plant roots, the sandier soils of the grassed levees around corn and
soybeans in river bottoms provide a suitable habitat for developing grubs.
This may lead to increased crop losses near levees due to grub feeding on
roots and adult foliar feeding.
Currently, Missouri’s JB population is in the colonization or build-up
stage. Once the diseases, parasites and predators of JBs become well
established, the beetle population numbers will be generally lower and only
cause problems sporadically like many other pests. Until then, damage from
JBs will likely be more common and more serious.
The life cycle of JBs is one year. Most adult lays eggs in July that hatch
and develop into white larvae, which overwinter in the soil and mature
during the spring. The beetles typically emerge in mid-June, when they begin
feeding. Each healthy female lays 40 to 60 eggs.
Scouting fields near the time of corn pollination and when soybeans are
flowering is important. However, there is a greater likelihood of severe
damage to corn yields because of their feeding preference for corn silks.
They will fly up to three miles for something like corn.
Adult beetles are 3/8” long,
metallic green beetles with copper-colored wing covers. White tuffs of hair
protrude along the underside of the wing covers. This is a positive
characteristic for JB identification. Adult beetles will usually start their
feeding at the top of a plant and work their way down. Adults will feed on
the upper side of leaves between leaf veins giving a skeletonized
appearance.
Eggs hatch in July and grubs grow very quickly, to nearly full size by
August. Grubs continue to feed on roots. Especially anywhere there is a
grass cover like in pastures, levees, ditch banks and roadsides.
Soil moisture is important for the survival of eggs and small grubs during
the summer months. Females prefer moist soils to lay eggs. Irrigated lawns,
sports fields, and golf courses will often have higher grub populations,
especially during droughty periods. Older grubs move deeper into the soil
profile where moisture exists, becoming more tolerant of droughty
conditions.
Most people are familiar with white grub damage. Root pruning by grubs will
create brown patches of dead turf that easily pulls up and separates from
the soil.
There are JB traps available. Sex attractant hormones lure beetles to the
traps and can attract thousands of beetles a day. Unfortunately, research
indicates that traps attract far more beetles than are actually caught. A
trap is valuable to access the presence, buildup, decline and relative
numbers of beetles. This information is also available for the state at:
http://ppp.missouri.edu/pestmonitoring/jb/viewall.cfm.
In field corn, an insecticidal treatment is justified if pollination is less
than 50% complete, 3 or more beetles are present per ear, and green silks
have been clipped to ½ inch or less from the husk. For soybean, treatment is
justified if foliage feeding exceeds 30% prior to bloom and 20% from bloom
through pod fill. Contact your local MU Extension Agronomy Specialist for
insecticides that are recommended for control of JB in field corn and
soybean in Missouri.
Article from: Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) Numerous in 2010 by Dr.
Wayne Bailey, MU Extension
http://ppp.missouri.edu/newsletters/ipcm/archives/v20n12/a4.pdf
Source: Jim Jarman, MU
Extension Agronomy Specialists
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Taxation Tidbit: Unwinding an Early Social
Security Retirement Election
One of the most debated questions for workers nearing retirement age is: Do
I elect early Social Security retirement as early as age 62, or continue
working until the full-benefit retirement age or even later? The big issue
with electing retirement prior to the full-benefit retirement age is the
percentage reduction of benefits which will remain associated with your
Social Security retirement benefits for life (and the life of your spouse,
if their benefit is based on your benefits).
Wouldn’t it be great if you could elect early retirement and later (perhaps
several years later) re-evaluate your financial needs and your health (life
expectancy) and decide then, if you would be better served to have started
drawing Social Security retirement early or to have elected to start
receiving Social Security retirement benefits between your full-benefit
retirement age and age 70. Recall there is a substantial benefit increase
for each year Social Security retirement is postponed between the
full-benefit retirement age and age 70.
Well there is a provision that allows you to do just that. It is called
commonly called “resetting”. The biggest catch is, but it shouldn’t be a
surprise, you’ll have to pay the government back the Social Security
benefits you’ve received prior to electing to reset your retirement age. The
good news is you’ll be getting a much greater monthly retirement benefit and
there is no penalty or interest to pay on those funds you have to pay back.
Thus, you’re in effect paying back an interest-free loan.
Certainly this is not a provision that will be beneficial to everyone, and
even some that could benefit will not be able to afford the required
payback. However, if you elected early Social Security retirement, are
healthy and believe you’ll live longer than average, and you have the
financial resources to pay prior benefit payments back to the government –
you should at least investigate the potential benefits of resetting your
retirement age. This consideration is particularly relevant if your spouse
is or will be receiving Social Security retirement benefits based on your
retirement benefits.
For more detailed information on “resetting”, go to the following Social
Security web site: “If You Change Your Mind” –
http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/withdrawal.htm
Source: Parman Green, MU
Extension Ag Business Specialist
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Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC)
Program: Information for Farmers
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its
amendments to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) rule
pertaining to oil, gasoline, diesel and other oil-based products. Under the
new rule, revised requirements have been promulgated for farms and ranches;
aboveground fuel storage capacity is the major factor in determining if a
producer must have a spill control plan. Farms that meet all of the
following criteria are covered by the SPCC regulations:
Stores, transfers, uses, or consumes oil or oil products, such as diesel
fuel, gasoline, lube oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil, vegetable
oil, or animal fat; and
Stores more than 1,320 US gallons in aboveground containers or more than
42,000 US gallons in completely buried containers; and
Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil to waters of the US or
adjoining shorelines, such as interstate waters, intrastate lakes, rivers,
and streams.
Farms with a storage capacity above 10,000 gallons may need to complete a
plan certified by a professional engineer. Operations with storage capacity
less than 10,000 gallons but greater than 1,320 gallons may complete and
self-certify a plan using a template provided by EPA, but the criteria
should be reviewed to make certain this option is available.
The compliance date is November 10, 2010; however, EPA is telling farmers
they must prepare a plan now if their farms were in operation before August
16, 2002.
EPA’s guidance may be found online at http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/index.htm
If you have any question or for more information about SPCC contact
Kent Shannon, Natural Resource
Engineering Specialist.
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Upcoming Field Days
Date, event, place and contact person are:
September 9: Tomato Festival; Bradford Research Farm; Columbia, MO; Tim
Reinbott, 573-884-7945
September 10: Southwest Center Field Day; Mt. Vernon, MO; Dr. Richard
Crawford, 417-466-2148
September 14: FFA Field Day; Bradford Research Farm; Columbia, MO; Tim
Reinbott, 573-884-7945
Sept 30-Oct.1: Grazing School; Wurdack Farm, Cook Station, MO; Field Day;
John Poehlmann, 573-882-4450
October 2: South Farm, Columbia; Showcase; John Poehlmann, 573-882-4450
October 7: Wurdack Farm, Cook Station, MO; Field Day; John Poehlmann,
573-882-4450
October 16: Missouri Chestnut Roast; Horticulture and Agroforestry Research
Center, New Franklin, MO; Nancy Bishop, 660-848-2268
For a complete list of all the field days and events go to
http://cafnr.missouri.edu/research or
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Office of Research
2-44 Agriculture Building
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: 573- 882-7488
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Ag
Connection - Ag Connection Newsletter, September 2010