Western Agronomy Field Day is July 17

SOUTH CHARLESTON, Ohio – Drought tolerance, planting dates, planting depths, weed management and phosphorus management are just some of the topics corn, soybean and wheat growers can gain insight and updates on during a Western Agronomy Field Day July 17, offered by experts with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. 

The field day is designed to offer information on some of the pressing issues growers are dealing with now, including concerns with late-season insects and aphids, foliar diseases and seed corn maggot management, said Harold Watters, an Ohio State University Extension agronomy field specialist and coordinator of the university’s Agronomic Crops Team.

“We’ve had some growers who’ve reported concerns with aphids and other late-season insects,” said Watters, who is also coordinating the field day. “We’ll also have a discussion on seed corn maggots, which are more of a situational versus seasonal issue, including how do stain counts and also perform close observations.

“We’ll also present tips on scouting foliar diseases. We’ve already got folks spraying crops with no diseases out there yet, so will talk about when is the right time to pull the trigger on spraying.”

The event is from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Western Agricultural Research Station, 7721 South Charleston Pike, in South Charleston. The program costs $20, payable at the door, and includes lunch. Pre-registration by July 15 is required. 

OSU Extension and OARDC are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of the college. 

The event begins with a wagon tour of the Agronomic Crops Trials at the site from 9 a.m. to noon, during which OSU Extension and OARDC agronomists will talk about the latest innovations in corn, soybean and wheat production.  

Topics for discussion during the morning session include: 

• Drought tolerance, planting date and planting depth issues
• Scouting for the “Disease of the Year”
• Soybean canopy development across planting dates
• Weed management issues for 2013, including why growers should apply a preemergent herbicide, and post-weed control options
• Are there more bugs this year, or are they insects?

Continuing education credits for certified crop advisers will also be available, organizers said. 

Watters will provide an update during lunch on phosphorus management strategies, including information on a phosphorus management trial he is performing.

The afternoon session will include four workshops on scouting foliar diseases, seed corn maggot management, a water exclusion experiment with field corn, and information on a statewide soybean omission trial. Each afternoon discussion will be 50 minutes, which will allow participants time to attend two sessions, Watters said. 

OARDC’s Western Agricultural Research Station has 428 acres, about 200 acres of which are for crop research on corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, alfalfa, forage grasses, pumpkins and sweet corn.

Watters said despite a late start for some growers, the season is looking good and growers overall are anticipating a good growing year.

“We have some issues out there, including some Asian garden beetle grubs that have spread beyond a few isolated areas in the northern part of Ohio, and some reports of slug issues that have caused some growers to replant,” he said. “Other issues we’ve had reports of are weeds, so we’ll discuss how to manage them including some resistant weeds that are moving across the state such as giant ragweed, common ragweed and marestail.

“But overall, crops are growing well and we expect a good year with an average summer weather pattern. So if people have things set up right, they can produce an above-average year in yields. But even an average yield would not be bad considering the last three seasons growers have experienced.”

For more information on the field day or to register, contact Watters at 937-599-4227 or watters.35@osu.edu, or Joe Davlin, Western ARS Manager, at 937-462-8016 or davlin.1@osu.edu.