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| Duane A. Lienemann Nebraska Extension Educator |
I woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like an impressive thunderstorm and then drifted back off into dreamland, assuming we would have copious amounts of rain in the gage by morning. But as usual for this part of the country it was more bluster than reality. I guess you call these things “dry storms”, and we certainly have been getting our share of those. It is not too hard to figure out that in this part of South Central Nebraska we have been on the short end of the stick on moisture, even as around us there seems to be adequate and in some cases “much more than adequate” rainfall. Folks, we are dry and we will soon be out of subsoil moister. I think the pivot corners and pastures are an indication of that fact. We will soon see cupped bean leafs and “pineapple” corn leafs in our dryland fields as well. I know this is all in God’s hands so it may behoove us to offer up some prayers and then perhaps start planning some alternative practices that we have had to resort to for the better part of this past 15 years. It seems we are right back into – more of the same.
This could be a very long month and it goes beyond the fact that August 2015 has 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. I guess it is fairly normal for August to be long, hot and dry but usually we have some subsoil moisture to kind of get us through. For many years Webster County had their County Fair the first week in August and I remember the heat and dry, but it also seems that we could count on a good rain during the fair, sometimes pretty impressive rains. Our fair is over and it did not bring much rain and it doesn’t look much better for us this first week in August. I have been asked if I would go do that rain dance, but I have declined because in the past when I have done that, all I got was lightning and dry thunder. My dancing evidently does not please the “Rain Maker”!
If you go across the region there is a difference in how the crops and pastures look and some don’t look too bad while others certainly can be rightfully described as getting the “short end of the stick”. Of course you hear the locals tell those that come to the coffee shops with stories of a good rain or even a timely shower – “You must have a better preacher at your Church!” or “You guys must pay your preacher better than we do.” There is no doubt that if that were the case I know a lot of farmers who would dig a lot deeper into their pockets, but unfortunately it is not that simple or easy. So all we can do is pray and look at being as conservation minded as we possibly can, and then use the tools that God has given us.
For you that doubt that we are right back into this drought condition, you may want to access the UNL Drought Mitigation website at: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NE I would imagine that most farmers I know have been acclimated towards these dry times and have already adopted things like canopy management, cover crops, no-till, reduced tillage practices, weed control, residue management and planting varieties that are more drought resistant. I might add that milo looks pretty good right now! I encourage those that have cow/calf operations to look at supplementing your pastures and perhaps early-weaning of your calves to save what grass we can. Many of us are blessed to have irrigation and that is a great insurance program, but even our irrigators need to be conservative when it comes to water. ET monitors have proven to be great help when it comes to scheduling of irrigation and even irrigation amounts.
Seed Wheat: Now we need to be thinking of planting wheat, even with these dry conditions. This could be a big challenge this year for many reasons, including dry fields. It is no secret that we didn’t have the best wheat this year because of winter-kill, then a quick influx of striped rust at a most inopportune time, decimating our yields and opening up then to even more problems with head scab. The disease, caused mainly by the fungus “Fusarium graminearum”, is characterized by premature whitening or bleaching of wheat heads. These bleached spikelets are sterile or contain kernels that are shriveled and/or appear chalky white or pink and are referred to as scabby kernels, or tombstones. Scabby grain usually contains the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol or DON, also known as vomitoxin. These mycotoxins are harmful to humans and animals and of course the wheat kernels themselves do not make good seed wheat and should be avoided if possible. That being said, it could be a bit of a struggle to find good seed wheat this year and if you are looking for some, you may want to lay in your seed early this year. Decent seed wheat will be short in supply and some may have to travel miles to get it.
One of the main questions being asked is whether scab will affect the quality of the wheat seed this fall. Yes, scab will indeed reduce seed quality tremendously, causing germination rates and stands to plummet. However, the vomitoxin that is usually present in scabby seed is not your biggest problem in terms seed germination, damage to the embryo is your problem. Seed treatment I think is a no-brainer, and you should try to do so as soon as possible to reduce further fungal growth. Cleaning will get rid of light, scabby materials, and this will naturally increase the test weight of the lot. In addition to cleaning and treating, seeds should be stored under cool, dry conditions until planting to prevent mold development. Blending of scabby wheat with healthy wheat is another good option to increase the overall quality of the lot. Increasing the seeding rate will also be helpful, but you should determine percent germination first - this will help you to adjust your seeding rate accordingly. I know that some producers feel they don’t have much choice, so if you absolutely have to plant scabby wheat, cleaning, germ test, and fungicide seed treatment are absolutely necessary. I suggest going to: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/wheat-seed-treatments-2015 for guidance on this. It is not that long and State Fair, Husker Harvest Days will be over, school will be going full force and we are in wheat planting season. Where did this summer go?
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or ay not reflect the views of UNL or Nebraska Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, Nebraska Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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