The Official Newspaper for Foster County

Field and Garden: Spring rains fuel excellent grass production

I was walking through chest-high grass in a pasture last week, heading towards a dugout that I’m monitoring for livestock water quality.

I heard a small splash as my foot hit the ground. Just a wet-spot, I thought, and continued walking.

Two steps later, the splash was much bigger, and water started flowing over the tops and down inside my work boots.

What a contrast to last summer when I walked through the same pasture with nothing but short, brown grass around me.

It’s deeply satisfying to look across the landscape this year and see cows standing belly-deep in grass and hayfields covered with big round bales.

Range specialists tell us that grass production in North Dakota is primarily dependent on the amount of precipitation we receive from April through June.

Few of us appreciated the snowstorms in April and the rainstorms in May, but the moisture they brought fueled tremendous grass growth in pastures and hayfields.

Of course, the excess moisture caused problems for crop producers.

Referring to the numerous wet areas that had to be farmed around, one producer told me that his fields looked like a block of swiss cheese.

We’ve experienced much drier weather in recent weeks.

The Carrington REC received 0.7 inches of rainfall during the first half of July. The station at McHenry received 0.9 inches.

Those amounts are about half of normal.

Although we haven’t received much rain, high humidity and morning dews have created a favorable environment for disease outbreak among crops.

Two main concerns are Fusarium head blight (scab) in small grains and Goss’s wilt in corn.

Fusarium blight is a fungal disease that causes significant losses in the yield and quality of both wheat and barley.

Symptoms of the disease include the bleaching of all or part of the heads (spike). Infected kernels are shriveled, lightweight and dull grayish or pinkish.

The fungus produces toxins which make the grain unacceptable for certain purposes.

Fungicides suppress but do not cure scab.

Goss’s wilt is the most serious corn disease in North Dakota.

The bacterial disease was observed in 65 percent of scouted fields in 2020.

The symptoms of Goss’s wilt include elongated tan lesions which run parallel to the leaf veins. The lesions may have dark, water-soaked spots (‘freckles’).

These symptoms often become most visible and increase in severity after silking.

Yield losses from Goss’s wilt can exceed 30 percent for susceptible hybrids.

There’s nothing that can be done to treat plants once they are infected.

While scouting fields for disease and insects, producers should continue to be on the lookout for Palmer amaranth.

The noxious plant has been called “the weed that can drive a farmer out of business.” It’s considered a major threat to North Dakota crop production.

For more information, I recommend the publication “Identification, Biology and Control of Palmer Amaranth and Waterhemp in North Dakota.”

The publication can be downloaded from NDSU Extension’s website.

If you would like to receive a copy of the publication in the mail, please contact me in the Foster County Extension office (652-2581, [email protected]).

 
 
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