Spring Planting
Miller offers ideas to set up planter for no-till use
MARTINSBURG, Pa. — “Seed placement is the most important,” Tony Miller told 30-plus farmers at a recent Penn State soil health and cover crops workshop. The seed must be in contact with the soil for success.Miller, who farms 350 acres no-till in Indiana...
Mini-tornadoes of spores shown in raindrop impact
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Plant diseases are a significant threat to our food security, and while rain provides fresh water to our crops, splashing drops may also contribute to the spread of plant disease. Raindrop impact is known to be a mechanism for dispersing...
‘Scaring’ soybeans yields better crop a generation later
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — By temporarily silencing the expression of a critical gene, researchers fooled soybean plants into sensing they were under siege, encountering a wide range of stresses. Then, after selectively cross breeding those plants with the...
A faster, more accurate way to monitor drought
DURHAM, N.C. — A new monitoring method developed at Duke University allows scientists to identify the onset of drought sooner — meaning conservation or remediation measures might be put into place sooner to help limit the damage.“By combining surface and...
Soil compaction becomes issue after soaked year
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After one of the wettest years on record in the Mid-Atlantic region, soil compaction during harvest became an issue on many farms. Here are some tips from Penn State University specialists on what do about the compaction.Most...
Crop diversity stretches planting in Va. mountains
HILLSVILLE, Va. (March 18, 2018) — Diversity in elevation and climate is key to the diverse planting seasons here where the Blue Ridge Mountain range determines when and where crops are put in the ground. “Below the mountain” and “above the mountain” are...
Haines claims second straight national corn title
MIDDLETOWN, Md. (March 18, 2018) — Drew Haines took his second straight national corn yield award late last year. He attributed the win, somewhat glibly, to luck. “Weather was on our side,” he said. Haines won second place in the National Corn Growers...
Spring oats popular among seasonal cover crops (Choice Voice)
(Editor’s note: By Gordon Johnson is a vegetable and fruit specialist with the University of Delaware.) (March 18, 2018) One principle of managing for improved soil health is that you should always have a crop growing on the soil. This will maintain or...
Early samples of wheat indicate surplus of nitrogen
(March 18, 2018) Farmers may be able to spend less money on spring fertilization this year, thanks to Mother Nature. Some issue samples from wheat are coming in with higher than normal nitrogen content, which could negate the need for that initial...
Md. farmers will need to adjust for climate change
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (March 18, 2018) — Climate change is likely to significantly affect crops in Maryland, positively and negatively, as warming temperatures and an increasing number of extreme weather events disrupt the environment, a recent state report...
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