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Suction Aeration Deters Insect Pests

Blowing ambient air through grain storage bins, a process known as aeration, has been used for decades to maintain the quality of grain by keeping it cool, as well as to manage stored insect pests.

Recent studies have examined whether it’s better to direct air from above or below as a means of using temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit or below to control insects.

USDA scientists experimented with storage bins whose grain masses were cooled with either pressure aeration or suction aeration. Pressure aeration uses fans to push ambient air from the bottom of the bin upwards, while suction aeration involves reversing the fans to pull air from the top downward.

They conducted two eight-month trials using six metal storage bins with perforated floors and grain storage capacities of 1,250 bushels of wheat. Stored insects examined in the study were rusty grain beetles, foreign grain beetles, hairy fungus beetles, red flour beetles, saw-toothed grain beetles, rice weevils and lesser grain borers.

The data showed that, during the summer, suction aeration cooled the stored wheat’s upper portion, or “surface zone,” more quickly than pressure aeration, and that the difference correlated to fewer insect pests. For example, in pressure aeration-cooled bins, 3,290 rusty grain beetles and 8,210 red flour beetles were found in surface-zone traps, versus 662 and 722 respectively in suction aeration-treated bins.

Suction aeration’s rapid cooling of the grain’s surface zone is advantageous because that’s where insects initially infest the grain after flying in from outside. This can reduce reliance on the fumigant phosphine to control insects.

Source:
Applied Engineering and Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service, USDA

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Artwork: Grain Storage Bin Print

Planting Green in a Wet Spring

Allowing cover crops to grow two weeks longer in the spring and planting corn and soybean crops into them before termination is a strategy that may help no-till farmers deal with wet springs, according to Penn State researchers.

The approach — known as planting green — could help no-till farmers counter a range of problems like soil erosion, nutrient losses, soils holding too much moisture and causing a delay in the planting of main crops, and main-crop damage from slugs.

With climate change bringing more extreme precipitation events and an increase in total precipitation, no-till farmers need a way of dealing with wet springs. Penn State researchers conducted a three-year study of planting green to see if farmers could get more out of their cover crops by letting them grow longer in the spring.

As cover crops continue to grow, they draw moisture from the soil, creating desired drier conditions in wet springs for planting corn and soybeans. With planting green, after those main crops are planted into the cover crops, the cover crops are typically terminated by farmers with an herbicide. The decomposing cover crop residues then preserve soil moisture for the corn and soybean crops through the growing season.

During the study at five sites, researchers compared the results of planting green to the traditional practice of terminating cover crops 10 days to two weeks before planting the main crops of corn and soybeans.Cover crops included in the study were primarily rye and triticale, as well as a mixture of triticale, Austrian winter pea, hairy vetch and radish in one location.

Findings were mixed. Planting green appeared to benefit soybean crops more than corn. Cover crop biomass increased by 94 percent in corn and by 94 to 181 percent in soybeans. However, because planting green results in more cover crop residues acting as mulch on the surface, it also cooled soils from 1.3 to 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit at planting.

At several of the sites during the study years, main-crop plant populations were reduced when planted green, possibly due to the cooler temperatures slowing crop emergence and nutrient cycling, and/or from cover crop residue interference with the planter. In corn, crop damage by slugs also increased when corn was planted green.

No-till farmers struggle with slugs damaging corn and soybean seeds and seedlings because no-till doesn't disturb the soil and kill slugs or bury their eggs the way tillage does. No-till with cover crop residues also provides habitat for some crop pests and keeps the soil moist — so no-till cover crop systems tend to be great slug habitat.

Researchers had hoped that letting cover crops grow longer in the spring would supply alternative forage for the slugs, as well as habitat for slug predators such as beetles — and these factors would reduce slug damage of the main crop seedlings. But they did not see a consistent reduction in slug
damage on main crops.

When researchers compared crop-yield stability between the two cover crop termination times across the multiple locations and years, corn yield was less stable and reduced by planting green in high-yielding environments; soybean yield was not influenced by planting green.

They concluded that corn was more vulnerable to yield losses from conditions created by planting green than soybeans. Since soybean yield was stable across all locations, and not affected by cover crop termination date, they suggest that growers who want to extend cover crop benefits and avoid the risk of crop-yield reduction from planting green should consider trying it first with soybean.

Source:
Heather Karsten, associate professor of crop production ecology, Penn State College of Agricultural

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Artwork: Buckwheat Cover Crop Seed

Frost Seeding

Livestock producers looking to renovate pastures should consider frost seeding, a low-cost method which increases yields and improves quality with little commercial nitrogen.

Frost seeding involves broadcasting a grass or legume seed over a pasture and letting the natural freeze/thaw cycles of late winter and early spring move the seed into good contact with the soil.

The best time to frost seed is usually from mid-February to the end of March.

Continued in Frost Seeding...

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Choosing Cellulosic Biofuel Crops

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 288 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel must be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply in 2018. Although down slightly from last year, the industry is still growing at a modest pace.

A new multi-institution report backed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Sun Grant Initiative provides practical agronomic data for five cellulosic feedstocks - switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures - in long-term trials spanning a wide geographical area.

Crops were grown for five to seven years in multiple locations and with varying levels of nitrogen fertilizer. Although most of the crops are known to tolerate poor soil quality, the researchers found that they all benefited from at least some nitrogen. For example, Miscanthus did best with an application of 53.5 pounds per acre.

Due to shortages in plant materials, Miscanthus and energycane were grown on smaller plots than the other crops, but researchers say the new results are still valuable for producers.

Prairie mixtures, which were grown on land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), also benefitted from added nitrogen. Yield kept increasing with the addition of up to 100 pounds per acre. But even though it increased yield, it is economically not profitable to use more than 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

And although most of the crops are somewhat drought-tolerant, precipitation made a difference.

The results showed the greatest yield potentials for lowland switchgrass varieties in the lower Mississippi valley and the Gulf coast states, whereas Miscanthus and prairie mixture yields are likely to be greatest in the upper Midwest.

Prairie mixtures, which are typically grown on CRP land to conserve soil, didn’t live up to their potential in the study.

Energycane could reach very high yields, but in a relatively limited portion of the country.

The crop that shows the highest potential yields in the greatest number of locations is sorghum. The annual crop is highly adaptable to various conditions and might be easier for farmers to work with. In terms of management, it is almost the same as corn. It germinates and grows so quickly, weed control is not a big issue. If you plant by early June, it will be 15-20 feet tall by September. It also has good drought tolerance.

Downsides to sorghum? It’s wet at harvest and can’t be stored. It also requires nitrogen and can lodge, or collapse, prior to harvest in wet or windy conditions.

Source:
“Biomass production of herbaceous energy crops in the United States: Field trial results and yield potential maps from the multiyear regional feedstock partnership”

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Artwork: Sorghum vulgare

Frost Seeding.

Livestock producers looking to renovate pastures should consider frost seeding, a low-cost method which increases yields and improves quality with little commercial nitrogen.

Frost seeding involves broadcasting a grass or legume seed over a pasture and letting the natural freeze/thaw cycles of late winter and early spring move the seed into good contact with the soil.

The best time to frost seed is usually from mid-February to the end of March.

Continued in... Frost Seeding

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Artwork: Spring Seeding

Grain Bin Maintenance

Before grain harvests begin, it is critically important to check the condition of harvest equipment and bins before bringing in the crop.

Your grain crop is a major investment that needs to be protected. Grain quality does not improve in storage. At best, the initial quality can only be maintained. If you take the extra time to make sure conditions are good for storing grain, then you are protecting that investment.
   
Proper storage begins with the condition of the harvested grain, including moisture level and how it leaves the combine and then is transported and handled.

continued in Grain Bin Maintenance

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Artwork: Grain Bin model 1/64 scale