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October 10, 2009 - Traill County Tribune

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Page 8 • <strong>October</strong> <strong>10</strong>, <strong>2009</strong> AGRICULTURE <strong>Traill</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Tribune</strong><br />

Extension Notes<br />

Kendall Nichol<br />

North Dakota State University<br />

Extension Agent<br />

<strong>Traill</strong> <strong>County</strong><br />

Digging and storing flower bulbs<br />

Many of the tender flower bulbs<br />

such as gladiolus, cannas, dahlias and<br />

tuberous begonias require special<br />

care to assure good condition the following<br />

spring. Todd Weinmann, Cass<br />

<strong>County</strong> Horticulturalist has provided<br />

the following tips.<br />

Gladiolus are the main type of<br />

bulb to be discussed. Dig the bulb<br />

(corm) after the first frost and cut<br />

the tops off flush with the top of the<br />

corm. Spread the bulbs in a dry, frostfree<br />

place for 2-3 weeks. After curing,<br />

the old shriveled corms and roots<br />

should snap off cleanly. Those that<br />

do not clean readily are either insufficiently<br />

cured or diseased; the latter is<br />

often detected by discoloration of the<br />

husks. After cleaning, dust the bulbs<br />

by shaking in a paper bag with 5%<br />

Sevin Dust (1-2 teaspoons for each<br />

<strong>10</strong>0 corms). Then store in shallow<br />

boxes on a basement floor or on low<br />

shelves.<br />

After a frost, the dahlia, canna,<br />

and tuberous begonia root clumps<br />

should be carefully lifted with a spading<br />

fork. Shake off the greater part of<br />

the soil and cut off the tops at ground<br />

level. Tuberous begonia tops should<br />

be removed close to the tuber. Dry<br />

the clump well but not to the point<br />

that any shriveling of the roots is<br />

noticed. Place the cured clump in a<br />

large plastic bag (without holes) and<br />

tie securely. Do not divide the clump<br />

until next spring. Store in the coolest,<br />

frost-free place that you have in your<br />

home (34-40 degrees is ideal). Inspect<br />

occasionally for signs of mold which<br />

may occur, if drying was insufficient.<br />

If mold occurs, open the bag temporarily<br />

and allow the drying.<br />

If you have any questions concerning<br />

the harvest and storage of<br />

flower bulbs, contact Kendall Nichols<br />

at the <strong>Traill</strong> <strong>County</strong> Extension Office<br />

at 701-636-5665.<br />

NDSU to study variablerate<br />

fertilization<br />

Producers are invited to participate<br />

in a research demonstration project to<br />

investigate the effects of variable-rate<br />

fertilization on crop yields, according<br />

to John Nowatzki, North Dakota State<br />

University agricultural machine systems<br />

specialist.<br />

“Increasingly, farmers are purchasing<br />

equipment capable of applying<br />

variable rates of fertilizer, but many<br />

farmers are reluctant to incorporate this<br />

practice,” Nowatzki says. “It could be<br />

because there is little whole-field research<br />

available to evaluate its effectiveness.<br />

The most obvious reason to<br />

use variable-rate fertilization is to decrease<br />

input costs per unit of harvested<br />

crop.”<br />

Northern Plains crop producers are<br />

invited to participate in the program<br />

with up to four fields each. Each field<br />

will be analyzed separately, but then<br />

combined into a single database to<br />

evaluate the effectiveness of variablerate<br />

fertilization. Interested individuals<br />

can contact Nowatzki by e-mail at john.<br />

nowatzki@ndsu.edu or call (701) 231-<br />

8213 for more detailed information.<br />

Variable-rate fertilizer application<br />

allows crop producers to apply different<br />

rates of fertilizer at various locations<br />

across fields. The technology needed to<br />

do variable-rate fertilization includes<br />

an in-cab computer with a field zone<br />

application map, fertilizing equipment<br />

capable of changing rates during operation<br />

and a global positioning system<br />

(GPS) receiver.<br />

The in-cab computer uses GPS to<br />

monitor its position in the field and<br />

communicates electronically with the<br />

rate controller on the application equipment<br />

to change the fertilizer rate as the<br />

equipment moves from one zone to the<br />

next.<br />

The number of zones in each field<br />

is determined by the variability within<br />

each field. More uniform field conditions<br />

require fewer zones. Zone soil<br />

sampling determines the residual nutrients<br />

available for the next crop. This information<br />

is used with crop yield goals<br />

to select the amount of fertilizer to apply<br />

in each management zone.<br />

Zone maps are made using a geographic<br />

information system (GIS) computer<br />

program to combine field variability<br />

information to delineate field<br />

areas based on productivity levels.<br />

“Several factors contribute to field<br />

variability including topography, soil<br />

physical and chemical properties, cropping<br />

history, historical cropping patterns<br />

and field uses,” Nowatzki says.<br />

“A regional project in North Dakota,<br />

Montana and Minnesota concluded that<br />

a variety of factors can be used to develop<br />

zones, but topography, remotely<br />

sensed images of previous year’s crops<br />

and historical crop yield data revealed<br />

the highest correlation to crop productivity.”<br />

For this project, Nowatzki plans<br />

to use the Web-based zone mapping<br />

tool ZoneMap (http://zonemap.umac.<br />

org/) to prepare the field zone and application<br />

maps. It was developed and<br />

is maintained by the Upper Midwest<br />

Aerospace Consortium at the University<br />

of North Dakota. ZoneMap allows<br />

users to use historical satellite imagery<br />

and their own yield and soil test data to<br />

delineate zone maps and download fertilizer<br />

application maps.<br />

Project participants will be required<br />

to soil test each zone separately.<br />

The producer will select the crop and<br />

yield goal. To compare the crop yield<br />

between variable rate and the normal<br />

practice of applying one fertilizer rate<br />

across the entire field, random sections<br />

of each zone will have fertilizer applied<br />

based on a composite soil test from all<br />

soil samples.<br />

Nowatzki will use the as-applied<br />

fertilizer application maps and crop<br />

yield monitor data from a GIS computer<br />

program to analyze the data.<br />

Participant requirements include<br />

supplying the geographic field description,<br />

cropping history, planned crop and<br />

yield goal for each field; soil sampling<br />

and testing of each zone; testing a composite<br />

soil sample; doing the variablerate<br />

fertilization; sharing the as-applied<br />

map; harvesting the crop with a yield<br />

monitor; and sharing the yield data.<br />

NDSU will prepare zone and fertilizer<br />

application maps, provide the maps<br />

to the producers in their desired digital<br />

format and analyze the data at the end<br />

of the growing season.<br />

Citizens asked to help decide<br />

state’s noxious weeds<br />

The North Dakota Department of<br />

Agriculture is asking state residents to<br />

take part in a survey to help determine<br />

what plants should be declared noxious<br />

weeds.<br />

“I wouldn’t call it a popularity contest,<br />

but we very much want to know<br />

which weeds people think are the biggest<br />

problem here,” said Agriculture<br />

Commissioner Doug Goehring. “The<br />

noxious weed designation is important<br />

because the lion’s share of weed control<br />

funds go toward noxious weeds, and<br />

failure to control noxious weeds can be<br />

a Class B misdemeanor.”<br />

A link to the survey can be found on<br />

the homepage of the department Web<br />

site, www.agdepartment.com. The survey<br />

will be open until Nov. 1.<br />

Survey participants will be asked to<br />

check the weeds they think should be<br />

on the noxious weeds list. The choices<br />

include absinth wormwood, baby’s<br />

breath, black henbane, false chamomile,<br />

scentless chamomile, common<br />

burdock, common tansy, dame’s rocket,<br />

downy brome, field bindweed, hoary<br />

cress, houndstongue, Russian knapweed,<br />

spotted knapweed, diffuse knapweed,<br />

kochia, leafy spurge, common<br />

milkweed, orange hawkweed, poison<br />

ivy, purple loosestrife, annual sowthistle,<br />

perennial sowthistle, St. Johnswort,<br />

bull thistle, Canada thistle, musk thistle,<br />

plumeless thistle, Scotch thistle, wavy<br />

thistle, Dalmatian toadflax, yellow<br />

toadflax and yellow starthistle. Participants<br />

can also write in other weeds.<br />

The survey also asks participants<br />

how many weeds should be on the list<br />

and if domesticated varieties of noxious<br />

weeds, such as purple loosestrife<br />

and baby’s breath, should be included<br />

on the list.<br />

The survey results are not binding.<br />

A noxious weed is a plant determined<br />

by the commissioner, a county<br />

or city weed board to be injurious to<br />

public health, crops, livestock, land, or<br />

other property. North Dakota’s noxious<br />

weeds now include absinth wormwood,<br />

Canada thistle, Dalmatian toadflax, diffuse<br />

knapweed, field bindweed, leafy<br />

spurge, musk thistle, purple loosestrife,<br />

Russian knapweed, saltcedar, spotted<br />

knapweed and yellow starthistle. Marijuana,<br />

hoary cress, perennial sowthistle<br />

were formerly listed as noxious weeds.<br />

Goehring said that the <strong>2009</strong> Legislature<br />

mandated a review of the noxious<br />

weed list by Jan. 1, 20<strong>10</strong>.<br />

<br />

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♦ <br />

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<br />

The beet goes on<br />

Following days and days of rain, beetlifting was resumed Thursday in this field adjacent to Highway 200 near<br />

Mayville.<br />

Testing, calibrating essentialfor<br />

nutrient management<br />

Although harvesting likely is uppermost<br />

in producers’ thoughts this<br />

fall, they should keep in mind that<br />

soil testing, testing manure for nutrients<br />

and calibrating their manure<br />

spreader are vital for a successful nutrient<br />

management plan.<br />

“Soil tests, manure tests and manure<br />

spreader calibration are three<br />

essential management practices that<br />

allow producers to meet crop yield<br />

goals by effectively managing manure,”<br />

says Chris Augustin, area nutrient<br />

management specialist at North<br />

Dakota State University’s Carrington<br />

Research Extension Center.<br />

“Sampling and testing manure<br />

within a week of an application is<br />

very important to achieve accurate results,”<br />

he adds. “However, results are<br />

only as good as the sample taken.”<br />

Sampling solid manure involves<br />

taking about a dozen samples with a<br />

shovel from various locations in a pile<br />

and mixing those samples together in<br />

a plastic 5-gallon bucket. A composite<br />

sample then can be collected from<br />

the bucket and placed in a plastic container<br />

from a testing lab.<br />

Labs that will conduct such tests<br />

include the NDSU Soil Testing Laboratory,<br />

(701) 231-8942; AGVISE<br />

Laboratories, (701) 587-6013; and<br />

DHIA Laboratories, (800) 369-2697.<br />

Fill the plastic container about<br />

three-quarters full to provide room for<br />

air and expansion. Label the bottle,<br />

place it in a plastic bag, fill out all the<br />

information on the form from the testing<br />

laboratory and mail the sample.<br />

Liquid manure should be agitated<br />

for two to four hours before sampling.<br />

Collect about six samples by dipping<br />

into the manure container and pouring<br />

the liquid into a plastic 5-gallon<br />

bucket. The samples should be mixed<br />

and transferred into a plastic sampling<br />

bottle from a manure testing lab. As<br />

with solid manure samples, leave<br />

some space in the bottle.<br />

Many labs recommend that after<br />

collecting the samples, they should<br />

be frozen or packed in ice and sent in<br />

a cooler. This prevents the samples’<br />

chemical and biological properties<br />

from changing.<br />

DOMIER<br />

CONSTRUCTION<br />

Residential<br />

• New Homes<br />

• Remodeling<br />

• Additions<br />

• Garages<br />

• Concrete Work<br />

• Lake Homes<br />

• Backhoe Work<br />

Labs also recommend sending<br />

samples early in the week to avoid<br />

weekend layovers and problems with<br />

maintaining sample integrity.<br />

Labs can test for many nutrients,<br />

but the minimum testing should be for<br />

total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium,<br />

Augustin says. Testing manure<br />

for inorganic and organic nitrogen<br />

can lessen the guesswork that goes<br />

into making sure nutrients are available<br />

for crops.<br />

If producers need assistance in<br />

calibrating their manure spreader, a<br />

new NDSU Extension Service publication<br />

can help. “Manure Spreader<br />

Calibration for Nutrient Management<br />

Planning” (NM-1418) is available at<br />

county Extension offices or online at<br />

http://www.ndsu.edu/uploads/media/<br />

NM-1418_proof_2.pdf.<br />

For more information on nutrient<br />

management, contact Augustin at<br />

(701) 652-2951 or chris.augustin@<br />

ndsu.edu, or visit the NDSU Nutrient<br />

Management Web site at http://www.<br />

ndsu.edu/nm.<br />

‘Eat Smart. Play Hard. Together’<br />

wins national recognition<br />

The National Extension Association<br />

of Family and Consumer Sciences<br />

has awarded North Dakota<br />

State University’s “Eat Smart. Play<br />

Hard. Together” program the <strong>2009</strong><br />

Marketing Package Award.<br />

Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU<br />

Extension Service food and nutrition<br />

specialist, accepted the award<br />

at the association’s awards banquet<br />

in Birmingham, Ala., in September.<br />

The NDSU Extension Service<br />

and Bison Athletics launched the<br />

statewide “Eat Smart. Play Hard.<br />

Together” campaign in 2005. The<br />

program has used a variety of role<br />

models, such as Bison athletes,<br />

North Dakota Governor’s School<br />

youth and Miss North Dakota, to increase<br />

awareness of the importance<br />

of nutrition and fitness for families.<br />

The program includes a video<br />

featuring Thundar, the Bison mascot;<br />

4-H club recognition program;<br />

poster contests for kids; classroom<br />

lessons for kids; newsletters for parents;<br />

a Web page (http://www.ndsu.<br />

edu/eatsmart); a Facebook page;<br />

and the “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” Together<br />

Magazine that taps into the<br />

expertise of NDSU faculty and contains<br />

information to help families<br />

lead more healthful, active lives.<br />

“Child obesity continues to be<br />

an issue in the U.S., and we believe<br />

this program is making a difference<br />

in promoting healthy eating and<br />

physical activity among children<br />

and families throughout North Dakota,”<br />

Garden-Robinson said. “Troy<br />

Goergen of Bison athletics has been<br />

a great partner in helping coordinate<br />

the efforts, and I was excited<br />

and encouraged to accept the award<br />

on behalf of the program.”<br />

The program also has reached<br />

families through posters, billboards,<br />

bookmarks, radio public<br />

service announcements featuring<br />

Bison athletes, pocket folders, T-<br />

shirts, bracelets, backpacks, an “Eat<br />

Lunch With the Bison” radio contest,<br />

memo boards, temporary tattoos,<br />

a carnival during basketball<br />

games and pencils imprinted with<br />

the Web site and “Eat Smart. Play<br />

Hard.” message.<br />

“The ‘Eat Smart. Play Hard.”<br />

campaign is critical in educating<br />

children, parents and caregivers<br />

on eating healthy and being physically<br />

active every day,” said NDSU<br />

President Joseph Chapman. “The<br />

resources and tools offered by the<br />

program clearly are helping make<br />

America’s children healthier.”<br />

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North<br />

Dakota, the NDSU Development<br />

Foundation, Healthy North Dakota<br />

Initiative, Midwest Dairy Association,<br />

Northarvest Bean Growers,<br />

Northern Pulse Growers Association,<br />

North Dakota Department of<br />

Public Instruction - Child Nutrition<br />

and Food Distribution, North<br />

Dakota Beef Commission, North<br />

Dakota Nutrition Council, North<br />

Dakota Wheat Commission, North<br />

Dakota School Nutrition Association,<br />

Northern Canola Growers Association<br />

and Northern Plains Potato<br />

Growers Association are helping<br />

sponsor the program in <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>10</strong>.<br />

“Eat Smart. Play Hard.” is based<br />

on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s<br />

Food and Nutrition Service<br />

initiative of the same name.<br />

Commercial<br />

Drawings & Blue Prints Free Estimates<br />

CALL 701-786-3149 ANYTIME<br />

Lowell Domier, General Contractor<br />

Mayville

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