| December 2, 2002 |
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Several agents called in November with reports of poor plant growth and light green to yellow coloration. I suspect that most of the available nitrogen was leached below the root zone by the 4 to 10 inches of rain received during October. An application of nitrogen should be benefical to the slow growing small grain crops. As cooler weather sets in and soil temperatures drop, producers should give special consideration to the type of fertilizer applied. Half of the nitrogen in ammonium nitrate is available at the time of application. This results in a quick response to the fertilizer applied. Other types of fertilizer have to be converted to a form used by the plant and this conversion is slowed by the cool temperatures.
Producers that are planning on grazing wheat need to make sure the secondary root system has developed. The secondary root system serves as an anchor for the plant and keeps the cattle from pulling the plants out of the ground. If there is no secondary root system, then grazing should be postponed until a later date.
I want to thank Russell Baker, Sam Field, Warren Multer, Raymond Quigg, and Robert Scott for their assistance in ginning cotton on November 20 at Lubbock. I just received the fiber analysis from the ginned samples and will be forwarding that information to you in the near future.I want to thank Stephen Biles, Steve Estes, and Chris Sansone for their assistance in ginning cotton on November 25 at Lubbock. The fiber samples collected are currently being analyzed. The information will be sent to you as soon as it arrives.
Cotton harvest is behind schedule with approximately 50 percent of the acreage harvested. Most fiber quality reports are better than expected with most going 32 and 42 with leaf grades of 3. It will be at least 10 days before most of the remaining cotton is harvested, if weather permits.
On Wednesday, December 11, there will be a CEU course conducted in Abilene at the Civic Center. This is a five hour course with Structural Pest Control and Texas Department of Agriculture certification. Participants should call call Gary Bomar at 915-672-6048 to register for the meeting.
On Wednesday, December 18, there will be a CEU course conducted in Abilene County Extension Office. This is a five hour course with Texas Department of Agriculture certification. Participants should call Gary Bomar at 915-672-6048 to register for the meeting.
On Thursday, December 19, there will be a CEU course conducted in Eden. Interested participants should call Billy Kniffen (Menard at 915-396-4787), Michael Palmer (Paint Rock at 915-732-4304) or Jerry Kidd (Brady at 915-597-1295) to register for the meeting.
The demand for time in 2003 is already apparent. Several outstanding meetings are already being planned. Chris Sansone and I are currently developing plans for result demonstration work for 2003. If you need assistance in planning a demonstration for your county, please let us know. It is important to give us plenty of lead time when help is needed in securing materials.
For those of you looking for information on weed identification and control, the http://twig.tamu.edu URL may be one you want to bookmark. This site is intended to be a one stop site for information concerning weed identification, herbicide injury and weed control.
December 2, Dist. 7 Office, Office Conference
December 2, Tom Green County, Friends of Extension Luncheon
December 6, Jones County, Cotton Crop Tour
December 10, Kimble County, Plant Growth and Development Training
December 18, Taylor County, CEU Course
December 19, Concho, Menard, and McCulloch Counties, CEU Course
December 22 - 31, Potter, Randall,
& Deaf Smith Counties, Christmas Holiday
January 6, District Office, Office Conference
January 8, District Office, TTVN Ag Program Conference
January 14, Howard County, Soil and Soil Fertility
January 17, Midland County, Soil and Soil Fertility
January 23 & 24, McLennan County, B.I.G. Meeting
January 28 - 31, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wheat Industry Conference and Expo
Sincerely,
Billy E. Warrick |