C.o.r.n. to go....
A Supplement to the OSU Extension Agronomic Crops Team Online C.O.R.N. Newsletter ~ This version for Ohio’s Country Journal is by Harold Watters
Timely delivery
spring means rain
There are several ways to obtain http://agcrops.osu.edu. We
I am asked regularly for rainfall infor- that we also could benefit from CoCo-
your agronomic crop information, provide links to our OSU State Spe-
mation at our Ohio State Unversity Ex- RaHS. Our state climatologist and folks
Ohio’s Country Journal is one good cialists’ Web sites and also deliver a
tension Champaign County office and up at the National Weather Service in
way. We decided to partner with them weekly crop production newsletter
until recently I had no good response. Cleveland, Wilmington and in the Fort
because they do a great job of moving during the growing season called the
The only rain gauge I saw on a daily Wayne office for northwest Ohio are
information to where YOU can read it C.O.R.N. newsletter, which stands for
basis was mine at home, 30 miles away helping coordinate the network’s efforts
on a timely basis. We appreciate their Crop Observation and Recommenda-
and we all know about rain — it is vari- for the state.
participation in Ohio’s crop produc- tion Network. The CORN newsletter
able. And no one else in the office had a The Champaign County Extension
tion education delivery system. can be read at our newsletter Web site:
gauge at home. Sometimes we would re- office can now report our rainfall for
Another way to get up to date in- http://corn.osu.edu, and is available
sort to a feed bucket estimate of what the previous 24 hours when we come to
formation is on our OSU Extension for subscription on our team Web site.
may have fallen. the office in the morning. That informa-
Agronomic Crops Team Web site:
Last summer, I attended the National tion is sent to the CoCoRaHS Web site
Association of County Agricultural and posted almost immediately.
local crop progress reports
Agents annual meeting in Greensboro, At present there are only two individ-
North Carolina and one day while visit- uals reporting for Champaign County.
More than three years ago the Agro- crop blog in Ohio. With the support of
ing with the exhibitors I found a new net- Many counties in the state have a similar
nomics Crops Team developed a county re- educators like Jonah Johnson in Clark
work that used a beautiful rain gauge. small number of reporters.
porting Web page for local crop, pest and County we provide reports, local data
Those of you who know about checking Since we only joined the network
weather reports. The C.O.R.N. (Crop Ob- and great pictures – covers the coun-
your own rainfall know what I mean in February, I understand the small
servation and Recommendation Network) ties of Auglaize, Mercer, Miami,
about finding the “perfect” rain gage. number of reporters. I want to
newsletter does a great job on reporting Champaign, Clark, Darke, Hardin,
This one was a four-inch diameter encourage more participation. If you
and providing recommendations for the Logan, Shelby and Union:
clear plastic mode. You could read the also want more local rainfall informa-
state as a whole, but can sometimes be a lit- http://westohcropweather.
zero to one-inch measurements through tion ask your local County Extension
tle off when you get down to your local sit- blogspot.com
the side. The accuracy has been verified office to get involved. Have them visit
uations. • Northwest Ohio – from Fulton,
against the National Weather Service’s the Web site: www.cocorahs.org, then
Conference calls to develop the newslet- Williams, Defiance and Paulding
eight-inch gauges and was better than the click on the left side of the page to “Join
ter on Monday mornings this time of year Counties: http://nwohcrop
expensive automated versions. CoCoRaHS”.
shows the wide variation we have in Ohio weather.blogspot.com/
Unfortunately Ohio was not yet organ- You also can get involved. Everyone
— with some complaining about the most • Van Wert County:
ized as part of this national network of is welcome to work with the network,
recent snow and others bragging about http://agvanwert.wordpress.com/
volunteers who were using these rain just go to the Web site to join as a vol-
planting corn. • Northeast Ohio, covering Geauga,
gauges. But this February, Ohio joined the unteer, to get a link to purchase this
Today we use multi-county blogs to re- Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties:
CoCoRaHS network. CoCoRaHS is the great rain gauge, and get connected
port on the crop season progress for users http://neohiocropweather.
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and with your own rainfall reports.
of the CORN newsletter. If you didn’t al- blogspot.com/
Snow Network. For those who just want to get good
ready know, a blog is a contraction of the • Coshocton County and east
The CoCoRaHS network was created accurate rainfall information — go to the
words “Web log” to blog. One nice feature central Ohio:
following a localized flash flood in the Web site www.cocorahs.org, click your
of the blog is that the most recently added http://eastohiocrop.blogspot.com/
Fort Collins, Colorado area. While we do state, then click on your county — rain-
information is at the top of the page — and • South central Ohio – Fayette, Pick-
not have the steep mountain slopes and fall amounts are color coded and at the
that fits nicely with our needs for crop and away and Ross Counties:
narrow valleys of Colorado, we do have a county level have actual measurements.
pest reports. http://southcentralohioag
lot of rain and many localized thunder- You can also look back at past
Area blogs and Web sites with local newsblog.blogspot.com/
showers. This brings about the chance for rainfall data by changing the date of
Ohio crop progress, pest updates and These blogs are maintained by your
rapid local flooding. the report. This information is also re-
weather information: local county Extension personnel with re-
With the building of the community ported on the National Weather Service
• West Central Ohio, this is the oldest ports, tips and suggestions.
network over the past 10 years, Ohio saw Web site.
Watch for these early season problems now
Ron Hammond, our Wooster based nure or heavy weed growth have been We usually see more slugs in no-till soy- number of larvae per stem. Then once
OSU Extension Entomologist, has several tilled in and then planted into. bean fields than we do no-till corn fields. you have the count, with an indication of
years of experience and knows what we Check the CORN newsletter throughout We all know there are limited solutions to tip feeding and the stand height you can
might look for with early season pests in the early season growth period to see re- the problem – use the slug baits for best pull together a management plan. Check
our crops. ports of armyworm moth flights. Army- control. Watch also the CORN newsletter in your copy of the Ohio Corn, Soybean,
In corn, black cutworm can be a worm may be a problem only if heavy weekly for Ron’s in-season updates at Wheat and Alfalfa Field Guide to deter-
problem, especially in situations with adult flights from the south occur. http://corn.osu.edu. mine your best management practice.
heavy winter weed growth such as chick- Eastern Ohio and occasionally some We DO NOT expect to see early season Wheat and other cereal grains have
weed, usually seen in no-till situations. areas of western Ohio can have slug prob- soybean aphid in northwest Ohio, little seen some localized outbreaks of cereal
We hope you did an early burndown and lems in corn, especially if we have an ex- overwintering has occurred here; however, leaf beetle in past years. This is one prob-
if so that would help eliminate some of tended damp period in May. mid-season might be a different story as lem that you will have to scout for, it is
these situations. Ron’s remarks for soybean include the aphids that overwinter to our north difficult to predict.
While not expected this year across the scouting for bean leaf beetle feeding in and west develop populations high enough Again in wheat, as for corn, if there
state due to the cold winter temperatures, your earliest planted fields. They can do to encourage winged movement of the are any problems with armyworm,
flea beetle might be seen in extreme south- enough leaf feeding in these isolated fields flying aphids. they will only occur if we have heavy
ern Ohio. They have the potential for trans- to be a problem with loss of leaf area. There For alfalfa, check for weevil early and adult flights from the sout. Watch the
mitting Stewart’s bacterial leaf blight if is also a concern that the spread of virus regularly. Chances are the adults got an CORN newsletter for updates and you
overwintered. Check your hybrid suscepti- disease may be attributed to this early sea- early start this year with the early forage might also check your local Extension
bility with your seed supplier and if there son feeding by bean leaf beetle. growth. They have been active already, office blog.
might be a question, then scout your corn Soybeans can also have concerns with have laid eggs, those are now hatched Occasionally we have had localized
for this potential pest. seedcorn maggot when fields have had and the larvae are increasing in size. To reports of numerous aphids on wheat,
We can see seedcorn maggot problems their green cover tilled into the soil scout collect 10 stems from 3-4 places in a again if this occurs you will only find
anywhere that fields with cover crops, ma- before planting. field. Shake the stems to determine the with local scouting efforts.
18Crops • Ohio’s Country Journal • May 2009
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