Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

No-Tillage -- Suitability To Kentucky Soils, Robert L. Blevins

Agronomy Notes

As more farmers adopt no-tillage methods of farming the questions arises whether or not all soils are suited to this practice. To get an idea of how well suited the no-tillage method of corn production is to wide variety of soils, we made a survey in five different physiographic regions of Kentucky in 1969.

Preliminary Report Soybean Performance Tests 1970, Dennis B. Egli

Agronomy Notes

The data presented below represent the preliminary results of the 1970 Soybean Performance Tests . A more complete version of the data, including data from previous years , will be published at a later date in "Results of the Kentucky Soybean Performance Tests - 1970."

The Effect Of Nitrogen Rate And Method Of Sucker Control On Dry Matter Accumulation In Different Plant Parts Of Burley 21 Tobacco, J. L. Sims, W. O. Atkinson

Agronomy Notes

Earlier research has shown that higher leaf yields of burley tobacco result from topping and controlling sucker (axillary bud) growth. Suckering practices which provide the greatest degree of sucker control generally result in highest leaf yields . Chemically suckering with maleic hydrazide (MH-30) and other chemicals provides for a higher degree of control than most hand sucker ing practices although hand sucker ing at frequent intervals may produce leaf yields comparable to those from use of maleic hydrazide. High leaf yields resulting from a high degree of sucker control has been attributed to the elimination of the use of photosynthate …

Summary Of Fertilizer Use And Estimated Use Of Plant Nutrients On Tobacco, Corn, Hay And Pastures In Kentucky, Kenneth L. Wells

Agronomy Notes

Nearly 650, 000 tons of fertilizer were used by Kentucky farmers during the first half of 1969. Plant food content (N+P₂O₅ + K₂O) was 38%, or nearly 247,000 tons. Slightly over half (58%) was sold in bagged, one-third (33%) in bulk, and 8% in fluid form. Mixtures made up 70% of the total tonnage, and materials made up 30%. The statistics tabulated below show a more detailed breakdown of the fertilizer tonnage used.

Grain Sorghum Performance, C. R. Tutt, J. F. Shane

Agronomy Notes

Twenty-five grain sorghum hybrids and one variety planted May 22 were evaluated at the Western Kentucky Substation at Princeton for yield, plant height, date headed, head type and moisture. They were also evaluated at Lexington for bird damage and at the Robinson Substation for MDM.

Soil Surveys In Kentucky, Harry Hudson Bailey, Robert L. Blevins

Agronomy Notes

Soil surveys are a scientific inventory of the soil and land resources of an area. They locate the different kinds of soils and provide information as to their physical and chemical properties. The surveys also contain tables and charts showing the use of the soils for agriculture, engineering, community development, recreational areas, woodland, and wildlife.

Today there is some type of soil survey activity in every county. The University has cooperative soil survey arrangements with the USDA Soil Conservation Service and the U. S. Forest Service.

Irrigating Corn On Well-Drained, Limestone-Derived Soils, John L. Ragland, J. C. Redman

Agronomy Notes

In trying to determine if it would pay Kentucky farmers to irrigate corn, one of the most important steps is to ascertain the long-time average yield increases to be expected from supplemental irrigation. The yield data reported below are the results of an experiment applicable for a fairly large group of soils occurring in Kentucky.

Molybdenum Recommendation For Legumes, J. L. Sims, Warren C. Thompson, S. H. Phillips

Agronomy Notes

Molybdenum is recommended in Kentucky for legumes (soybeans, alfalfa, clovers and other forage legumes) beginning in 1969. The application should be made as a seed treatment and at the rate of 0.4 to 0.8 (4/10 to 8/10) ounces of molybdenum per acre. Molybdenum is recommended only on soils testing less than pH 6.2.

Airplane-Seeded Wheat – Aid To Double Cropping, John Watts, S. H. Phillips

Agronomy Notes

Airplane-seeding of wheat has been increasing since its start in 1965 in Fulton County, Kentucky. Over 20,000 acres were seeded in the fall of 1968, with the acreage concentrated in the Purchase and Bowling Green areas.

Farmers report these advantages for aerial seedings: (1) early establishment of small grain; (2) similar seeding cost as compared to drilling; (3) labor use in normal seeding operations diverted to other farm operations.

Housing Burley Tobacco On Portable Curing Frames, Elmon E. Yoder, Ira E. Massie

Agronomy Notes

Portable frames, wood and steel, and tractor lifts will make tobacco housing a little easier. The following story describes the use of these items in housing a burley tobacco crop.

Management Practices To Reduce Losses Caused By Hail Damage To Burley Tobacco, Allen Wallace, George Byers, Terry Rock

Agronomy Notes

It is estimated that Kentucky farmers have suffered income losses caused by hail damage to burley tobacco in excess of $6 million annually over the last five years . Such losses could often be substantially reduced through proper management of the crop following hail, according to studies involving artificial and natural hail damage.

Chemical Weed Control In Tobacco Fields, James W. Herron

Agronomy Notes

Enide 50W and Vernam 6E are the two herbicides recommended in 1968 for weed control in tobacco fields.

Soil Test Results For 1967, Harold F. Miller

Agronomy Notes

The results of soil samples tested in laboratores under the supervision of the University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station during 1967 have now been summarized.

Boron Carrying Compounds, George D. Corder

Agronomy Notes

Boron is available on the market in a number of different compounds, but three new boron-carrying materials have recently come on the market. Since the boron content of each compound is different, the concentration will determine the rate required per acre.

A Burley Tobacco Variety-Management Study In 1966-67, Jones H. Smiley, W. O. Atkinson, A. M. Wallace, Ira E. Massie

Agronomy Notes

A management study was designed to investigate the desirability of two management systems emphasizing (1) yield and (2) quality and a third system (3) aimed at achieving an acceptable level of both yield and quality. (These are hereafter referred to as the "high yield, " "quality, " and "yield and quality" systems, respectively.)

Two varieties, Burley 21 and Ky 10, were grown under the three management systems (outlined in Table 1) in 1/4 acre non-replicated plots at five locations in Kentucky in 1966 and at seven locations in 1967. A three-year or older sod was selected at each location. Phosphorus …

Control Of Black Root Rot In Dark Tobacco, Glenn B. Collins, Paul D. Legg, C. C. Litton

Agronomy Notes

Reports of the increasing prevalence of black root rot in the areas where dark tobacco types are grown has triggered an accelerated effort from the tobacco research staff to develop and release additional varieties with high resistance to this disease. The high level of resistance to black root rot found in Nicotiana debneyi (an Australian species) is being used as the source of resistance in the breeding program.

What Happens To Fertilizer Nitrogen In The Soil?, W. O. Atkinson, John L. Ragland

Agronomy Notes

What happens to the nitrogen a farmer applies as fertilizer each spring?

First, let us consider the forms of nitrogen normally applied, and then attempt to trace what happens to the nitrogen once it is added to the soil. The average complete fertilizer contains approximately 70 percent of its nitrogen in the ammonium nitrogen form (NH4), about 10 percent in the urea form (this is quickly converted to ammonium nitrogen), and the remaining 20 percent in the nitrate nitrogen form (NO₃) .

Fertilizer-Insecticide Mixtures On Corn, R. A. Scheibner, George D. Corder

Agronomy Notes

Soil fertility and insects are major factors that affect corn yields. The proper kinds and amounts of fertilizers and insecticides when used properly will make corn production more economical on fields where either or both are needed.

Nitrogen Rates And Population Studies On Corn, S. H. Phillips

Agronomy Notes

John Watts and C. E. Wyatt, Extension Agronomists in the Purchase Area, have conducted nitrogen rates and population studies on corn for several years. The following data relative to these variables are reported from the 1967 tests.

Kenblue Kentucky Bluegrass, Robert C. Buckner

Agronomy Notes

Since the early 19th century the Blue Grass Region of Kentucky has had a worldwide reputation for its Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) As early as 1835, people from adjoining states visited the region to see its luxuriant fields and to learn of the culture and management of this valuable grass. This interest has led to the development of a profitable seed industry in central Kentucky. Kentucky produced the bulk of Kentucky bluegrass seed for the nation during the latter half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries.

Since 1960, foreign importation and competitive production of …

Agronomy Department Tobacco Projects, John Ragland

Agronomy Notes

Here is a list of the 24 tobacco projects (state, USDA, and Smoking and Health Research) being conducted by the Agronomy Department at the University of Kentucky. We hope this will make you more fully aware of the research presently underway on tobacco. Information obtained from these projects will be sent to you from time to time in this newsletter. If you would like more information about these projects, write to the Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. 40506.

Tobacco Bed Treatment With Enide 50w, J. W. Herron, J. F. Freeman

Agronomy Notes

Enide 50W is recommended for trial use on tobacco beds for 1968. The results of treatments with Enide in Kentucky in 1967 have been somewhat variable; therefor e, until additional information is obtained and the tobacco grower becomes more experienced in applying the chemical, it should be used on a trial basis.

Results Of Nitrogen Applications On Ohio River Overflow Bottom Areas In Henderson County In 1967, Harold F. Miller

Agronomy Notes

In cooperation with Stuart Brabant, Area Extension Agent in Henderson county , four field trials with nitrogen fertilization on corn were conducted in the Ohio River Bottom area. In two of the trials where corn was followed by corn, nitrogen was applied at the rates of 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 pounds per acre, with each treatment replicated 4 times. In the two other trials, where corn was grown following soybeans, nitrogen rates of 0, 100 and 200 pounds per acre were replicated 4 times in one field and 3 times in the other.

Planting was delayed until early …

Control Annual Weeds In Tobacco Fields With Herbicides, J. F. Freeman

Agronomy Notes

In the years 1957 to 1967 inclusive, many promising herbicides have been used in Kentucky research trials for controlling annual weeds in tobacco fields. Burley tobacco has been used every year at Lexington, for 4 years at Eden Shale farm in Owen county, and 1 year in McCracken county, while dark air-cured tobacco was used for 4 years at the Western Kentucky Substation, Princeton.

Grass Seed Production, Robert C. Buckner, Warren C. Thompson

Agronomy Notes

Producing cool season grass seed crops has historically been a profitable venture on Kentucky farms.

When growing maximum yields of grass seed, the pH level should be maintained between 6.0 and 7.0, when the recommended rates of limestone are used, and when phosphate and potash are maintained at medium-to-high levels (based on a soil test). Similarly, grass should be grown in pure stands. Weeds and insects must be controlled to prevent yield reduction.

Following seed harvest, excess herbage should be removed, preferably by grazing. All cool season grasses can be grazed until growth stops in the late fall or early …

Response Of Corn To Broadcast Applications Of Zinc, Harold F. Miller

Agronomy Notes

Where zinc deficiency in corn occurs on Kentucky soils it has been corrected by applying 3 to 6 pounds of elemental zinc per acre in the row at planting time. In some areas of the state, corn planters with row fertilizer attachments are not generally used, raising the question as to library the amount of zinc required when broadcast applications are made.

Through the cooperation of Clarence Mitchell, Area Extension Specialist, a field was located where the 1966 corn crop showed zinc deficiency. Since the field was to be planted in corn (Connecticut 860) in 1967, a field trial with …

Soil Surveys In Kentucky, Harry Hudson Bailey, Robert L. Blevins

Agronomy Notes

Forty-one Kentucky counties have been surveyed and the results published, using the classification schemes of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. These counties and the field survey dates are : Adair (1961) , Bath (1959), Caldwell (1962), Calloway (1937), Christian (1912), Clark (1961), Elliott (1961), Fayette (1931), Fulton (1961). Garrard (1921), Graves (1941), Henderson (1963), Jefferson (1962), Jessamine (1915) , Logan (1919), McCracken (1905), Madison (1905), Marshall (1938), Mason (1903), Mercer (1930), Metcalfe (1962), Muhlenberg (1920), Rockcastle (1910), Scott (1903), Shelby (1916), Union (1902), Warren (1904).

Breeding Tobacco Varieties, Paul D. Legg

Agronomy Notes

The principal objectives in breeding tobacco are yield, field and handling characteristics, disease resistance, and quality. Of these objectives, major emphasis has been placed on breeding disease-resistant varieties. Resistant varieties have provided one of the most effective means of combating many of the pathogens that attack the tobacco plant. However, the transfer of genes for disease resistance into susceptible varieties has been accompanied in many cases by other characteristics which are undesirable. It is often a difficult task to combine acceptable type, yield, and quality with desired factors for disease resistance into a single variety.

Strongly Acid Soil Must Be Limed For Corn, Harold Miller

Agronomy Notes

The necessity of liming strongly acid soils that will be planted in corn is well illustrated in a demonstration conducted by Harold Vaught, Area Extension Agent in Adair County.

A field that was well fertilized with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium produced low corn yields in 1966. Analysis of a soil sample from the field showed that it was strongly acid soil. (Similar conditions have been reported by many farmers throughout the state in recent years.) Since this field was to be planted in corn again in 1967, a liming demonstration was planned .

Fertilizing No-Tillage Corn And Soybeans, George D. Corder

Agronomy Notes

Planting corn and soybeans in sod (commonly referred to as "no-tillage" planting) is increasing in parts of Kentucky, and interest in this practice in other parts of the state is growing.

One question is often asked: 'What is the best method of liming and fertilizing no-tillage corn and soybeans?"

Since no-tillage planting is a comparatively new practice, only a limited amount of research on methods of fertilization has been done. However, research designed to find out how well plants can recover phosphorus and potassium applied on the surface of the soil will be started by the Department of Agronomy at …