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jakescia
Posted 6/4/2006 11:34 (#16925 - in reply to #16853)
Subject: What we have decided to do------- replant 40A.....



Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
The picture of your field is what it looks like on the east 40 of an L-shaped 120.

We checked the rest of the field yesterday, and saw damage in one spot, maybe 50ft x 50ft.

I'm going up there again today to see if my perceptions still hold.

With respect to the organic side---------- this is the first year we have had insects in corn of any magnitude. I think this occurred because this field was in beans last year, was terribly weedy and therefore had tons of trash this spring, we "late plant" compared to the neighbors, all of whom are conventional, this year has been so cold and rainy,......and this particular farm is not the best.....this particular 40a has a lot of clay, etc. so the plants take a while jumping out.

Our consultant, an ol' boy from WI who I think really knows his agronomy, told me over the phone that most likely we have seen the extent of the damage......which is what I am going to check today. As noted below, the larvae cannot fail to eat the neem and karanja oil, and although it takes a couple of days for the effect to kick in on average, it usually takes a hold.

He suggested a couple of years ago that we put neem and karanja oil in the seed trench, and then foliar feed the same blend.......the two together provides a real good source for the larvae to get real bad belly aches, and kills their abilities to reproduce.......so, a few munches and they lose interest. We also use a foofoo juice called Mycotrol O from AgriEnergy, IL, that continues a soil-based "insecticide". This, however, is our first year to use the Mycotrol O, so we have no carryover. Result-----we will lose a few plants, and in this case we have about 4 big patches in that 40A that look like your picture.............but it is enough to replant.....if for no other reason than to get some more neem and karanja and mycotrol O under the ground..........and, if the areas produce the targeted 140bu, the replant costs will be cheap.

The downside to the neem and karanja is that it only lasts for about 20 days.............which is the reason we will spray the rest of the farm immediately......just to make me feel better, since theoretically any worms on that side would have been handled, since we didn't see any activity to speak of. Probably overkill, but the 3-4.00 for the spraying will make me feel better.

In summary, we use neem, karanja, diatomacious earth, mycotrol O, as insecticides, mixed in with some other micros, etc. and put all in the trench when planting.

If you are considering organic----- I would emphasize that the key problem is weed control----and that is more timeliness than anything else-----then fertilizer, then insecticides.........the higher brix etc seem to not attract the insects, or at least we have not gotten hit yet. (The exception is the leaf beetles and soybeans----but the timely foliar feedings including heavy doses of neem, karanja, and DE have seemed to control that so far.)
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