Dixon Spring Update: Winter Injury on Cover Crop in the High Tunnel

Jan 30, 2024

By Bronwyn Aly

For many growers, January and February is the time to attend meetings and conferences to learn about the latest research information, production and marketing management practices, and to network with other growers. Many have already made seed orders for the coming season but may decide on a last-minute addition or change to try something they heard might be worth trialing on their farm. It was great to catch up with old friends and make new contacts during the From Food to Flowers Everything Local Conference in Springfield. The positive energy and excitement for the upcoming growing season was very noticeable as hundreds of growers and marketers from across the state came together to learn and connect.

It's hard not to talk about the weather and speculate about its effects on the upcoming season. In our area in the far southeastern portion of Illinois, soil conditions were still dry through the second week of January. Some rain hit the area just before the cold air pushed through. Temperatures stayed below freezing for several days, and the coldest actual temperature (not including wind chill) at DSAC was 0 or -1 °F. The last full week of January saw mild temperatures in the mid-40s with 3-5” or more of rain, helping to replenish soil moisture but also creating a sloppy mesh for those with outside chores.

Assuming the spring oat cover crop would winter kill with the impending arctic blast, I took a photo of the cover crops in the treatment high tunnel two days before the temperature drop and then a follow-up photo on January 24. The damage to the spring oats was a bit surprising. Even with the high tunnel being closed up before the temperature drop, I was expecting to see more damage to the spring oats.

The photo of the late seeded cover crops shows damage to the spring oat seedlings as well but considering their small size, it is doubtful that they will survive. Sticky traps for insect monitoring continue to be changed out weekly and sent the Dr. Athey’s lab for indentification and counts. We are now into year two of the HR 133 grant, Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels.

Source : illinois.edu

Video: Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

If you assumed Nebraska was too hot and dry for white mold to be a problem in soybeans, think again.

This week we're featuring Galen Samuelson, a farmer and dealer from Wakefield, Nebraska, who knows all too well how devastating white mold can be.

"We don't have it consistently every year, but with our temperature and humidity, it can hurt us quite bad," Samuelson says. Looking for alternatives, he explains, "What I like about Heads Up is that it's non-harmful to the beneficial fungal colonies in the soil." Galen has been using Heads Up for several years now, after first hearing about it through a small ad in a regional newspaper. Watch below to hear about his journey.

When asked to write about Samuelson Seed, Galen said the following:

"Samuelson Seed is a 4th-generation, family-based company. It started with my grandfather, and I'm now starting to pass the torch to my son, Caleb."

"In the early 1990s, I started working with a company whose focus was on plant and soil health before those benefits were widely known. I've continued to keep plant and soil health the main focus in our farming operation decisions."