So the foliar spraying of soybeans continued at the NCRS this week. There were hundreds of plots sprayed as foliar applications are a big part of the research program in field crops.
But planting of soybeans was also done this week. What? Well with the early wheat harvest, this may be the year for successful planting of double crop soybeans. We are testing the effect of a fertilizer seed treatment compared to no treatment. This would be for double crop soybeans after wheat harvest, but in the picture below Tim is planting some strips in the deomonstration area for the upcoming Research Field Days. (The first ones are less than a month away, hope you have made plans to attend. Go to the agroliquid.com web site for full details.)
There have been some alerts to be on the lookout for the Two-Spotted Spider Mite. Now this pest shows up in dry years, and that is certainly the case this year. Tim and Stephanie found a few infested soybeans. Tim took this through a magnifying lens, and you can kind of see the webbing of the mites. Actually that is how they travel, by letting the web silk carry them along in the wind currents like a balloon. They must be pretty good travelers, although I'm sure some get wayward and end up in some non-bean fields. (Hmmm. I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.) But there is just occasional infestation at the NCRS so far. So nothing to lose sleep over. Zzzzzzz.
Well I hope you are doing a rain dance. It seems that most of the country is in the midst of extreme dryness, as are we. Good luck where ever you are
