INSIDE GRUNDY COUNTY
By Bill Arndorfer
Grundy County Extension Education Director
May 9, 2008
Despite the delays due to rain, planting activities for both farmers and home gardeners is moving ahead. Getting crops and plants off to a good start is critical to top yields and optimum plant growth. Once the crops and plants are in the ground, you may have questions during the growing season that you could use some help with. There are online resources available from Iowa State University Extension that can help through out the year.
The Integrated Crop Management Newsletter is an online newsletter that provides timely research based information to farmers and agribusiness professionals based on their needs. The newsletter was originally available only in print but that meant valuable information would not be available for up to a week after the articles were written. The online version allows articles to be published shortly after they are written so the reader receives the information in a timely manner. Subscribers to the newsletter can choose to be notified about new articles either daily or weekly. To subscribe to the no charge newsletter go to: www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/.
Some of the headlines you will find on this site include: Planters are Rolling and Corn is Growing- an article about degree day accumulation, Seeding Rates in Relation to Maximum Yield and Seed Costs – an article about seeding rates and seed prices and assessing whether adding an additional unit of seed covers its cost, and It’s a Late Spring: Should You Apply Nitrogen or Plant Corn – an article geared to those who have not yet applied nitrogen fertilizer. In addition to timely articles, you can learn more about the Corn and Soybean Initiative or listen to an audio interview with Roger Elmore, ISU Extension Corn Agronomist and Elwynn Taylor, ISU Extension Climatologist. Past articles and issues, as well as, other ISU Crop resources from ISU Extension are also available on the site.
If you have horticulture questions, the home gardener can access the online version of Horticulture and Home Pest News at: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/ and read articles on current horticulture, plant care, pest management, and common household pests written by Iowa State University Extension specialists in the Departments of Entomology, Horticulture and Plant Pathology. The current issue includes information about: Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic Update by Laura Jesse, ISU Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic which includes information on how to submit plant samples for identification, Watch This Month for Scale Insect Crawlers by Donald Lewis, Department of Entomology, Training and Trellising Raspberries by Richard Jauron, Department of Horticulture and Watch Now for Tents on Trees by Donald Lewis, Department of Entomology. Online versions can be accessed at no charge. If you prefer to receive a printed version, a subscription is available for a fee.
For your farm or garden questions, check out these websites to see if you can find your answers there. If not, please contact the Grundy office of ISU Extension at 319-824-6979.