ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY STEVE TONN
With this year?s early spring and mild winter, alfalfa weevils are beginning to show up in alfalfa fields.
I have found some very small larvae in fields in late March. Marion County producers should start scouting their fields for signs of alfalfa weevil.
Most weevil damage occurs before the first cutting, so farmers should be checking their fields and monitoring the development of weevils and potential for injury to their first cutting.
The best way to scout a field is to break off 30 to 50 stems at randomly selected points in the field. Shake the stems in a deep-sided bucket and count the number of weevil larvae present to estimate the average number of larvae per stem. Also make note of the plant?s height.
Then compare your numbers with those in K-State?s Alfalfa Weevil Stem Count Decision Guide.
The stem count decision guide is included in K-State?s Alfalfa Insect Management for 2000 publication. It is designed to help producers decide if an insecticide treatment is necessary.
The publication is available at the Marion County Extension Office, Courthouse Annex, and at K-State Research and Extension?s Internet site (http:/www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/ PUB/LIBRARY/entoml/entmlpub.htm).
The guide?s recommendations cover situations in which alfalfa sells for $35, $70 and more per ton. The recommended thresholds for control treatments decline as alfalfa?s market value increases.
Thank you volunteers. April 9- 15 is National Volunteers Week and the Marion County Extension Council would like to thank all the people who volunteer to support the County Extension Council?s educational programs.
The many volunteers who serve in the 4-H program, cooperators who help with demonstration plots, implement dealers who provide equipment for safety courses and field days and the many farmers and businesses who contribute in numerous ways to our program.
Our hats are off to you. We truly appreciate your willingness to help and share your time and knowledge with others.
Implanting pays. One of the most profitable management practices that a cow-calf producer can follow, according to K-State research, is implanting to stimulate additional growth and improve weaning weights.
Implanting suckling calves is an excellent management practice. Even a poor implant response should give a five- to 10-pound advantage and that would more than cover the cost of implants and labor to do it. But most of the research data shows implanting provides a 15 to 25 pound improvement in weaning weights.
Both steers and heifers should be implanted. Research has shown that implanting steers and heifers at two to four months age is ideal.
Replacement heifers implanted at two to four months of age, have not shown an impairment in reproductive performance. So in cases where a producer does not know which heifers they intend to keep as replacements, implanting at two to four months should not cause problems.
By extension
