The Shelby County Forestry Field Day will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. This free family event will provide the opportunity to walk woodland trails, watch chainsaw sculpting, see a portable sawmill in operation, and view pollinator habitat. There will be Woodland Crafts for kids, a “Candy Scramble” at 2:15 p.m. and Smokey Bear is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m.!
An ODNR Forester will be onsite to walk the woods and answer questions about timber management, dying ash trees, and tree identification. There will also be a Pheasants Forever Wildlife Biologist present to talk about habitat improvement.
This Field Day will be held at Jim and Karen Scheer’s Farm, using the gravel lane across the road from 8800 Tawawa-Maplewood Road, south of state Route 47 on the east side of the county. Hot dogs, apples and beverages will be available.
There will be a Soil Health and Cover Crop Field Day on Monday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Wapakoneta FFA farm located on Redskin Trail, north side of Wapakoneta. Dr. Steve Cullman will be speaking about soil health.
Cover crops in the plots were seeded with an inter-seeder when the corn was in the five- to six-collar stage, which is much earlier than most seeding methods. This latest method for seeding cover crops will be demonstrated and discussed.
The field day will be held outdoors, so dress accordingly, although an alternate location has been secured in case of inclement weather. This event is free, but registration is requested by Oct. 21. You can register by calling the Auglaize OSU Extension office at 419-739-6580.
An Introduction to Aquaculture and Aquaponics Workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the OSU South Centers in Piketon. Some of the topics to be addressed include introduction to pond and recirculating aquaculture systems, aquaponics basics, water quality management, business planning, marketing considerations, and fish and plant selection for aquaponics.
The cost for the workshop is $45 per person ($75 for two from the same farm), which includes a light breakfast, lunch, and materials. Attendees will tour the OSU South Centers facilities that include outdoor ponds, an indoor recirculating system, and more. You can pick up a flier at our office or go to http://ohioaquaculture.org/introaquaworkshop2016.html for more information. Registration deadline is Oct. 22.
Harvest has started! That’s the good news! Unfortunately, we’ve been hearing multiple reports of Diplodia Ear Rot in corn. According to Pierce Paul, this is one of the most common ear diseases of corn in Ohio. The most characteristic symptom and the easiest way to tell Diplodia ear rot apart from other ear diseases such as Gibberella and Fusarium is the presence of white mycelia of the fungus growing over and between kernels, usually starting from the base of the ear.
Under highly favorable weather conditions, entire ears may become colonized, turn grayish-brown in color and lightweight, with kernels, cobs, and ear leaves that are rotted and soft. Rotted kernels may germinate prematurely, particularly if the ears remain upright after physiological maturity. The greatest impact of this disease is grain yield and quality reduction. Mycotoxins have not been associated with this disease in US, although animals often refuse to consume contaminated grain.
The disease will continue to develop in the field as long as conditions remain favorable. Fields with high incidence of Diplodia ear rot should be harvested as soon as possible and quickly dried to 14 percent moisture and cooled to 50o degrees F before storage. For pictures and more information on this and other issues, you can read the full articles at agcrops.osu.edu; click on “CORN Newsletter.”
