Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

TIM'S TIPS

UPDATE FOR

Bark wounds: One of the surest ways of killing young trees and shrubs in the landscape is to use string line trimmers around the stems of the plants. These trimmers knock the bark off of the plant, often completely girdling the plant.

Even though the plant does not die immediately, it is still girdled and will die in 6 to 12 months. String line trimmers should never be used next to trees that have not developed a thick fissured trunk.

Southern blight of tomatoes and bell peppers: Southern blight is caused by the fungal organism, sclerotium rolfsii, can be a problem in home gardens as well as commercial fields. Initial symptoms are a general wilting of the plant. The plant finally dies.

The base of the plant is girdled with a white moldy growth covering the decayed stem. Normally, embedded in this fungal growth are light brown bodies about the size of mustard seed. High temperature and moisture levels are conducive for optimum disease development.

Control measures include sanitation, fumigation, crop rotation and spraying with a fungicide.

Houseplant rejuvenation: Houseplants that have outgrown the size of their location in the home can be cut back severely during the summer months.

Relocate the plants to a shady spot and cut back as much as needed. If the plant has not been repotted in recent years, now would be an ideal time to do so.

Plants that are already in large pots may be repotted back in their original pot by removing the plant from the pot, pruning back the roots and removing much of the potting soil. Refill with new potting soil and water thoroughly. Root pruning should only be used if the top of the plant is cut back at the same time.

HAY LOSSES

As we plan for our hay needs this winter, we not only need to consider losses which will occur during hay storage, but also losses which will occur during hay curing, which is influenced by air temperature and cloud cover.

These figures pertain to alfalfa, but similar trends would exist for grass hay.

The author of the article I read stated that on cloudy days, about 100- BTU of energy per hour may strike each square foot of a hay meadow. On sunny days the value is 280-BTU. He assumed a temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using these values, he calculated that about 34 hours of drying time would be required to cure hay during cloudy, wet weather as compared to about 12 hours during sunny, dry weather. I took his figures and assume that 9 hours of drying time occurred each day.

If all of these assumptions are close, curing time figures out to be over 3 days during bad weather and 1 day during good weather.

Freshly cut alfalfa hay likely contains about 80 percent moisture at the time it is cut. So does bermudagrass.

Hay may potentially lose about 3.2 percent of its dry matter every 12 hours following cutting. This loss is due to plant respiration as the cut plants continue to breathe as they dried in the windrow.

If these two assumptions are similar for bermudagrass, then freshly cut bermudagrass that requires 34 hours to field cure to a safe baling moisture will respire away 9 percent of its yield.

BEEF CATTLE

Minerals and vitamins play a role in the health and productivity of beef cattle herds. A mineral deficiency can reduce both the consumption and digestibility of forages and other feeds.

A symptom of mineral deficiency often seen in beef cow herds is reduced milk production. The result is slower calf gains. Another symptom, the failure of cows to breed regularly, lowers the calf crop percentage.

Fewer and lighter weight calves mean reduced beef production. Feeding growing cattle a diet low in minerals reduces both the rate and efficiency of animal gains.

Minerals are classified into two groups: macrominerals, or those needed in large amounts, and microminerals or trace minerals needed in small amounts.