tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90380942356590810612024-02-18T18:19:08.217-08:00RD4AG--- Research Designed for Agriculture Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-21887966314602645042020-02-05T14:08:00.000-08:002020-02-05T14:08:02.949-08:002020 NAICC Presentation Imagery for Pest and Agronomic Evaluations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Focus on various ideas and techniques for evaluating disease, insects etc, in research plots. A step by step example of using Image J for Canopy coverage evaluations</span></b></div>
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<br />Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-63332802730270321812019-12-27T15:09:00.002-08:002019-12-27T15:09:37.673-08:00Our Christmas Present this Year was more Cold and Wet<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-sgNDsdlagyw_u9HO3D1d9zDtqbLbXzfXwLPVYmSXW3HKHNAYPrzp_n2Vn558932Z8dVxdQdChYyaJqcMb84DtsaRo4YxuZJ2lc1sooeAqND-tgNWYvbrA5nO6eq6GODr8WhHOmDLlRN/s1600/IMG_2788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-sgNDsdlagyw_u9HO3D1d9zDtqbLbXzfXwLPVYmSXW3HKHNAYPrzp_n2Vn558932Z8dVxdQdChYyaJqcMb84DtsaRo4YxuZJ2lc1sooeAqND-tgNWYvbrA5nO6eq6GODr8WhHOmDLlRN/s320/IMG_2788.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Morning Spray to Spinach- <br />the only forecasted dry morning to work!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is now two days after Christmas and we are behind in many ways... plantings have been delayed by the regular rainfalls since Mid November.... about the time it gets close to being dry enough for real tractor work, we get another storm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The crops we do have in the ground are SLOW! At this point we are about 42 days behind our long term average for GDU's (Growing Degree Units) on the 50-86 scale... that is a bunch... most of them lost since mid September... our fall crops are way behind... so the double whammy... not getting much accomplished, and what we have gotten done is lamenting cold weather and not growing. The bug pressure has been slow as well. But we are anticipating lots of Mildew in the lettuce and spinach at this point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the summer, when we hit 115, we rationalize that it is a dry heat.... at the moment, we would love to be DRY, and everything around us would appreciate some HEAT... you never met a bigger bunch of whiners than desert people having to wait for things to dry out... A VP at one of the bigger lettuce companies I know was REALLY unhappy that one of their</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> growers missed 4 planting dates after Thanksgiving. Missing planting dates is a real sin in the produce game... Walmart et al want their 10,000 boxes a day whether you have weather problems or not... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is hoping the New Year brings lots of GREAT weather, Productive Projects, and Fruitful Crops! </span>Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-80106835461970087662019-12-14T14:24:00.001-08:002019-12-14T14:24:58.155-08:00Conference Report for American Seed Trade Corn Soy Sorghum Conference in Chicago Dec 10-12 2019<br />
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Back from our trip to ASTA
in Chicago. Overall the conference was Solid!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here are some of my takeaways and comments from some of the excellent
presentations, conversations with others, and walking the trade exhibition:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
presentations on Wheat acreage reminded us that acreage is down to 46 million
acres, a drop of 25% over the past few years, no end in sight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I noticed in the list of attendees that several long-term
folks I know in the wheat business were not there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rumors of
perhaps 100 million acres of corn in 2020, perhaps 82 million acres of Soy...
but who knows?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lots of discussion on various breeding programs and the
changes and cutbacks of various programs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Consensus was that some powerhouses in breeding will fall behind
due to lack of continued effort to stay ahead and that the rise of smaller,
more niche / regional companies will become more important<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The big
boys in room are doing lots more investing and acquisitions of new technologies
/ fields of interest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Examples would be:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Monsanto buying much of Novozymes a few years back<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">BASF investing in Equinom for pulses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Corteva screening outside Biostimulants<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a significant change from the “Not invented here”
syndrome typical of the past and opens windows for more niche companies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Our
Company (RD4AG) focus is small plot research and there were several
reaffirmations and trends I noticed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">An excellent presentation by Alex Cochran with Corteva on
challenges in field trials with Biologicals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">His Key Points re-enforced what we believe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Field variability is the foundation of most evil in small
plot work<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Statistical design and trial layout are key<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At RD4AG,
we spend untold hours working on good layouts, spatial balance, proper block
orientation for the suspected variability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This has paid off big benefits in our programs, and there is more to do
as we are always learning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Objective assessments from remote sensing is where things
have to go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I could
not agree more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We (RD4AG) are spending
LOTS of effort here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In our work, Proximal sensing (a fancy way of saying we are
close to the target with our cameras, heat sensors, etc by mounting them on a
tractor or other field system) is more important that drones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the concept is the same<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hard
numbers from Objective Assessments are needed <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here is a
list of what I see/or we are working on at RD4AG<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Image analysis for canopy cover, color composition, etc, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">NDVI, CWSI, NDWI and the whole alphabet soup of various
spectral evaluations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Instrumental determined heights and biomass from LIDAR, Sonar,
or multiple image analysis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">High speed Canopy temperatures accurate to less than one
tenth of a percent error form IR Radiometers, etc for moisture stress<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The list goes on and on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dr.
Cochran showed some compelling data showing that trained visual observers are
not nearly as accurate as remote sensing, which is no surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level5 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But we still have to ground truth and get in the field to assure
things make sense.(Pun intended)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Many new advances in Research Equipment to be seen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Smart Planters are on the way<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Variable spacing,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Variable
in furrow applications<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Actual
seed treating as it falls through the planter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Combines are getting more technical in the efficiency and
data they will collect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Software will be able to handle the Geo tagged Objective
assessments noted above and assist in the analysis of plots much more efficiently
than current methods<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Drone software and capabilities are racing ahead<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When it comes to Research, we have to stay on track to be
able to provide the best tool for the task--there are many tools, but not every
task is for every tool, nor is every tool for all tasks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 107%;">These are exciting times!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What we do now, and how we do it in field research is MUCH different than
10 years ago, and I cannot really imagine what we will be doing 10 years from
now!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-34944004643448735852019-11-18T01:22:00.002-08:002019-12-14T14:45:29.625-08:00Using NDVI for BioStimulant Assessment<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN">By Fabian Sanchez</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">RD4AG
is working to expand knowledge on the modes of action and effectiveness of
biostimulants in agricultural crops. One of the tools we rely on is the
Normalized Differential Vegetative Index (NDVI) to assess live green vegetation
in our BioStimulant product performance trials.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #222222;">With the advent of numerous innovations, there is more
opportunity than ever to improve our ability to evaluate the health and well-being
of plants in the field. Achieving accurate and useful field assessment data can
be challenging and costly and the data is often fraught with background noise
from human error and subjective variabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>NDVI measurements can help us monitor research plots more efficiently.
These measurements can also lead to a larger analysis of vegetative properties to
assess BioStimulant impact including; leaf area index, chlorophyll
concentration, plant productivity, vigor, fractional vegetation cover,
accumulated rainfall, basic nutrient response, crop condition (identify
diseases), yield potential, stress, biomass, herbicide efficiency and the list
could go on. </span><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="file:///C:/Users/steve/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" style="cursor: move;" v:shapes="image3.png" /></a><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>NDVI uses the photosynthetically
active radiation spectral region of plants in the near-infrared and red
(visible) spectral region. The chlorophyll reflectance value needs to be
determined in order to understand the NDVI readings which are based on the
reflectance values from the plants using the two different wavelengths.
Chlorophyll is known to strongly absorb visible light from 400nm to 700nm<span style="color: #222222;"> for use in photosynthesis therefore, NDVI functionally obtains
the equivalence of simple infrared/red ratio as shown on the figure below.<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54J5qeJXOi2-G0yyQWKa3beiUYgbKwqEi4KAyVv5kMK3s39KR_Nf6khN4e7O78TG8Zq52p-nCccDRAT1w4YZ53R0gvj2m0LV49Hk6b3yCWqAE0D9A8jndNu9L3MCgtdfbmQLh8_L6qebi/s1600/ndvi+formula.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="57" data-original-width="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54J5qeJXOi2-G0yyQWKa3beiUYgbKwqEi4KAyVv5kMK3s39KR_Nf6khN4e7O78TG8Zq52p-nCccDRAT1w4YZ53R0gvj2m0LV49Hk6b3yCWqAE0D9A8jndNu9L3MCgtdfbmQLh8_L6qebi/s1600/ndvi+formula.png" /></a></div>
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</div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknBmRECxG_MfUu-BUmd4sCSk5QCUZdvtDTh0En1kQwhnC-hDqAG_NfpqLZ093ejYB0saFVFraq6al64UEbM8sGcPuaBtnCrzQeFF-p7J7e6KujMKN32Wa0rNijoJ6cO6MZl_uwtTF2hyJ/s1600/Greenseeker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="320" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknBmRECxG_MfUu-BUmd4sCSk5QCUZdvtDTh0En1kQwhnC-hDqAG_NfpqLZ093ejYB0saFVFraq6al64UEbM8sGcPuaBtnCrzQeFF-p7J7e6KujMKN32Wa0rNijoJ6cO6MZl_uwtTF2hyJ/s200/Greenseeker.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222;">NDVI is directly related to the photosynthetic capacity
and thus energy absorption of plant canopies. Our instrumentation is the
Greenseeker handheld crop sensor by Trimble (Fig. 2.) and its </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;">sensor displays the meas</span><span lang="EN">ured value in terms of an NDVI reading (ranging from 0.00 to 0.99) on
its LCD display screen as described in their website. Therefore, the greener
plant material there is the higher the NDVI reading is which complies with the
principle of having low red-light absorbed by the chlorophyll in the plant and
high near-infrared light reflectance.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The
Greenseeker is an active light source optical sensor which means it provides
its own light so that the time of the day will not be a factor affecting the
measurement. </span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: 0.5in;">There are some environmental variables
that can have an impact on data quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If wind is blowing plants sufficiently to change which side of the
leaves the sensor is reading, there can be substantial differences, especially
in crops that may have small hairs or different textures on the undersides of
foliage. Naturally, the sensor does not differentiate between weed and crop
species so care must be taken when weeds are present to assure accurate data. </span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Operational
use after calibration and charging consists of holding the device with the sensor
directed at the foliage, pressing the trigger button, and walking at a steady
pace through the target plot areas maintaining a specific height range of 24”
to 48” (60-120 cm) above the crop canopy (depending on the size and type of the
crop).</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6xSZDBT9IqdUrCpfg6FjQOm8BODurhY9pApVvhRGFgSD4J0_POI-giyJGmh79NvWAFecCB7gf3raB-SRhOsKZT16GNNgACYGOTEQa2836kxxe1AWYQGxbjtg7JAYFvTZArTE8IgfjCNv/s1600/greenseeker+scan+area.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="241" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6xSZDBT9IqdUrCpfg6FjQOm8BODurhY9pApVvhRGFgSD4J0_POI-giyJGmh79NvWAFecCB7gf3raB-SRhOsKZT16GNNgACYGOTEQa2836kxxe1AWYQGxbjtg7JAYFvTZArTE8IgfjCNv/s400/greenseeker+scan+area.png" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Above i</span><span style="text-align: start;">llustrates the sensor’s oval field of view showing how the size is proportional to height and approximates 10” (25cm) wide at 24” (60cm) above the ground and 20” (50cm) wide at 48” (120cm) above the ground, Trimble. An error message will be displayed on the screen if you are too high or too close to the crop.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6xSZDBT9IqdUrCpfg6FjQOm8BODurhY9pApVvhRGFgSD4J0_POI-giyJGmh79NvWAFecCB7gf3raB-SRhOsKZT16GNNgACYGOTEQa2836kxxe1AWYQGxbjtg7JAYFvTZArTE8IgfjCNv/s1600/greenseeker+scan+area.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9038094235659081061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="file:///C:/Users/steve/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" style="cursor: move;" v:shapes="image3.png" /></a><span lang="EN"></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The
sensors on the instrumentation are emitting brief bursts of red and infrared
light and automatically measuring each type of light that is reflected from the
plant to obtain the NDVI reading. The device will display an NDVI value once
per second during operation and reaches a maximum interval of 60 seconds,
therefore, we want to record at least 10 seconds for each plot to collect a
representative data set. After walking the desired area, release the button and
the sensor will display the final average value of all the readings that were
taken.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In
order to establish favorable results, consistency in the plant population and
agronomics are key components to success.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It is important that only the same crop and relative </span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: 0.5in;">growth stage be compared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, taking a reading of one plot at 6 leaf and another at 30
leaf is not an accurate comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intuitively,
comparing a wheat reading with a spinach reading does not provide useful
information. The algorithms in these instruments require at least 50% of the
field of view of the sensor to be covered by vegetation for accurate measure of
“Greenness” that equates to productivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bare ground typically reads 0.13, so less than 50% plant coverage of the
soil in our experience is most useful in evaluating weed control if weeds are
dying or breaking through the program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If we want % ground cover with plants, we are now using imagery and
color thresholding as discussed in RD4AG’s white paper on Canopy Coverage by
Connor Osgood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For plant productivity
evaluations of crops, we tend to wait for the crop to grow a bit larger before
we start the NDVI assessments in our trials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since NDVI also depends on the geometry of illumination and anisotropy
of the target we continue to evaluate crops using the same standard procedure
and hence maintain the position of the target of interest within the swath of
the instrument at a specific range so we have consistency that can be relied
upon to tease out subtle differences in crop performance.</span></span></div>
</div>
Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-21295211251440895592017-11-20T10:41:00.001-08:002017-11-20T10:41:47.340-08:00Drought Trials--- what kind of drought are we trying to test?<div class="MsoNormal">
We do our share of drought work. Yuma Arizona is drier than most of the Sahara
Desert—we receive only 2.8 inches (75mm) of precipitation a year! When combined with our two growing seasons
for most crops, this region lends itself to this kind of work. But all not drought programs are created
equal. Giving some thought to what the type
of drought situation you want to simulate is paramount to determining the right
approach. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Drought means that the plant is in moisture stress for a
period of time. That period can be
anything for a couple of hours on a hot afternoon to being severely water
deficient for most of the plants life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cause or reason for the drought is also pertinent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">A situation where there is rationing of water,
and now a grower is forced to grow his crops on 10, 20 or 50% less water than
“normal”. </span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Perhaps the situation is that the water is only
available on a schedule, and the grower gets it every 7, 14 or? Days regardless
of the plants need.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It could be a dry land situation, and the rains
do not come for 3 weeks when the plants need it most.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How to administer the drought becomes critical. Typically, we like to use drip irrigation as
we can assure uniformity, and we can regulate and confine it accurately. Surface water can be utilized in some
situations. Sprinklers can also be used,
but again, only in some situations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The generic program we see requests a percentage reduction
in water applied. Reductions of 25 and 50%
are common requests. So, getting to the
first discussion above… What is the “normal 100%” amount of available
moisture? We have worked with some very high-tech
software to predict moisture needs using soils, crop growth stages and forecast
temperatures. To date we have watched
them all FAIL miserably. Corn in a full
“pineapple roll” at 9 am when it should be fine for several more days. And we have followed conventional wisdom on
irrigation and cut back 20% only to have no effect on yield at all. All this means is that drought work is as
much art as it is science.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When do we want drought stress? Do we want to get the crop
out of the ground and then reduce it?
Most places with wet or snowy winters and then spring plantings come out
of the winter wet. This means that the
crop comes up in moisture, and the suffering is later. Many in the corn belt feel it is V-8 before
they can dry things down significantly.
This is the most common scenario, and based on our experience, much
drought stress at germination is next to impossible to overcome and have a
normal yield.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do we want to grow the crop with just enough water and then at
fruit set, or tasseling, etc, we want to stress for a month as if the rains did
not come or the reservoir went dry? To
do this effectively we need to keep the lower soil horizons water quantity as
dry as possible so when we induce the stress, the roots don't make up the
deficit by getting the water from the lower depths. (The same concept holds
true for nutrient deficiency trials.) In
our experience, a full flood irrigation will fill those lower profiles and deep-rooted
crops like corn or tomatoes will take 30-60 days to show much stress. But this strategy can backfire. In summer of 2017 here in Yuma, we were
keeping our tomatoes and watermelons on the light side of wet, with not much at
all for available moisture in the second foot of soil. June 20, the first day of summer we had 120 Fahrenheit.
—the 4<sup>th</sup> hottest day on record, and abnormally early. We were caught flat footed and the crops went
down in a hurry without having a reserve of deep water to pull from.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whatever scenario is targeted, a decision has to be made
about frequency of the water. Are we
putting on a little bit every day or three with “normal” being an acre inch and
the reduced regimes ¾”? Or are we
watering every other day with the normal amount one day and a reduced quantity
every other irrigation? Another
possibility is to water Several acre inches every 10-14 days like we would with
a surface irrigation, and then withhold water Longer on the dry section. Part of this decision is if we are mimicking
a situation of water rationing, or if we are looking at a dryland scenario of
no rain for a few weeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When in a water rationing situation, most growers will water
it out of the ground well, and then irrigate for a good fruit set and try to
cut back some during the bulking stage.
But so much depends on the crop.
Shorting tomatoes or peppers during the fruit bulking growth stage will
typically cause blossom end rot, even if there is enough water to make most of
the tonnage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This discussion can be endless! Determining the situation you want to mimic
is the starting point. The more we
understand what the product might do, combined with lots of discussion about what
might and might not work is the foundation of a good trial.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-55653959444131115212017-08-16T09:43:00.000-07:002017-08-16T09:43:56.820-07:00Well I guess we made the grade...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://yuma.yuma.thebestawards.org/PressReleaseub.aspx?cc=DKHZ-TBCX-65KK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RD4AG been selected for the 2017 Best of Yuma Awards for Agricultural Research.</a>Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-26294238062018382272015-01-11T21:22:00.000-08:002015-01-13T10:07:17.177-08:00Mite we talk Strawberries?<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8t6Waz1mIRFX0BAfSZVzoabPKSTSDPbaeV4wnE-auXQverLG3pfuui2Qcxjp_fbfdWSNdCCplYfTWVJzPw7xkPG_6RsAESGDheiGQypvfkJ-7W627K0z6kNfgQUNIyCgNyP3U9D4qyrJ/s1600/Nice+view+Strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8t6Waz1mIRFX0BAfSZVzoabPKSTSDPbaeV4wnE-auXQverLG3pfuui2Qcxjp_fbfdWSNdCCplYfTWVJzPw7xkPG_6RsAESGDheiGQypvfkJ-7W627K0z6kNfgQUNIyCgNyP3U9D4qyrJ/s1600/Nice+view+Strawberry.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberries at<br />
RD4AG</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We have been doing strawberry work off and on for the past few years. The low Desert of CA/AZ has been producing December-March fruit for 10 years or so, and there are around a thousand acres down here each year. The majority of the plantings are in the Coachella Valley, closer to Palm Springs, with the rest scattered around. For the past few years we have planted a small acreage here in Yuma of commercial style Strawberries--raised beds with plastic and drip irrigated, with a first of October planting of a commercial variety. Steve Lucich with Norcal Nursery in Red Bluff, California has been a great help to our efforts, and we sincerely appreciate his and the rest of the staff at Norcal Nursery's support. Ron Sakuma, one of the original brothers who formed Norcal actually worked with us 25 years ago when we played with Strawberries in Colorado, but that is another story...<br />
<br />
For pest issues we have the usual Botrytis fruit rots, and more interestingly, we typically have a significant amount of Anthracnose as a flower / fruit issue. To the point where we won't harvest much if we do not control it. Powdery mildew is sporadic here.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtG0myeGOROb9KjS042omtpPyMEhR56cd2Iszmki6L6mh-xnR1JrosYXGpbY28_poG7v5UKuB2gSpRyFZ3NvznWaKfrJZIixZ3TLR3ni-JkUKwtP4zp6eXf73c-HkUkdsSq7VHnRtWJfy_/s1600/TwoSpotMite_stages2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtG0myeGOROb9KjS042omtpPyMEhR56cd2Iszmki6L6mh-xnR1JrosYXGpbY28_poG7v5UKuB2gSpRyFZ3NvznWaKfrJZIixZ3TLR3ni-JkUKwtP4zp6eXf73c-HkUkdsSq7VHnRtWJfy_/s1600/TwoSpotMite_stages2.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Spotted Mites <i>(Image by J. Bundy</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also have our fair share of issues with two spotted mites. Last year they surprised us and were a real issue in our trials--except of course in our mite trials, where they were welcome!! The planting we have in this winter has a low level of pressure as the weather is cool, and we are nurturing them so that when the weather warms back up in a month or so, we will have a thriving population where we can do trials without the concern of either a) over spray from the commercial grower, or b) complaints from the commercial grower about how we are bombing his field with mites parachuting in...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-uW7jvgef225eOfvH5FPDO01YzDjyxAL9xZ6diwbJWQswBadbFkvyklL9ma5paKMyoi5Z8MDyACYPJmkflO95kuEzK_1C-uSXez8HcPRC7KkZWGS2bkZiO5no5BFsI2Zqnv2m5w0-5d4/s1600/Iron+strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-uW7jvgef225eOfvH5FPDO01YzDjyxAL9xZ6diwbJWQswBadbFkvyklL9ma5paKMyoi5Z8MDyACYPJmkflO95kuEzK_1C-uSXez8HcPRC7KkZWGS2bkZiO5no5BFsI2Zqnv2m5w0-5d4/s1600/Iron+strawberry.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iron is an issue in Desert Strawberries</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You can also see in the image at the right that Iron can be an issue in our soils, and strawberries are the proverbial Canary ... we do a reasonable amount of fertility work since at 15 or 20 thousand dollars an acre for commercial fields, getting the growers to shut down their fertilizer program is challenging. Same is true with transplant issues such as Phytophthora. We have the option to keep the fumigation off the blocks, and the mortality from damping off problems is somewhat frightening in the non-fumigated areas.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzdzAtDlFpQ8DobEx4BNaj7lBJ2IGJhR4GqWfu3Cf5Gl86C4S8fpgONOoLTVtxCJlFNE8BgIzlIvKO6VlOX2kgboBcadSD2VYcx4rflclEe0fVofU31njoJnYlMxe4uEp-5cWIiLkxXcC/s1600/CT2A0759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzdzAtDlFpQ8DobEx4BNaj7lBJ2IGJhR4GqWfu3Cf5Gl86C4S8fpgONOoLTVtxCJlFNE8BgIzlIvKO6VlOX2kgboBcadSD2VYcx4rflclEe0fVofU31njoJnYlMxe4uEp-5cWIiLkxXcC/s1600/CT2A0759.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The one on the right does not look too happy-- <br />
root diseases strike again! The one on the left has<br />
worm damage and the center of the flower is frosted </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXZESDh1fLFT-G1ZZ-e_BBfnz4KyF7loaxTRDn8-R29-T5oSMe-JYKuxjnOtVCOAMIU85NUB04fVxuKq5b6RZYuBQ_ImGBq66ApV9a0sAyhbA1WDrmEQnenH0MbWv-kIxCwygY0zy1Ccp/s1600/CT2A0771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXZESDh1fLFT-G1ZZ-e_BBfnz4KyF7loaxTRDn8-R29-T5oSMe-JYKuxjnOtVCOAMIU85NUB04fVxuKq5b6RZYuBQ_ImGBq66ApV9a0sAyhbA1WDrmEQnenH0MbWv-kIxCwygY0zy1Ccp/s1600/CT2A0771.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phytophthora--Killer of Youth...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
One of the more interesting things about strawberries is that there is a limit on how many people want... at the beginning of harvest (December), our staff are arm wrestling to see who gets to take them home... and by March, everyone looks the other way when they walk past the boxes...<br />
<br />
Whatever your testing needs are for Strawberries, let us know and we will work with you on a method!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-17811237303623231182014-11-08T16:56:00.002-08:002014-11-08T16:56:10.980-08:00Planting in YumaPlanting more plots, this time in the Yuma area... in the Winter Wheat Planting in Montana post from last month, we were working at some points, only 50 miles from the Canadian border... here in this series, we are only 5 miles from the Mexican Border...<br />
<br />
We are using a PlotSpider, a self propelled planter / tool bar system set up to plant trays of seeds rather than envelopes as we usually do. This is a fairly specialized piece of equipment, and this is an older model we are resurrecting in cooperation with Dr. Oly Cantu at Arizona Plant Breeders.<br />
<br />
The system and machine worked fine. Oh there were the usual new equipment blues like forgetting to put the drills in the ground, but overall, it worked great. And hopefully our alleys will be straight!!!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKU61JaRZSP12s64godDfQaAqdhRIHI-wg-Xt6z03eOhFREkspxA1vYTWZh8eZqXYfGVG1xDu3CLxLOG5FGghb1c96FgNirhosIH5yuu4lBpuQUh26qdfPfDN4x9JSH5YRT1NYUt4fY0X/s1600/_MG_6066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKU61JaRZSP12s64godDfQaAqdhRIHI-wg-Xt6z03eOhFREkspxA1vYTWZh8eZqXYfGVG1xDu3CLxLOG5FGghb1c96FgNirhosIH5yuu4lBpuQUh26qdfPfDN4x9JSH5YRT1NYUt4fY0X/s1600/_MG_6066.jpg" height="364" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calibrating to plant 4 foot plots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjpwVDfa58WmNNc1_maqMdmWJ014o4pg1KvsXrlyKWrg2GQkefnHDlsQwhsCzeLWhALjon1egKVIFG5oDVdMT6kFHpcvnM-_VQhre7Vmoc49lmQL6t6w6zC3gDEiyZe3uSo4LDc2Z_w0h/s1600/_MG_6072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjpwVDfa58WmNNc1_maqMdmWJ014o4pg1KvsXrlyKWrg2GQkefnHDlsQwhsCzeLWhALjon1egKVIFG5oDVdMT6kFHpcvnM-_VQhre7Vmoc49lmQL6t6w6zC3gDEiyZe3uSo4LDc2Z_w0h/s1600/_MG_6072.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny watching the cone and trip marks as we calibrate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhVfDKzETdf4SR_IL6OLHYkbwiXCW3YTUdDI8o1iZfYHMHld-zEkbp4aMLDxnMuOg2wTYKo-imaNsb9pSZPiuV_XEZnYSG7gdq3M7inGRnIUks8JHkYJ3ewOolkdeXZb9b06Cqwo1KgYs/s1600/_MG_6057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhVfDKzETdf4SR_IL6OLHYkbwiXCW3YTUdDI8o1iZfYHMHld-zEkbp4aMLDxnMuOg2wTYKo-imaNsb9pSZPiuV_XEZnYSG7gdq3M7inGRnIUks8JHkYJ3ewOolkdeXZb9b06Cqwo1KgYs/s1600/_MG_6057.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny working to keep the rows straight while Cody runs the <br />
tray planter in some 25 foot Canola plots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qFlF56p5cjO3KorEOwe90deq6H2dDHgdvssRLPfZMAkaurk6vh55n94V5VlREquZg_C4UPvi6iB8nCDpmZuJtOY1pL_S8ZSrmMJ2ZExoNiFLZHnFz2StqqHfwJEvFo1Iu1t3TRhfBITa/s1600/_MG_6063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qFlF56p5cjO3KorEOwe90deq6H2dDHgdvssRLPfZMAkaurk6vh55n94V5VlREquZg_C4UPvi6iB8nCDpmZuJtOY1pL_S8ZSrmMJ2ZExoNiFLZHnFz2StqqHfwJEvFo1Iu1t3TRhfBITa/s1600/_MG_6063.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canola seed in the cone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXx_Yux831YVNnT7jsijNG5TXmz5bVue40eyvRn8yUnzJAqqW8pwDi74Sii7CK-HTUkSixDKb6UVx3K98Dm2DQGpvNLvRW2dgzo9UFz0l1iFseAuM99yzQkjNRIDT_U-jamW_Sziqr9g9/s1600/_MG_6085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXx_Yux831YVNnT7jsijNG5TXmz5bVue40eyvRn8yUnzJAqqW8pwDi74Sii7CK-HTUkSixDKb6UVx3K98Dm2DQGpvNLvRW2dgzo9UFz0l1iFseAuM99yzQkjNRIDT_U-jamW_Sziqr9g9/s1600/_MG_6085.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel driving as Brandy runs the trays and Cody calls the trip points <br />
in some 8 foot long wheat plots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qSzYpBwlLQcE08dG8oAmUrPgvXK9qsdB27Hn53LZ_x4P6DNPTeeW7XBOj6NTaKG0aSkUmXsZNMGNUHf_sbJFDW8wstxGOGWR6ugp9jxC5I7UuJFFf2IPdgkhYBFLQhSLqUAVsAMbRJT_/s1600/_MG_6090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qSzYpBwlLQcE08dG8oAmUrPgvXK9qsdB27Hn53LZ_x4P6DNPTeeW7XBOj6NTaKG0aSkUmXsZNMGNUHf_sbJFDW8wstxGOGWR6ugp9jxC5I7UuJFFf2IPdgkhYBFLQhSLqUAVsAMbRJT_/s1600/_MG_6090.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things moving smoothly--the buckets are to put spent trays into.</td></tr>
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<br />Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-54075493848623170152014-10-28T16:29:00.003-07:002014-10-28T18:49:38.161-07:00Winter Wheat Planting in MontanaA quick photo essay of the Winter Wheat planting season this fall, with lots of seed treatment trials...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpphDQ8fWA0qTPV7ngS4NcvF8X05MUR8SZf_DHsf7svRgleUUPhZ5cm67envNq_DXYOfLANHCOKzbpPQA8ZJbXsabiu7jEwSOZ_Fka66RFURStteSYgMCn4oHoZ3wtgXnbTIs8KVDK1cQ/s1600/CT2A9542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpphDQ8fWA0qTPV7ngS4NcvF8X05MUR8SZf_DHsf7svRgleUUPhZ5cm67envNq_DXYOfLANHCOKzbpPQA8ZJbXsabiu7jEwSOZ_Fka66RFURStteSYgMCn4oHoZ3wtgXnbTIs8KVDK1cQ/s1600/CT2A9542.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-41719324456537704502014-08-23T10:18:00.001-07:002014-08-25T09:33:49.783-07:00GPS Steering and Plot Work<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Auto-steer has been around for a while in the more expensive
tractors. I remember the first time I
saw someone making vegetable beds with a GPS system and auto-steer—WOW!! Traditionally, a farm would have one guy—a Prima
Donna usually—who was the Lister Driver (a lister is the shovel implement which
makes beds)... and this guy was revered for being able to drive straight and
with consistent guess rows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Guess Rows are the bane in row crops… a guess row is the space
between implement passes… Let’s say you have an 8 row Lister, which means it
has 9 identically shaped shovels spaced EXACTLY the same distance apart, and at
exactly the same depth mounted on a perfectly level tool bar. So those 8 rows are all the same. Same height, and of course, all the same
distance from peak of the row to the peak of the adjacent rows. In our case with vegetables, that peak to
peak distance is 42.0 inches. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">So you make a pass and you have 8 beautiful beds…you get to the
other end of the field and then you get ready to drive back. In the old days we used a marker. The marker was a shank with a small shovel of
some flavor which was set so that it was in the middle of the next pass with
the tractor. The idea being that you
would drive over that line and everything would be straight and even. And this is where the “Lister Driver”
excelled… he could drive that line straight as an arrow, and be only an inch or
two off. And he was king. Everything else hinged on his straight
rows. The cultivating, the spraying,
harvesting all went much better when the rows were straight and even.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">So our mystical Lister Driver would make his turn and then get
lined up on the mark… usually requiring a couple of backups and pull forwards
to get this 28 foot implement mounted on a 300 horse tractor exactly right. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The advent of GPS accuracy, brought about after President Clinton, (during lulls between sessions with Monica) signed the bill which removed the
distortion from the navigation satellites and allows sub-inch precision with the right receivers.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">So now most anyone can drive a lister, do a
better job and be quicker.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Why? Because when
you make your turns, you don’t have to line up adjacent to the previous pass,
you can make a broader and easier turn, kick on the auto-steer when you are
close and the machine takes over and puts you right where you want to be.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95HTAdvbbwgVWdHSwVJZXDcPYjrQcoH8jjHcFfpm82M_UGeYz2jPQ9DTz_hMXZ_IwOIYFSv7clijMtr2byPZHswRI3wc7qjDZC7k0RjFmHoU7yrPgOXtQ7KBaQwYM4JO3Z_yEiVEnZpeg/s1600/IMG_9897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95HTAdvbbwgVWdHSwVJZXDcPYjrQcoH8jjHcFfpm82M_UGeYz2jPQ9DTz_hMXZ_IwOIYFSv7clijMtr2byPZHswRI3wc7qjDZC7k0RjFmHoU7yrPgOXtQ7KBaQwYM4JO3Z_yEiVEnZpeg/s1600/IMG_9897.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 Little Devils Farming's 28 foot Lister completing<br />
a pass in an RD4AG field soon to be in Lettuce. Take a<br />
tape, every bed is 42.0 inches apart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Back when, the suggestion that you could list 28 feet, move over
112 feet, and have that pass end up being in the right spot, and I mean DEAD
ON, was the dream at beer bashes and whiskey parties. And today, most anyone can do it. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">But these systems work best at 3 mph plus and they are a 30-50
thousand dollar add on to the hydraulic systems on to a new or used
tractor.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">And they don’t really put them
on small tractors like we use in research. A few years back Trimble decided to
appease the Tulip growers in Holland, designing a system which would be
accurate at the 2 kph (1.2 mph) speed they used when transplanting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">But those are still expensive ad ons—to do the plumbing into your
existing tractors hydraulics was pushing 20 grand, plus another 10 for the GPS
system. For most of us, that would more
than double the tractor value! We have
been working with our friends at Triangle Ag in Fort Benton, Montana on this
for a while. DeImna worked in
research while getting her degree at University of Idaho, so she was sympathetic to
our issues, and she made the error of not hanging up on me the first time I
called…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">With her help, we found a good used Trimble FMX GPS machine and
then we bought the components to put Trimble’s gear based steering wheel auto steer
system. It still cost us 10 grand but we felt like this was a bargain for technology we needed as the precision required of us gets tighter and tighter each season. We have been playing with this
for the past couple months, and we are finally getting it dialed into where we
want. The first tries found the machine
not sure which line it should be taking… we are doing passes of 5 or 6 or 7
feet at 1.5 mph when planting, and that takes different settings than 28 feet
at 5mph… but as you can see from the photos from yesterday’s corn planting, we
are getting the hang of it. Our guess
rows are 41-42-43 inches, on a nominal 42, so things are good. And this makes such a huge improvement in the
other tasks later… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0d9RpCL8rdU6rNx9uB83fCx6OSCf3yG-2OXlY1_tMHjSfS3bQ8cV6oQjnTcoRUeYX14HzBrMHlbcr8TI-ui9SVVUi27F2_ur40GMeTOofFDhw0H2KHKiOccm7zjtcDVem6hq34RxU_rO/s1600/Straight+rows+with+5410+planting+corn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0d9RpCL8rdU6rNx9uB83fCx6OSCf3yG-2OXlY1_tMHjSfS3bQ8cV6oQjnTcoRUeYX14HzBrMHlbcr8TI-ui9SVVUi27F2_ur40GMeTOofFDhw0H2KHKiOccm7zjtcDVem6hq34RxU_rO/s1600/Straight+rows+with+5410+planting+corn+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straight rows... Magical! The angled dirt ridge is from a previous operation.<br />
Those are Medjool Date palms in the back ground.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Wtx6rcCPY8BHVauvm92Z2OfTIU2BomftYurgnksH4whFj8uf09R62WhGakA-zSHpJZQ0xkJAGHW9DQdyQc_SuhIUVPnk9X47k8tEco6uFBvE0uaGxfFF04Eoec_nWBJm3td3tRMaz0iL/s1600/Straight+rows+with+5410+planting+corn+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Wtx6rcCPY8BHVauvm92Z2OfTIU2BomftYurgnksH4whFj8uf09R62WhGakA-zSHpJZQ0xkJAGHW9DQdyQc_SuhIUVPnk9X47k8tEco6uFBvE0uaGxfFF04Eoec_nWBJm3td3tRMaz0iL/s1600/Straight+rows+with+5410+planting+corn+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Excellent SRES Runabout Research Planter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-35849916233329504272014-04-26T21:10:00.001-07:002014-04-26T21:19:58.434-07:00Spring Part 2The month of April has been a busy one.... We wrapped up all of our lettuce work... we had about 15 acres of various lettuces in plots this past season... and that is a BUNCH (ha ha) of lettuce! The disease pressure this spring for Downy Mildew was as heavy as we have ever seen it... and the Powdery was plentiful as well... but we won't bore you with pictures of diseased plants...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHQ7z4qRg4l5cyHpLVzmj9u5oLXedtF8hKadhWXUGOaA2a9lIzsSVR_IvfJIUFm4oY3_mAPEhwUSdGybwpOFy52yqhDHk2HY9vbE6J8kaSFuLSBL7usEXFmMNr4I0rPT8luEf_If1sft9/s1600/IMG_4219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHQ7z4qRg4l5cyHpLVzmj9u5oLXedtF8hKadhWXUGOaA2a9lIzsSVR_IvfJIUFm4oY3_mAPEhwUSdGybwpOFy52yqhDHk2HY9vbE6J8kaSFuLSBL7usEXFmMNr4I0rPT8luEf_If1sft9/s1600/IMG_4219.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
We have a fairly large program in Montana this year, and while travelling up with the cone drill, we spotted this guy outside of Bozeman. No, we did not stop to pick him up. (thanks to Mike Beevers of Cal Ag Research for pointing this fellow out to us).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlYErH8pGyECWRGylhLO5wyoyrkcj99WdP8iHscCjnoQEeX6lqIw0W4IHrLrPF93PRqxxo1u0gYF1hZATGpZlqZsoaawAxwspiYLcqnt3KbZWO71ecoKNDF1nDYVq69VNZOFx_BXfNyC/s1600/IMG_4102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPlYErH8pGyECWRGylhLO5wyoyrkcj99WdP8iHscCjnoQEeX6lqIw0W4IHrLrPF93PRqxxo1u0gYF1hZATGpZlqZsoaawAxwspiYLcqnt3KbZWO71ecoKNDF1nDYVq69VNZOFx_BXfNyC/s1600/IMG_4102.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Once we arrived in Montana, this is what our plots looked like... this is at the Eddies corner trial site, but the others in Malta and Sun River looked about the same. We did not see any differences among any of our variety nor fertilizer nor seed treatment trials in regards to the amount of snow cover on the plots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip502ehYjwg61gOdUroNJbBXFYdYo-pg9VzoWwnygWUYyER3SZDDCwMG3PiujMqF7kP79yvMTM3NvXnBr2_s83AATImh9kwR5MRucwHloxtOWSolkpegC5B0FGoR6nIelRRnRxz62171Qu/s1600/IMG_4294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip502ehYjwg61gOdUroNJbBXFYdYo-pg9VzoWwnygWUYyER3SZDDCwMG3PiujMqF7kP79yvMTM3NvXnBr2_s83AATImh9kwR5MRucwHloxtOWSolkpegC5B0FGoR6nIelRRnRxz62171Qu/s1600/IMG_4294.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Meanwhile back in Yuma we were hitting 90 degree weather, even kissing 100 a couple of days... You would think that this would push the wheat along, but it did not... by the 10th or so we were able to get in and start slowly... things were PLENTY wet... most of the early samples had to be left out to air dry. Despite the way it may look here, Isaiah is NOT trying to dry out the plot with a leaf blower.... but there were times when it seemed like a good idea....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIJAFR68wdW9So_IxqatJw5ZSFmntCxk76C08MUZ7Yfzq24zPPLI4TyAJcSSiS45YoXEB6VF2wiX7O8-M8ldfeBaFgmCi9QbnzMxqh131dOI7nh7iyhZ_EFGVs2o7Wk0_acUesOBvrwhc/s1600/IMG_4155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIJAFR68wdW9So_IxqatJw5ZSFmntCxk76C08MUZ7Yfzq24zPPLI4TyAJcSSiS45YoXEB6VF2wiX7O8-M8ldfeBaFgmCi9QbnzMxqh131dOI7nh7iyhZ_EFGVs2o7Wk0_acUesOBvrwhc/s1600/IMG_4155.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Besides moisture, we also had bird issues at one of our farms, so we dragged out our bird netting and put it up over the the trial in the way of the flock... it is much more enjoyable to shoot the damn things, but one can only have so much fun... Putting up this kind of netting works well, and there is a certain amount of pleasure to be had watching the red-winged blackbirds frantically trying to get through the nets... if you decide you would like to make a blackbird pie, let us know and we will go get 4 and twenty for you...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQgs9JmBSjCg46nsFy1oSNjvQdKonYUwHj1VoKxhnCKj_fQlQdHvA8aZINjZ6OTP7-0twkom5A389iVQlXiDpveL4SY_w4kAWrQNOGoNQrXlc9gZKytrlPeMkkb_Mo9pjMNiH0U1ouTJj/s1600/IMG_4305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQgs9JmBSjCg46nsFy1oSNjvQdKonYUwHj1VoKxhnCKj_fQlQdHvA8aZINjZ6OTP7-0twkom5A389iVQlXiDpveL4SY_w4kAWrQNOGoNQrXlc9gZKytrlPeMkkb_Mo9pjMNiH0U1ouTJj/s1600/IMG_4305.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a> This year we took on a larger project with involved several one hectare breeder seed plots. Since the seed was due for export to Canada, we needed to clean it as well, which for the small cleaners normally found at a facility such as ours, cleaning 70,000 pounds of seed requires some new thinking. While in Montana dropping off equipment, I stumbled across an older Clipper Super 49BD thanks to the great assistance of our friend Ernest Bergsagel. Ernest tracked down some motors and had some augers made, and the set up is as you can see at the right...<br />
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But getting this beast out of the snow and onto a trailer proved challenging... it weighs 3000 pounds or so... as I was leaving Montana, I pulled into one cooperating Farmers yard, and Paul asks "You been robbing the Smithsonian?" I felt redeemed when I got to Great Falls and another Farmer, Chuck says "A 49! We have a 57 we use all the time (the 57 is the next bigger size).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHuMw3BfutEFLsOCWKuQNJn6qGKDlx9roa9I1yxOSrWZGeYQPw8WxWx3s63rtuWA1Q996obHZ_Bn1OU1EyHX6uqBhh4CAgRjR-ibsevDr80TVEtfSwfWLd_gwt6KdUcGGUNH7VWfePuzF/s1600/IMG_4312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHuMw3BfutEFLsOCWKuQNJn6qGKDlx9roa9I1yxOSrWZGeYQPw8WxWx3s63rtuWA1Q996obHZ_Bn1OU1EyHX6uqBhh4CAgRjR-ibsevDr80TVEtfSwfWLd_gwt6KdUcGGUNH7VWfePuzF/s1600/IMG_4312.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>This machine will handle better than 100 bu an hour, but not with us running it at the moment. It does a decent job, and once we get it fully setup, it will be excellent. Interestingly, this series was manufactured from 1938 to 1967. Ours was made in 1950. The parts guy at AT Ferrell, told me that he sells $120,000 dollars a month in parts for these "old" cleaners, shipping them all over the world. All of the pieces I asked him about he had in stock... The Clipper brand, and AT Ferrell have always been well respected, and I can see why... we have one of their desktop cleaners.. it will handle about 30 pounds an hour (and it cost us $2,300 new 10 years ago), but it has always been a good machine.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIWHcjDLru-ONDJovmvWMmhC0atoqIHdmGdjs8tTyaT5Q1Mm1i60m9stxP9e4pdQ_L5gsoZSTyv4QZCC8k-p6c-q3h-3yMFtDdmgT3Gui1jRcH6fcw36oduRbwzlVpIc4qBJci7v3uwaE/s1600/IMG_4301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIWHcjDLru-ONDJovmvWMmhC0atoqIHdmGdjs8tTyaT5Q1Mm1i60m9stxP9e4pdQ_L5gsoZSTyv4QZCC8k-p6c-q3h-3yMFtDdmgT3Gui1jRcH6fcw36oduRbwzlVpIc4qBJci7v3uwaE/s1600/IMG_4301.JPG" height="254" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gXclbG5SdMkknjibkrNqwUxHcfgbLKaP_Ge4wElCw9Ch4L4nIPv-sM5QISgU0A5iL-jz4pKD9-YZoJ2k_BvxwLBqgFrHyJCrcooYcwPrXUwWI4Sw44491PmfVKv-ceeFowQQiPawiDa9/s1600/IMG_4323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gXclbG5SdMkknjibkrNqwUxHcfgbLKaP_Ge4wElCw9Ch4L4nIPv-sM5QISgU0A5iL-jz4pKD9-YZoJ2k_BvxwLBqgFrHyJCrcooYcwPrXUwWI4Sw44491PmfVKv-ceeFowQQiPawiDa9/s1600/IMG_4323.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>But we still need to get the crop off, so we fitted Aiavata (our name for our bigger combine) with a pickup header and had the fields wind-rowed commercially, rigged up a transport system with Supersacks and stared to it... Not fast compared to the big machines of today, but it does Okay. The tank holds 3600 pounds or so of wheat, so we are able to get most of an acre with this early terminated and shortchanged wheat---which is intentional since we are trying to get it harvested early and shipped for seeding in the Northern part of the continent... the trade off is yield, and I should add, ease of harvest and cleaning.<br />
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And of course... we have had some fun weather...<br />
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Nothing like a little breeze on a spray day...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Spring in March!!</b></span></h2>
While the rest of the country is buried under cold and winter and snow, we are rolling fast and furious here in the desert. Our normal temperatures here are in the mid-s70's this time of year, but for the past couple weeks, we have been running 10-15 degrees above that. Much of the staff is in shorts, and we are pretty smug about our weather... of course we will be longing for these temperatures come July...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37hcRnWFiMPQt7IaqiVI6z31VbxE0rM9csEHaCLsDoIg4DKVTubhQYdy5iM6vxq0wLxPZJkVKUShxnPxKlW6MaucQSmI2N_gZrYRbbYZ2kTmUZD4m1uJGkAfOKzQAGzb1UbVPo9Ydx6gE/s1600/CT2A0750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37hcRnWFiMPQt7IaqiVI6z31VbxE0rM9csEHaCLsDoIg4DKVTubhQYdy5iM6vxq0wLxPZJkVKUShxnPxKlW6MaucQSmI2N_gZrYRbbYZ2kTmUZD4m1uJGkAfOKzQAGzb1UbVPo9Ydx6gE/s1600/CT2A0750.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9lCGoVPe1vKBlrlbU8WOIOtadGrEy8WEwLJkwF8htv9L77TSQCPr2vqYNlC3kcT5fF3Fz3UReOfGS_Pu3YjDnUbtTV_6Uhbo2BqXVjM6dDKEtBHnDixEqe3FhaGLO_SqeLbwXfUeKtBj/s1600/_MG_4142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9lCGoVPe1vKBlrlbU8WOIOtadGrEy8WEwLJkwF8htv9L77TSQCPr2vqYNlC3kcT5fF3Fz3UReOfGS_Pu3YjDnUbtTV_6Uhbo2BqXVjM6dDKEtBHnDixEqe3FhaGLO_SqeLbwXfUeKtBj/s1600/_MG_4142.jpg" height="176" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
Wheat</h4>
Our wheat nurseries are mostly heading. We have a full 50 acres of wheat nurseries this year, representing thousands of plots... with luck the weather will stay warm and we will be harvesting by mid April<br />
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<h4>
Lettuce and Broccoli</h4>
Our first planting of lettuce is long gone--we spent our time on the ground cutting, evaluating and weighing some drought trials as well as market evaluations of insecticide programs. T<br />
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he second planting is getting close, the third planting, which is a full 10 acres, is abut 10 leaf with aphids showing up and mildew apps already being underway, and the 4th lettuce planting was just thinned. Broccoli is about the, the first planting is out, second is harvesting now, and the final planting is getting aphids now.<br />
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<h4>
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Canola</h4>
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We also have about 12 acres of Canola plots.. the early plantings from October are already 7 feet tall, and the later plantings are just emerging</div>
<h4>
Strawberries</h4>
Always a crowd pleaser, our acre of strawberries are coming on strong... we are giving tones of them away as we get ready to start in with our fertility and botrytis trials. And we have a few thrips to count too!<br />
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<h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLfC4oCdg6YKHVAQDXqj22yVg2bvsjhybpBjqhrFasLDslGsm_IywrIkiiCscs8zifLKJId0jAMYCpQhPPrtiCx1W1OnA3FoeG4dFSybka68ExZpWc3erQ0Q6QaTaFS3esVwLPYizf1Q7/s1600/IMG_5741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLfC4oCdg6YKHVAQDXqj22yVg2bvsjhybpBjqhrFasLDslGsm_IywrIkiiCscs8zifLKJId0jAMYCpQhPPrtiCx1W1OnA3FoeG4dFSybka68ExZpWc3erQ0Q6QaTaFS3esVwLPYizf1Q7/s1600/IMG_5741.jpg" height="176" width="200" /></a>Carrots</h4>
Last week was carrot harvest... we made Bugs Bunny jealous!<br />
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<h4>
Tomatoes and Peppers</h4>
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We will be back in the ground with Tomatoes and Peppers by the end of next week... it seems like it was just a month ago we disked out our fall fruiting vegetables... that's because it was...</div>
<h4>
Corn</h4>
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We wrapped up the fall corn program here 2 weeks ago.... our field corn variety screens ran from 108 to 200 bu per acre... some varieties like the fall window, some don't. We will put up a separate post with the results from various maturity groups in the near future. Our spring program, which will have several drought trials as well as fertility programs, and a seed increase on the docket as well, will get planted in the next 14 days!</div>
<h4>
Melons</h4>
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We have watermelons in the greenhouse, and cantaloupe seed waiting.. Like the corn, that will all go in between now and the 15th of March.</div>
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This is the time of year when sitting in a snow bank sounds pretty good...</div>
<br />Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-35114861276196966262014-02-07T09:26:00.000-08:002014-02-07T09:26:43.281-08:00NAICC Meeting 2014<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrGH_L6MmPp489cnvLzYHPEZaPMLQBcaqTbl5oRjYAta0cM8nmM-DUjnFuxRMkA1kBNFVmb4Kmpmqu7y3drdGmqTszXhHc4c9GZoiRF_Q0HBu1O-UbI8S5e4AvGGT_D7_ddsPUyhUwEo8/s1600/1622137_10151904975447546_640934457_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrGH_L6MmPp489cnvLzYHPEZaPMLQBcaqTbl5oRjYAta0cM8nmM-DUjnFuxRMkA1kBNFVmb4Kmpmqu7y3drdGmqTszXhHc4c9GZoiRF_Q0HBu1O-UbI8S5e4AvGGT_D7_ddsPUyhUwEo8/s1600/1622137_10151904975447546_640934457_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Four of our RD4AG team traveled to New Orleans for the 2014 National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants annual meeting last week. Paulo Dafoe (Research Biologist II), Laurinda Baird (Facility Coordinator), along with our fearless President Lee West and VP Steve West braved a cold week in a cold hotel, but were warmed by the usual great camaraderie and excellent topics on the program.<br />
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Since most all of the independent field researchers in the country attend this meeting, many of the clients take the opportunity to get their research partners together for some training and updates on what they have in mind for the upcoming year. This makes for a long week, since those start in 8 am Monday morning, and the meeting does not really start until Thursday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Drt0hwXYzlMt4QnpoDr_o4d3fPz42TpwSyAYvIZb5fciVMdfvGUFH_wn1kqbhcixI4FyU1Y2M5jBTCZIFtHCxKN1u10DRuH7N_n2LbUSj47p0uACIiuJnLdvbMJ7cop5WDIXf1YjVvNV/s1600/IMG_4046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Drt0hwXYzlMt4QnpoDr_o4d3fPz42TpwSyAYvIZb5fciVMdfvGUFH_wn1kqbhcixI4FyU1Y2M5jBTCZIFtHCxKN1u10DRuH7N_n2LbUSj47p0uACIiuJnLdvbMJ7cop5WDIXf1YjVvNV/s1600/IMG_4046.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Other opportunities we take are for formal GLP training, and this year Lee and Laurinda went through that while Paulo and Steve sat in on a full day of Ag Research Manager (ARM) software training from Steve Gylling. We all learned alot. Even though Lee and Steve have been doing this for over 30 years now, there is still more to know... updates in interpretations of regulations, refinements in software, new needs of clients, and reminders on things important to all.<br />
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The Sessions this year were also quite good! Some excellent topics including spray technology, BQMS training from USDA, updates from EPA, some business topics and the new products/technology sessions.<br />
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RD4AG Staff were also on the program this year, Lee West to talk about the NAICC Ag Leadership Program and Steve West presented to the QA sessions about "What QA's Need to Know about Crops"<br />
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One of the highlights is always the Friday Night Gathering, and this year it was a Mardis Gras party... Here is a great image from the gathering... Patrick Stephenson from the UK dressed up as... something, and Roger Musick from Crop Guard Research in Oklahoma doing.... something.<br />
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It was a great week with old friends seen, new friends made and several pounds heavier after all the great New Orleans food!<br />
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Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-14094132332568794102013-09-04T20:06:00.002-07:002014-02-07T09:27:37.988-08:00Job Opportunties!We are Still looking for an experienced scientist to join our team at our Yuma Campus<br />
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See <a href="http://www.rd4ag.com/careers">http://www.rd4ag.com/careers</a> for more information!Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-35473510286389378602013-07-30T13:22:00.001-07:002013-07-31T04:53:06.153-07:00Combine OverhaulWe decided to take our larger Winterstieger Seed Master Advance combine and put in a modern threshing system. The machine is originally built on a Duetz-Fahr M33.30 combine, and they abandoned the threshing concepts (for good reason) shortly after they sent this model to Winterstieger for their plot style conversions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tgyDmHBrUPrbI0K5YvB90NwcrG5l3nuucMuIOTxxKP_VE7-u_r3LzyOobPs3T6dj0ROZl-CzLJvLH4si2TeIlaFOoitVEZwzGSQ2G4XF4N982-D2kr6ljtgyWn2fcsFUa1zdGAkMwWoF/s1600/IMG_3093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tgyDmHBrUPrbI0K5YvB90NwcrG5l3nuucMuIOTxxKP_VE7-u_r3LzyOobPs3T6dj0ROZl-CzLJvLH4si2TeIlaFOoitVEZwzGSQ2G4XF4N982-D2kr6ljtgyWn2fcsFUa1zdGAkMwWoF/s200/IMG_3093.jpg" width="200" /></a>We had Precision Farm Parts in Sherwood, ND build us a new adjustable concave which would work for corn, wheat, canola, etc. Fabrication delays kept us from having things ready for wheat season, but when it arrived it gave Lee a chance to try her hand as a forklift operator--this was the maiden voyage for the new (for us) machine we picked up from Greenheart Farms--our longtime neighbor and an excellent transplant greenhouse. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4Gb9OOR81QFBbGjTg0hT5nUmLzsRiiyzzv_da15BfRwfwMZh3gxySOIFlZDXIfS0lgpEfv2DovVOKhdTEMDOt1t4u35jO8THnR5TNjE6nRRlyjCz7Jgp9RVNYCfQmo0QcjsexnAEoW3A/s1600/IMG_3006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4Gb9OOR81QFBbGjTg0hT5nUmLzsRiiyzzv_da15BfRwfwMZh3gxySOIFlZDXIfS0lgpEfv2DovVOKhdTEMDOt1t4u35jO8THnR5TNjE6nRRlyjCz7Jgp9RVNYCfQmo0QcjsexnAEoW3A/s320/IMG_3006.jpg" width="320" /></a>Besides the fancy concave was a fancy new enclosed cylinder with the new style offset beaters. This in theory is easier to clean as it is enclosed, and has a significantly higher capacity / threshing action. The newer combines tend to do a much better job of pulverizing the straw, which means it is easier for the sieves, fans etc. to handle the material. Also, as the cylinder has much more mass, it should churn through the tough stuff better by keeping its speed up (read fewer plugs). You can see at the left the fancy new green one next to the open style old set up. For only $7,000 you too can have one like this,</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7kiCoUbl6V18NT4FR_z7c43dGWiiY6CCl-ZQYGLqqfVkLZdrQj26LnBf1Sx_zd_uT3v_ltiI3Wnrap8HOPygG834JFMLEq7byWUDIP3H-7I9byb992QAFdKEX59xSiPrMsX0oYhCbI3A/s1600/_MG_3732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7kiCoUbl6V18NT4FR_z7c43dGWiiY6CCl-ZQYGLqqfVkLZdrQj26LnBf1Sx_zd_uT3v_ltiI3Wnrap8HOPygG834JFMLEq7byWUDIP3H-7I9byb992QAFdKEX59xSiPrMsX0oYhCbI3A/s320/_MG_3732.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our good friend Ernest Bergsagel, a multi-generational wheat farmer in Montana has been helping us with the combines, so after he finally got through his delayed spring things in Montana, he came down here last week to get this installed. Ernest was tired of the 85 degree Montana weather and wanted to experience some 110 stuff, and we obliged.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPfi7YC2aWQKYw4T2M5Ktndds1xFmhSD5RuxQmIyDt2k3UBaT8e8V_10ICyku1ktxhWkbSwt2EjlK_pBjB4bFXuFrG9ixUs5zVwJsx29mHDNHESfnniStY9Q8MdnuPeWep2AG1UmhonWN/s1600/IMG_3745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPfi7YC2aWQKYw4T2M5Ktndds1xFmhSD5RuxQmIyDt2k3UBaT8e8V_10ICyku1ktxhWkbSwt2EjlK_pBjB4bFXuFrG9ixUs5zVwJsx29mHDNHESfnniStY9Q8MdnuPeWep2AG1UmhonWN/s320/IMG_3745.jpg" width="320" /></a>It was a fair bit of work. Ernest supervised our young crew in the finer art of Combine theory and repair. Gerry, Jed and Trent got plenty of chances to bust knuckles and get overheated. Jake Havins, our research farm supervisor (the one trying to stay out of harms way on the photo above right), is adding combines to his experience set. So now the new concave and cylinder are in, as is the nice new white conveyor belt, which Gerry is tightening in the image above. Besides the white conveyor belt, we have painted the interior and exterior of the combine white and we settled on yellow trim, although there were some who wanted ghost flames and perhaps a Unicorn... The color is critical so that we can see everywhere inside and out to clean all the material out of the machine. With the "kernel" clean standard we must adhere to when working with biotechnology crops, every thing we can do to facilitate cleaning is put into place. </div>
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With luck, we will have the last of the belts on hand end of the week and be ready to start the endless adjusting which combines always need... More later as we play!Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-59355591578720033382013-07-29T07:07:00.003-07:002013-07-29T07:07:54.129-07:0033% DownThis last week we actually had some rain... a half an inch last Sunday the 21st, and then another 1/4 inch on Thursday.... this 3/4 of an inch is about a third of our annual total. Although not drowning, we made plenty of ruts in the yard hardened off by the 110 degree weather over the weekend with more in store.<br />
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Crop wise we are finally wrapping up our spring crops... we are making our final mildew evaluations on Bell Peppers and the various cucurbits... they will get the disk shortly. But it never rests for long, we are planting more melons et al this week. Bell Peppers are in the greenhouse for planting soon, same with the fall tomatoes.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkwahZB3IWwnpkjAP3C9DLNCH89nA9-3vDTnYBFJtXbzrHslaKiLdDTVKrnXmQbXtuYAbaK8XZ3xSy6VECHwgJ5hVfN3qzAXDsZhtOW8PBUiJ2pRrHVhxue37JnhDYa236PGBev4vTRfr/s1600/IMG_3118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkwahZB3IWwnpkjAP3C9DLNCH89nA9-3vDTnYBFJtXbzrHslaKiLdDTVKrnXmQbXtuYAbaK8XZ3xSy6VECHwgJ5hVfN3qzAXDsZhtOW8PBUiJ2pRrHVhxue37JnhDYa236PGBev4vTRfr/s320/IMG_3118.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
Our cotton plots are starting to square, and the field corn we planted in March is ready to harvest--our team spent much of last week putting a fancy new concave and cylinder in our bigger combine. As you can see in the rain photo on the right, the combine is taken apart and that cool looking green stack of iron on the pallet is waiting for the weather to clear is $7,000 worth of the latest technology to make combines run better. We will see!<br />
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We are waiting for our first fall block to dry down now from the flat water a couple weeks ago. When we prep ground for planting we normally disk, then rip to 3 foot, then plow it, then disk it again, then Laser Level it to 0 slope, pull up borders and fill it up like a bathtub, what we call "Flat Water". Then a month later we get in and disk it again and put up the rows for our next planting. We have corn going back in the ground August 9, so the clock is ticking!Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038094235659081061.post-165361617902429362012-08-30T22:20:00.002-07:002012-08-30T22:27:26.462-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">29 August 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today was planting day for
much of the 4 Seasons Research Farm. We
transplanted 9000 bell peppers two weeks ago, but the main plantings are
today. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT8Rev8p2mGEsbOA3af4xLWFaxegFe6SKa1NGkshyi1CIU5iMzLMDH7sDGlcynho1u0tfE0dowTjBhvR0sWYWRrsTq10Ujq1-FRO8GEcixXMtfjknsphNUp19DnwpWCyaCuvWjiZ3yBKP/s1600/IMG_2154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT8Rev8p2mGEsbOA3af4xLWFaxegFe6SKa1NGkshyi1CIU5iMzLMDH7sDGlcynho1u0tfE0dowTjBhvR0sWYWRrsTq10Ujq1-FRO8GEcixXMtfjknsphNUp19DnwpWCyaCuvWjiZ3yBKP/s320/IMG_2154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting lettuce with a Jang Clean Seeder</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We had already had the field
disked, laser leveled to zero flat and pre-watered 45 days ago, then came back
in and ripped it to 3 feet, plowed it, disked it again and then put rows in
(all with a local growers large John Deere GPS guided tractors so everything is
straight). Last week we laid some drip
tape about 5 inches under the middle of each bed with the bed shaper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Late morning we started with
the direct seeded Head Lettuce section, just over an acres worth. Jose Luis and Gerry had that done by early
afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At 3:30 Cecilia came back in
(after already working from 5:30 to noon earlier in the day) and got everything
ready so we could meet the 30 man crew from Ortiz Brothers at 4. Greenheart Farms had already loaded our
trailer with a bin of plants, so all was set.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRq41KQpW5ZhMIPWtMzCsucJB8hqpQ7NtHWw7zc6WnW1cQ7gndcU-46xjZs9SIedaLm2KrFJlNgYYks6q0PNmbb3A3h4eb8WItlPalvjP69_EB5x2ae8i0iJTLcYDIbkrdLeDMEuMU-0Z/s1600/IMG_2159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRq41KQpW5ZhMIPWtMzCsucJB8hqpQ7NtHWw7zc6WnW1cQ7gndcU-46xjZs9SIedaLm2KrFJlNgYYks6q0PNmbb3A3h4eb8WItlPalvjP69_EB5x2ae8i0iJTLcYDIbkrdLeDMEuMU-0Z/s320/IMG_2159.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage Mania</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At 4, we got rolling… it was
105 degrees and 30% humidity, not a particularly nice evening. The beds we were transplanting in to were wet
from pre-irrigation the past couple days.
First in were about 1000 peppers, then 28 rows by 120 feet of tomatoes (about
2000 plants).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From there we rolled into 6
carriers of Celery—each carrier has 12 trays of 231 plants…or they would if
they were full. Each of these was about
180 plants as raising celery in the greenhouse during the summer is very
difficult. This gave us about 13,000 plants, which went in to rows with two
lines of plants on them. We planted 9
beds by 330 feet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Last up for the evening was
Cabbage. We had 4 carriers worth of Head
Start Cabbage, a green variety for the early slot. The “pull” on these was much better, with
about 220 plants net per tray, and the 10,000 plants we had, planted in single
rows on the beds planted 30 rows by 330 feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRajUibzLwvqHmLMKEcDxObxENaOSTCUZrqQBGa4ZtJvyIeUDfUaM-7DKkdEGhTN7XEPzKur8phAluYyOz_EnClrBptxToiFNPgxywimGqxJzPc74cTh7P2o9o8MzpsHmc6JuqJa3lTXd/s1600/IMG_2160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRajUibzLwvqHmLMKEcDxObxENaOSTCUZrqQBGa4ZtJvyIeUDfUaM-7DKkdEGhTN7XEPzKur8phAluYyOz_EnClrBptxToiFNPgxywimGqxJzPc74cTh7P2o9o8MzpsHmc6JuqJa3lTXd/s320/IMG_2160.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sprinklers running in the Celery while<br />we finish in the cabbage (on the right)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We fired up the sprinklers
in each block right after the tomatoes were done, shutting off the line in the
area we were working, and then firing it back up again as soon as we finished
that row.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We wrapped up close to 8,
planting the last beds in the dark. The
crew was out after 4 hrs, so we had 120 man hours in planting about 26,000
plants, or about a nickel a plant to get them in the ground.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The sprinklers ran all night;
we will see how things look in a few days!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Steve Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218903859183053113noreply@blogger.com0