Some growers tend to think of birds as chronic annoyances. Solutions range from preventative tactics (netting and birddogs) to scare tactics such as artificial predator calls and driving around the farm firing empty shells at murders – sound familiar?
But a new study suggests that certain birds can – and should – be welcomed as a part of an overall sustainable farming strategy. The link below explains:
Content source: Wild Farm Alliance. We do not necessarily endorse them nor their views, but are simply providing a link to the report as ‘food for thought’.
Over the past few days, I have seen 300+ cabbage looper moths in traps next to fields that aren’t even out of the ground yet, and been texted twice about flea beetle damage. It seems it will be a busy year for brassica pests!
First indication of probable outbreak – May 8th 2019
All the more reason to subscribe! Stay informed by clicking here. We do not share your information, and many of the pests we report on have wide host ranges, which means the data are relevant for home gardens, nurseries, and many commodity crops.
The definition of Precision Agriculture has evolved over 22 years and has more than a few associated acronyms (PA; SSCM=site-specific crop management; VRT=variable rate technology).
If one were to attempt to summarize the definition of PA: it involves awareness of growing conditions within a field and the use of technology as a decision support tool to maximize production efficiency while minimizing environmental impact of agricultural inputs.
We may be most familiar with PATs (Precision Agriculture Technologies) such as GPS-guided tractors or the use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles AKA “drones”) as imagery sensors or product applicators. So many acronyms! Other PATs include robot weeders and mechanized transplanters.
Check out The University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics promo video:
Resources closer to home include the UAS at OSUprogram, and a fellow Beaver blogger who has a great annotated resource list about Drones in Agriculture here. UAVs are even being used for restoration seeding efforts in Oregon rangelands.
Perhaps you’re not quite ready for autonomous tech. One simple and easy way to jump on the PA bandwagon is to use calibration tools. These are based on mathematical models of soil and crop parameters for a specific latitude, soil type, etc.. At the click of a button, they provide output estimates to help schedule irrigation, determine fertilizer needs, or predict harvest dates. These are in addition to the MANY mobile apps now available.
Another new trend (and a way to sneak in one last acronym) is for companies to offer SaaS: Software as Service, like our friends at Valley Agronomics.
As you go about planning and planting this year, why not give these PA tools a try. The program developers are usually very receptive to comments, as it helps them improve the models, or know that they are working adequately.
DISCLAIMER: Mention or links to any of the products or services on this page do not imply endorsement.
WSU’s project on robotic arm harvesters for apple orchards. PI: Dr. Manoj Karkee (online news)
“Driverless Farm Machinery May Lead to New Business Model” – Capital Press article, Jan 22 2020 (online news)
TerraSentia robots deployed to collect seed and canopy data – AgProfessional news, July 9 2020
“Prospects for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sytems (RPAs) in IPM” discusses the opportunities, current technical and legal constraints, and applications such as: targeted insecticide applications, and aerial releases of sterile insects and parasitoids (book chapter) 2020
NEW: WSU researchers using drones and enhanced satellite imagery for riparian scouting “Eyes in the sky”, Feb 2021
Computerized vision robot picker view of a mapping system to identify and target specific branches. credit: F. Moore
Some current hypotheses (from processors, OSU plant clinic, researchers, growers, field reps):
1. The damage may have been caused by heat stress during a critical time of development. In May and again in July, there were extreme variations of temperature:
Max daily temperature fluctuation in critical periods of seedling/transplant development likely contributed to poor growth observed this season
2. Auxins are phytohormones known to regulate growth processes in plants, and can spike rapidly in response to heat-shock. Increased auxin levels can ‘present’ as abnormal root growth or phototropism, which was noted at some of the sites:
As auxins move throughout the plant, the gradient shifts and, at least in other types of plants, declining levels causes leaves or petioles to break off. I don’t know much about abscission zones in broccoli, so if you are still reading, please know that these are just my rambling thoughts, and not an official diagnosis. 🙂
3. Another possibility is that young plants were sensitive to residual carryover from synthetic auxin herbicides (2,4-D, Dicamba, Fluroxypyr) remaining in the soil, which is possible with a grass-brassica rotation.
Recently, there has been some concern about odd symptoms of wilting and reduced stands in broccoli and cauliflower here in the Willamette Valley. See photos below.
Symptoms include: Weakened stems – necrosis of lower leaves – poor stand – girdling/calloused tissue at soil level – stem breakage – possible association with weed hosts – abnormal root growth
NOTE: AT THIS TIME, I HAVE ONLY EDUCATED GUESSES OF WHAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS IN BRASSICA FIELDS. THIS ISSUE IS CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH FIELD FACULTY AND DIAGNOSTIC LABS.
WEEK 24 – Cabbage maggots are one of the most challenging pests for brassica growers. They tunnel through root tissue and increase the risk of exposure to plant pathogens Read this cabbage maggot page, which includes more info on biology and how to sample for them. Another late season pest is diamondback moth. Many sites are listed as "n/a" this week, because fields have been harvested and traps are being removed.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/VNweek24 and subscribe on our homepage to receive weekly newsletters during field season.
Plants, like insects, are ectotherms, which means that their rate of development depends on external conditions. Sure, most companies put ‘days-to-harvest’ on the seed packet, but we all know that is just an estimate, and can vary widely by region. It’s greatly influenced by temperature; especially if we encounter variations from the ‘normal’ levels of heat and/or rainfall.
Faculty at OSU Extension’s Small Farms Program and the Integrated Plant Protection Center have developed an online, predictive tool to help guide grower decisions and crop planning. The resource is called CROPTIME, and it provides models for a few of the crops grown in Oregon, with aims to develop 50 models (vegetables and weeds) eventually. Here is a 9-minute video that describes how to use the program.
This tool can greatly aid vegetable growers in estimating regional, temperature dependent phenology for a specific variety. For instance:
Broccoli Harvest Estimates - 2017
This information is collected from an online prediction tool, Croptime, from Oregon State University. The program is free to use and publicly available. Planting dates and varieties can be adjusted by the user and models are available for broccoli, sweet corn, cucumber, and sweet pepper.
*Estimates are accurate for W. Oregon only, these particular values are based off weather data near Keizer, OR.
VARIETY
Transplant date
50% head initiation
First harvest
Early flowering
Imperial
1-JUN
26-JUL
13-AUG
23-AUG
15-JUN
7-AUG
26-AUG
4-SEPT
1-JUL
22-AUG
11-SEPT
21-SEPT
Arcadia
1-JUN
24-JUL
10-AUG
22-AUG
15-JUN
4-AUG
22-AUG
4-SEPT
1-JUL
20-AUG
8-SEPT
21-SEPT
Emerald Pride
1-JUN
21-JUL
7-AUG
18-AUG
15-JUN
1-AUG
18-AUG
30-AUG
1-JUL
16-AUG
4-SEPT
16-SEPT
Green Magic
1-JUN
17-JUL
5-AUG
16-AUG
15-JUN
29-JUL
17-AUG
28-AUG
1-JUL
13-AUG
2-SEPT
13-SEPT
For more information, visit http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/croptime
