callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
:sugar cane aphids already showing up.
sugar cane aphids Awful early this year.
- Thread starter callmefence
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TexasBred
Well-known member
Talking to a farmer a few weeks ago and he said most farmers up this way had quit planting milo because of these critters. Said they put out a sticky substance which makes it hard combine and load and unload milo as it all sticks together. A spray is available but very expensive.
OP
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callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
TexasBred":3uowvuvv said:
I'm going to have to research it. Last year was the first time I've personally had them. And it was very late summer and pretty much done with the grazer anyway. Just disc them in and planted oats. I'm just seeing a few affected plant's on the edge of the fields near standing water. Idk
Yes the affected plant's will be covered in a sugary syrup. And from what I saw last year the can do a lot of damage quick.
TAMU's Ag. Extension Service guys are on top of it. I had them (the aphids) hit me in 2014 on my Gotcha Plus regrowth around the 1st of July. Blew me away as I had never seen anything like that. They have a paper out that will help. We had a nice dialogue and they did a fine job of answering my questions. Seems they have a network from Florida thru Nebraska where agents share information. That's the way it ought to be.
Seems the aphids winter over on the coast and move inland as the season heats. That means plant early and don't expect a second cutting. They list the spray, but I got to shopping around and there are alternatives I THINK; I purchased some but yet to try out what you can buy at a reasonable price for folks like me that let their Applicator's Permit expire (due to retirement) and can't buy controlled substances. This is advertised for Aphids but not necessarily SC type....we'll see if/when it happens.
I have Gotcha Plus planted again this year and it's already at 5' with small stems and no way near maturity....same as the pictures posted herein in 2014 when at 8-9' and still growing. Had 2.5 inches of rain the last 3 days, getting an inch right now but it seems Tuesday will start drying out. If I can get a window I'm going to cut as soon as the field dries out.
Couple of things I did and will do this year is in harvesting long stemmed plants....like an 8' tall plant isn't easy to process into a roll, especially when working by yourself:
1. I left lots of processing room between the hay patch and the fences. Will give me room to run around the patch with the drum mower in the mow position but not mow.
2. Plan on mowing in 2 directions only, like N and S., not 4. On the E and W directions I'll run between the patch and the fence to loop back.
What this will do is allow the stems to fall in a straight line. My problem in 2014 was not in cutting a square box, that was the easy part. It was in the wads at the corners when it came time to crimp and tedder. With my current plan, with all the stems in a straight line it ought to keep everything straight, including better raking when the time comes.
Yeah I know if I used a MOCO I wouldn't need the extra crimping step. Well, I had a couple of them back before I retired and they are gone and I am happy with my drum mower and will stick with it. I don't always harvest stemmy crops.
Seems the aphids winter over on the coast and move inland as the season heats. That means plant early and don't expect a second cutting. They list the spray, but I got to shopping around and there are alternatives I THINK; I purchased some but yet to try out what you can buy at a reasonable price for folks like me that let their Applicator's Permit expire (due to retirement) and can't buy controlled substances. This is advertised for Aphids but not necessarily SC type....we'll see if/when it happens.
I have Gotcha Plus planted again this year and it's already at 5' with small stems and no way near maturity....same as the pictures posted herein in 2014 when at 8-9' and still growing. Had 2.5 inches of rain the last 3 days, getting an inch right now but it seems Tuesday will start drying out. If I can get a window I'm going to cut as soon as the field dries out.
Couple of things I did and will do this year is in harvesting long stemmed plants....like an 8' tall plant isn't easy to process into a roll, especially when working by yourself:
1. I left lots of processing room between the hay patch and the fences. Will give me room to run around the patch with the drum mower in the mow position but not mow.
2. Plan on mowing in 2 directions only, like N and S., not 4. On the E and W directions I'll run between the patch and the fence to loop back.
What this will do is allow the stems to fall in a straight line. My problem in 2014 was not in cutting a square box, that was the easy part. It was in the wads at the corners when it came time to crimp and tedder. With my current plan, with all the stems in a straight line it ought to keep everything straight, including better raking when the time comes.
Yeah I know if I used a MOCO I wouldn't need the extra crimping step. Well, I had a couple of them back before I retired and they are gone and I am happy with my drum mower and will stick with it. I don't always harvest stemmy crops.
