Funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is enabling Cornell University researchers to evaluate two methods for enhancing fresh market vegetable production in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

One method involves testing for nutrient levels throughout the growing season; the other is fertigation – the delivery of vital nutrients to crops through drip irrigation systems.

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Foliar and Fertigation Being Evaluated for NNY Vegetable Crops

Northern New York farmers planted nearly 15,000 acres of soybeans in 2012.To help them select soybean seed with the best potential to produce both high quality and high yield under the unique growing conditions of their region, the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) conducts on-farm variety trials.

The NNYADP-funded variety trials provide side-by-side comparison data for germination, yield, moisture, disease resistance, and other production factors under the regional growing conditions.

Trial leader Dr. William J. Cox of Cornell University says he expects the acreage of soybeans grown in Northern New York to increase.

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Link to 2012 NNYADP soybean trials research results here

 

May is the month to look for alfalfa weevils in your fields. Alfalfa weevils are not always a problem, but in some years can reduce forage yield and quality. In most years by the time the population reaches any significant level the alfalfa is ready to harvest and this serves as the management control method without the need to apply an insecticide. However, there are times when the development of the weevil is ahead of the alfalfa growth and insecticide treatments are warranted.

Learn more about scouting for and managing this pest from NNY CCE Field Crops Educator Mike Hunter

The inclusion of winter cereals as cover crops into various crop and livestock systems is a relatively common practice in today’s agriculture. The primary reasons for this are protection of soil from erosion and enhancement of soil health through organic matter and carbon (C) addition (Long et al., 2012). However, farmers are increasingly interested in using cover crops to sequester nitrogen (N) in the fall (cover crops as catch crops) and carry it over to the spring.

Click here to read more about NNYADP-funded research on using cereal cover crops to sequester nitrogen in the fall for carryover

Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research is evaluating two methods of measuring phosphorus (P) – a key soil nutrient for crop production. The goal of the NNY Soil Test P project is to determine if a different method may offer an advantage over the traditional way of measuring P in soil test extracts. More efficient use of phosphorus in fertilizer and manure represents a significant cost savings for farmers and enhances agricultural environmental stewardship.

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