Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Agriculture - Hay

Hay is grass that has been cut then dried in the summer months, and then been stored for use in the winter when the grass is not available. The grass is dried to a moisture content below which mould does not develop. This allows it to be stored under cover, but without wrapping or packing.

There are two general categories of hay: seed hay and meadow hay. Seed hay is made from grass mixtures specially grown for hay production. Italian or perennial ryegrass, timothy and specialist blends of them are all commonly available forms of seed hay. It generally tends to be quite coarse in nature, with a relatively low nutritive value. Meadow hay is cut from permanent pasture, and usually compromises a more varied mixture of grass species than that specially sown. Generally, meadow hay has a higher nutritive value than seed hay.

Very little hay grown in damper climes of Britain is entirely dust free. The dust consists mainly of mould spores from the field or barn spoilage. In the UK it is common practice to soak or steam hay before giving it to your horse.

Soaking the hay causes the dust spores to either be washed off or to swell and stick to the grass storks, meaning that they are ingested rather than being inhaled. Soaking hay requires a lot of time and water and space - in the winter the water can become frozen whilst in summer the water can become brackish. Undersoaking hay may not remove the spores whilst over soaking hay will result in some nutrient loss. Soaking hay for 30 minutes will be sufficient to remove the dust spores.

Steaming Hay is another method for removing spores, moulds, bacteria and dust mites. Steaming works by killing off the dust and fungal spores. You can buy specialist steamers which can steam a small bale of hay (c. 18-20kg) at a time or alternatively some people use various DIY methods in including filling a net, placing it inside a plastic dustbin, pouring over 1-2 kettles of boiling water, putting the lid on and waiting for between 10-20 minutes.

I once made my own steamer using a large water butt (£10), wallpaper steamer (£20) and drilling a hole in the bottom of the waterbutt and putting the steamer pipe through the hole – I also propped the haynets up on top of a wire basket at the bottom of the waterbutt to ensure the steam could penetrate all of the hay. The waterbutt was sufficiently big that I could steam two large nets at a time. Obviously when using a home-made steamer care needs to be taken with electrics, boiling hot water and steam, ensuring that the steamer doesn’t run dry, (health and safety etc).

But overall it did the job well and the hay came out smelling lovely and it was dust free. That said, the farmer was none too pleased about the additional electricity cost (all 10 minutes of it). He’d of preferred we filled baths full of water as the water was from source, so free!

Reference: http://www.bow-wow-pets.co.uk/blog/understanding-forage-grass-hay-haylage.html

Environment - Concerns with Resource Recovery

Concerns with Resource Recovery

Plastic film has provided farming with many benefits, but film also contributes significantly to the growing municipal solid waste stream. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most commonly used film in the agricultural industry because of LDPE’s inertness, flexibility, and moisture barrier properties. However, there are several concerns and obstacles that must be addressed.

The most obvious is the presence of a nearby waste-to- energy incinerator that will accept the farmer’s used plastics. If there are no available facilities, it may not be financially or physically possible to incinerate the used plastics. The cost of building a facility is high— as much as 400 million dollars to build a large incineration plant. Depending on the facility’s permit to operate, it may not be approved to accept agricultural wastes, which are usually classified as residual wastes—used materials that come from industrial, mining, or agricultural operations. Also, without a strong and stable market to accept the energy that is produced, processing the waste material may be economically inefficient.

Contaminated LDPE film presents some problems for incineration facilities. Baled or large clumps of LDPE film creates hot spots that damage the incinerator’s boiler or grate. LDPE film contains such a high heat value per pound that the trash must move slowly through the process to balance the heat content and the amount of trash processed. The film must be unbaled and fed evenly into the combustion chambers to prevent these hot spots. This means slowing down the incineration process which also means slowing down the amount of trash that can be processed. Since many facilities do require a tipping fee, less trash means less profit. This often makes the facility reluctant to accept the large quantities of LDPE film that the agricultural community often generates.

Pesticide residue presents a unique problem for incinerating LDPE film. The effects of the quantity and types of pesticides in the incineration process has yet to be determined. It is very likely that the high temperatures and complete combustion would render any pesticide contamination harmless. Properly rinsed containers are municipal solid wastes, not hazardous wastes. Unfortunately, public misconceptions still perceive even properly rinsed containers as hazardous wastes, and facilities need special permits to accept hazardous wastes.

Another concern about incinerating plastics is the toxins, such as acid gas and dioxin/furan, in the emissions. Many plastics contain additives that have heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, which might increase the toxicity of the incinerator ashes. The metal content could cause the ashes to be classified as hazardous wastes, making disposal of the ashes more difficult.

In 1989, the U.S. Conference of Mayors formed an international panel of experts to discuss the health and safety of waste-to-energy facilities. The panel concluded that a properly equipped, operated, and maintained energy recovery facility can operate within existing regulatory standards for human health and safety. The Clean Air Act of 1991 provided additional security by tightening emission standards.

Before the waste-to-energy facility is permitted to landfill ashes, they are required to have controls on the pollutants in the air and in the ashes. The effect of certain metals in emissions and ashes has not been determined. Currently, incinerator ashes are not categorized as hazardous wastes and can usually be safely disposed of in properly equipped landfills. Research is underway to find alternate uses for incineration ashes, which could further reduce the volume of the waste.

Reference: http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/energy/waste-to-energy/fact-sheets/c-11

Agriculture - Witchgrass

Witchgrass

A member of the grass family, witchgrass (Panicum capillare) is an erect annual weed that has a shallow fibrous root system and reproduces by seed.

1. Fuzzy seedling of witchgrass.

Seedling Description

The stems of witchgrass seedlings are erect, slightly oval, and green, often tinged with purple. Both stems and leaf sheaths are densely covered with stiff hairs up to 1/8 inch (3 mm) long. Hairs stick straight out from the stem and give the weed a fuzzy appearance. Young leaves are rolled in the bud. When fully emerged, they taper evenly to a pointed tip. Both surfaces of the leaves are covered with soft short hairs, and the leaf margins have similar hairs on the lower (basal) half of the leaf blade. Leaf sheaths are split and the margins may be overlapping or separate. The ligule is a row of short hairs. Auricles are absent.

Biology

A member of the grass family, witchgrass is an erect annual weed that has a shallow fibrous root system and reproduces by seed. It grows 10 to 30 inches (25 to 76 cm) tall, usually in tufts or bunches, because its stems branch at the base. The stems are extremely hairy, especially at the nodes. Leaf blades are 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) long and ¼ to ½ inch (6 to 13 mm) wide. Soft erect hairs cover both surfaces, especially near the base of the blade; the tip end of the leaf is less hairy. The leaf sheaths are covered with dense, soft hairs up to 1/8 inch (3 mm) long that stand straight out from the surface and become quite harsh and bristly as the grass matures.

2. Plants become hairier as they mature.
3. Short hairy ligule.

The purple or green seed heads (panicles) are quite large, often one half to two thirds the size of the entire plant. Leaves may hide the base of the seed head until midsummer when the seeds begin to mature. The panicle then opens to form a wide-spreading, branched inflorescence with hundreds of tiny florets on threadlike stalks. Each floret produces a single seed about 1/16 inch (1 mm) long.

When the grains ripen, the stem of the seed head becomes brittle and breaks off easily. The whole panicle of springy fine branches drifts and bounces along in the wind like a tumbleweed, scattering seeds over great distances. Witchgrass spreads quickly once introduced to an area.

4. Emerging seed heads resemble a witch's broom.
5. Witchgrass produces a profusion of tiny seeds.
6. Tire wispy panicle is pyramid shaped.

Similar Species

Fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum) is closely related to witchgrass, but has a smooth shiny stem. Witchgrass has a fuzzy stem, even in the seedling stage. The closely related wild proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) has a hairy stem, but its seedhead is distinctly drooping, while that of witchgrass is stiffer and more erect. Several brome grasses have similar hairy sheaths and stems. These are hairy chess or cheat (Bromus commutatus), downy brome (B. tectorum), and soft chess (B. mollis). However, the ligules of all three of these grasses are membranous, while the ligule of witchgrass is a row of short hairs.

Natural History

Witchgrass is native to the eastern United States and is a common weed in cotton, alfalfa, com, and other cultivated row crops. It prefers dry soil but adapts well to irrigated crops and gardens. Witchgrass grows in meadows, cultivated fields, and waste ground, and along stream banks and roadsides. It is more common east of the Rocky Mountains than in the western United States, but it does grow throughout the country at elevations between 100 and 8,000 feet. Witchgrass grows throughout the Northeast but is not quite as common as the closely related fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum). It is often introduced to field crops when its seed contaminates small crop seed, especially alfalfa.

The young panicle of witchgrass looks like a pointed shaving brush or a witch's broom. Witchgrass is known by other common names, including ticklegrass, hairgrass, panic grass, and tumble grass.

Control

Witchgrass can be controlled by many of the methods used to control other annual grass weeds. Several cultural methods can help prevent problems. Clean cultivating may be done late in the season to destroy young plants and prevent seed formation. Also effective are mowing waste places before seeds form and pulling or hoeing scattered plants while they are small.

Witchgrass is one of the few weeds unaffected by the herbicide atrazine. When this chemical is used for weed control, other weeds are eliminated, and the absence of competition allows witchgrass to flourish. When witchgrass is among the weeds infesting agronomic crops, a combination of several herbicides should be used.

For specific recommendations, consult your county Extension agent or the most recent Weed Control Manual and Herbicide Guide, available through Meister Publishing Company, 37841 Euclid Avenue, Willoughby, Ohio 44094. Follow label instructions for all herbicides and observe restrictions on grazing and harvesting procedures.

Prepared by W. Thomas Lanini, Extension weed specialist, and Betsy Ann Wertz, agricultural writer.

Reference: http://extension.psu.edu/pests/weeds/weed-id/witchgrass

Agriculture - Weed Management Techniques

Weed Management Techniques

Since weeds are so prevalent in many areas of the landscape, management techniques are necessary to maintain order.

Weed management is most successful when it involves an integrated approach using a variety of methods. The common methods used to manage weeds include prevention and cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical means.

Prevention

Preventative methods are used to stop the spread of weeds. Preventing the introduction of weeds is usually easier than controlling them after establishment. Preventative practices include cleaning tillage and harvesting equipment of weed seeds and vegetative structures; planting certified, weed-free crop seed; and controlling weeds in barnyards, around structures, and along fencerows, roadways, and ditch banks.

Cultural

Cultural and crop management techniques provide a healthy crop to best compete with weeds. Crop competition can be an inexpensive and effective aid to weed management if used to its fullest advantage. Examples of cultural techniques include following soil test recommendations for fertilizer and lime; selecting the best crop varieties; planting dense crop populations at the proper timing; scouting fields regularly for weeds, insects, and diseases and controlling them when necessary; and including crop rotations in the system. Composting, ensiling, or feeding weeds or weed-infested crops to livestock can destroy the viability of weed seeds. The heat and/or digestive acids break down the majority of weed seeds. However, some seeds pass through livestock unharmed and can germinate if spread back onto the land.

Mechanical

Mechanical or physical techniques either destroy weeds or make the environment less favorable for seed germination and weed survival. These techniques include hand-pulling, hoeing, mowing, plowing, disking, cultivating, and digging. Mulching (straw, wood chips, gravel, plastic, etc.) can also be considered a mechanical control means since it uses a physical barrier to block light and impede weed growth.

Biological

Biological weed control involves the use of other living organisms, such as insects, diseases, or livestock, for the management of certain weeds. In theory, biological control is well suited for an integrated weed management program. However, the limitations of biological control are that it is a long-term under- taking, its effects are neither immediate nor always adequate, only certain weeds are potential candidates, and the rate of failure for past biological control efforts has been fairly high. There have been a few success stories of weed species being managed with insect or disease biocontrol agents. Herbivores such as sheep and goats can provide successful control of some common pasture weeds. Research continues in this area of weed management.

Chemical

Herbicides can be defined as crop- protecting chemicals used to kill weedy plants or interrupt normal plant growth. Herbicides provide a convenient, economical, and effective way to help manage weeds. They allow fields to be planted with less tillage, allow earlier planting dates, and provide additional time to perform the other tasks that farm or personal life require. Due to reduced tillage, soil erosion has been reduced from about 3.5 billion tons in 1938 to one billion tons in 1997, thus reducing soil from entering waterways and decreasing the quality of the nation’s surface water. Without herbicide use, no-till agriculture becomes impossible. However, herbicide use also carries risks that include environmental, ecological, and human health effects. It is important to understand both the benefits and disadvantages associated with chemical weed control before selecting the appropriate control.

Herbicides may not be a necessity on some farms or landscape settings, but without the use of chemical weed control, mechanical and cultural control methods become that much more important. There are many kinds of herbicides from which to choose. Many factors determine when, where, and how a particular herbicide can be used most effectively. Understanding some of these factors enables you to use herbicides to their maximum advantage.

Reference: http://extension.psu.edu/pests/weeds/control/introduction-to-weeds-and-herbicides/weed-management-techniques

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Agriculture - Five Ways to Get Rid of Pests Without Using Chemicals

Five Ways to Get Rid of Pests Without Using Chemicals

By Graham Salinger

Pests can be, well, a pest. They infest crops and reduce yields, reducing overall agricultural production and food security. To deal with pests, such as mealybugs or spider mites, most farmers use chemical pesticides which can impact health, pollute water supplies through runoff, and, if pesticides are misused or overused, can actually kill plants. Finding new methods to get rid of pests without requiring chemical inputs has increasingly become a priority for many farmers.

Implementing these methods can save crops from destructive pests without the need for harmful pesticides. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

Today, Nourishing the Planet introduces five crop management methods that control pests without using chemical pesticides.

Crop rotation involves alternating the species of crop that a farmer grows on his or her land each year. Rotating crops helps prevent pests from getting used to the type of plant that is being cultivated. Planting different species of crops each growing season also promotes soil fertility. Planting legumes, a plant that helps fertilize crops through nitrogen fixing bacteria that it has on its roots, and then planting crops that require high levels of nitrogen helps make sure that soil is healthy each growing season. Moreover, healthy soil helps protect against pests because an imbalance in plant nutrition increases a harvest’s vulnerability to pests, according to Mans Lanting of ETC Foundation, a non- profit that focuses on linking agricultural sustainability to social development. For example, Navdanya, a non-profit that promotes organic farming in northern India, is teaching farmers to use crop rotation methods instead of chemical pesticides. Navdanya has trained over 500,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture. In the city of Dehradun, a rice farmer named Thakur Das has been trained by Navdanya to grow rice, wheat, and corn using crop rotation methods. Das hasn’t used chemical pesticides since joining Navdanya nine years ago and he claims that the switch from chemical pesticides has led to better soil health. “Most farmers use chemicals,” but their “soil is totally dead,” he notes.

Intercropping is another useful ways to control the pests because different kinds of plants help attract the pests away from the host plants. Planting a variety of plant species on a field increases the distance between plants of the same species, making it harder for pests to target their main crop. For instance, farmers in Kenya have developed a “push-pull” intercropping method that cultivates plants that repel pests (pushing them away from the harvest) and ones that attract pests (pulling them away from the harvest).The farmers in Kenya grow maize with two types of cereals, one that helps push pests away from the maize, and another that pulls pest away from the maize. This method has helped to reduce the impact of the devastating maize stem borer and increase crop yield.

Another way is to integrate predatory insects into a farm because some kinds of good insects can help kill off harmful pests. Some examples of these insects include ladybugs or predatory mites. Jules Pretty found that farms that provide habitats for pest predators have averaged a 79 percent increase in crop yields over previous agricultural systems that did not use pests to fight pests. For instance, in the Nakhon Ratchasima province of Thailand, farmers use tiny wasps to help kill mealybugs that were destroying Thailand’s multibillion dollar cassava industry. In addition, farmers in Florida are growing plants that attract wasps that lay their eggs in the larvae of harmful pests, which prevents those pests from reproducing.

Also, organic pesticides are not only healthier for people and the environment but they allow farmers and producers to make the most out of their resources by turning agricultural outputs into natural pesticides. For example, home gardeners in Nepal apply zhol mol, an organic liquid pesticide made of neem leaves, timur, garlic, livestock urine, and water, to their vegetables and fruits. Similarly, farmers in India use neem trees as a natural pesticide. Neem trees, which can also be found in the Sahara Desert and Florida, can repel pests such as spider mites and cutworms.