Parson, Kansas — Despite the predictions for the 2010 wheat crop, according to Doug Shoup, K-State southeast area agronomist, this year’s wheat was better than expected, especially in southeast Kansas.

“As producers begin to think about planting wheat for next year there are a few things they need to keep in mind,” Shoup said at the recent Wheat Production and Water Quality meeting in Columbus, Kansas.

“There was a new strand of stripe rust which began to appear in early April at nurseries in Texas, causing many of stripe resistant wheat varieties to become susceptible to stripe rust and there is now a new variety rust ratings system,” Shoup added.

According to Shoup, there are still varieties of wheat which continue to do well even with new race of stripe rust present and producers should not only select wheat based on yield potential.

They should also consider wheat with a disease resistance package against:

•powdery mildew

•barly yellow dwarf

•leaf rust

•stripe rust

Also, wheat varieties with environmental tolerances and other factors such as quality. When selecting which variety to plant look at multiple year data.

Fungicides are an option for some producers especially those who are using the wheat varieties which did well with the old race of stripe rust like Jagger.

“Fungicides can help against different diseases, but producers need to look at price and determine if a fungicide is the best option for them,” Shoup said. “Most producers see an average of nine to 10 percent increase in yield potential by using a fungicide, but sometimes the price of wheat doesn’t make sense for the producer to spend the money on fungicides. Producers will have to weigh the options and determine what is best for them.”

Also new this year are two herbicides options to fight against weed control, according to Shoup.

PowerFlex is a new herbicide from Dow AgroSciences for postemergence control of cheatgrass, Italian ryegrass and broadleaf weeds in wheat and can be applied at 3.5 ounces per acre in the fall or spring postemergence from three leaf to jointing stage of wheat.

The other new herbicide is Huskie from Bayer. Huskie is a premix for postemergence control of broadleaf weeds and can be applied at 11 to 15 ounces per acre in the spring or fall postemergence from one leaf to flag leaf emergence when weeds and crops are actively growing.

Shoup concluded by reminding producers about the new race of stripe rust which is causing a concern for many of the wheat varieties available, however, the Everest, Armour and Jackpot varieties are still holding strong on stripe rust resistance.

As the evening continued, area producers learned more about how to properly handle poultry litter and water quality.

“Since Oklahoma started regulating poultry litter in how it can be used, more litter is being brought into Kansas from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma,” Alan Sharp, environmental scientist with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said. “With more litter coming into Kansas, more producers are utilizing poultry litter as an alternative to fertilizer and need to know how to handle litter and the environmental concerns it can have, especially with water quality.”

According to Sharp, Kansas does not have regulations on poultry litter, like Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma has been dealing with poultry litter longer which is why we have regulations,” Shannon Phillips, water quality division director for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, said. “Eastern Oklahoma is one of the leading poultry states in the United States. Since the majority of the poultry is being grown around high priority watersheds in Oklahoma there are more regulation on how to handle the litter. It is important to find ways to protect our drinking water in the state.”

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission works with voluntary groups of landowners who are devoted to preserving water quality in their area. According to Phillips, the voluntary group makes up a Watershed Advisory Group who set and determine cost share strategies and best management practices to increase the number of landowners interested in preserving their watersheds.

“Our goal is to educate the landowners and help provide alternatives for producers who are using the streams and creeks as a source of drinking water for their livestock, but it is to also educate the public what landowners are doing,” Phillips added. “We change the way people do business and it is important to offer education on why our watersheds are important and why we have to work together.”

In Kansas, there are Watershed Restoration And Protection Strategy groups who work with the NRCS and develop best management practices and determine how to improve watersheds in the area.

“The only livestock operations that are regulated in Kansas are the ones that have permits,” Sharp said. “However, if the department of health and environment receives a complaint than we have to resolve it, so in an indirect way the other livestock operations are regulated.”

According to Sharp, producers using poultry litter need to keep in mind location of where the litter will be stored and where the litter will be applied.

“If producers are going to store litter it needs to be stored 200 feet away from a water source and stored in a conical shape as the conical shape will produce less runoff,” Sharp added. “Litter should not be stored for more than six months at a time, it would be best to use it once it is delivered.”

Also, producers who are storing litter should have a place where they can easily access the stored litter and allow delivery drivers easy access the to storage location to avoid causing damage to the fields.

Sharp concluded, reminding producers when using poultry litter to utilize buffers between the storage site and water source, use cone shaped piles, avoid long term storage, apply litter at agronomic rates, specialized equipment is needed to spread the litter and to get involved in local watershed groups as these groups need producer input to make them successful.