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2 CapitalPress.com October 6, 2017 Put row crop fields to bed for winter By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press By the end of harvest most farmers are out of gas. “They get really tired of farming by the end of the harvest,” said Ed Peachey, weed scientist and vegetable specialist with Oregon State University’s Horticulture De- partment, “but there are a few things to do before the fall rains start that can make farm- ing easier in the future.” For processed vegetable producers, it is important to stop weeds such as night- shade and keep them from producing seeds. Spraying herbicides such as glyphosate is easy but it doesn’t stop seed production very quickly; it’s usually better to try to destroy the plants with flails or tillage equipment to crunch up the berries. Otherwise, the weeds keep producing seeds, some- Photos by OSU Ed Peachey inspects weed control efficacy in green onions. Herbicide programs typically must be adjusted so that cover crops are not harmed. times into mid-November, he said. Fall is also a good time to identify new weeds that have shown up and make plans for control, if needed. “If there are weeds you haven’t seen before that are exposed after harvest, that’s the time you’ve really got to pay attention,” Peachey said. “If it’s an invasive species and it’s got seeds on it, it’s not unreasonable to think about SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL removing them from the field, especially if they’re in isolat- ed spots.” Velvetleaf has Peachey concerned; he’s seen it in Ore- gon’s Willamette Valley since the mid-1990s but never in Linn County Fair & Expo Center • Albany, OR 3700 Knox Butte Rd. • I-5 at Exit 234 TUE • WED • THU November 14• 15 • 16, 2017 • CORE Pesticide Training for credits Equipment Show (Register online) • Forklift Certification Classes (Register online) • Antique Farm Equipment Show with over 70 pieces on display • 190+ Vendors and Dozens of New Exhibitors! Another 20,000 sq. ft. of indoor heated displays! • Back by Popular Demand: Wed. Evening Dine Around Oregon. Tickets available online starting Oct. 1 st 1-800-208-2168 WSG17-3/100 such high numbers. “I don’t know if it has reached some critical mass, but this summer I found a couple fields infested with velvetleaf,” he said. “Usu- ally it’s been maybe one plant per acre or less; sud- denly there are hundreds per acre.” Fall is also a good time to plant cover crops to improve soil quality, reduce erosion and suppress winter weeds, but that can be a challenge given the factors involved. Herbicide carryover is one factor that must be taken se- riously when considering WSG17-3/100 • CPR/AED Training A cover crop of oats and crim- son clover planted between corn rows. cover crops. Herbicides with long residuals — Raptor, Re- flex and Sandea, for example — limit the crops that can be planted in the spring and may affect cover crop growth in the fall. Producing a good cover crop requires the same exper- tise and attention to detail as planting a cash crop. “You have to think about how you’re going to manage slugs,” Peachey said. “If I have this amount of crop res- idue on the surface; can I get slug bait down to them?” Most growers don’t have the time to fully work down a field in the fall to bury all the crop residue, he said, and disking or plowing deep is pretty risky as far as losing soil. An alternative to fall-plant- ed cover crops is to inter-seed cover crops into crops such as sweet corn during the sum- mer. Peachey has been con- ducting several trials through- out the Willamette Valley this year in conventional and or- ganic sweet corn and squash crops through support of the Western Sustainable Agricul- ture Research and Education (WSARE) Program. The objective is to find ways to get more cover crops into the system without hav- ing to do all the planting and tillage in the fall, and without jeopardizing weed control in the vegetable crop. Ag Show Season Kickoff SERIES 3120R 3520R 3510H 4020R 4525R 4720H 6640 8050 24 - 80 hp., 4 wheel drive, Compact Synchro Shuttle; Hydro 24, 28, 35, 47hp Branson Model 4020R THE TRACTOR STORE (541) 342-5464 5450 W. 11 th , Eugene, OR
