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Times-Advocate, 1982-11-24, Page 27Huron farm and home news Alfalfa disease in Huron,Perth more serious than expected You read about the new alfalfa disease - Verticillium Wilt - In this column about eight weeks ago. Since then we have done a mini -survey. We checked 12 consecutive fields in south Perth, 12 in north Perth and 12 in central Perth and Huron. Of these 36 fields 18 or 50 percent have been confirmed by the lab at the University of Guelph as having Verticillium Wilt. Thirty of the 36 fields had field symptoms of Verticillium Wilt. The survey did not in - elude fields planted in 1982. If this disease advances in 1983 as it did in 1982 these 18 fields will have no third cut, half a crop for the second cut, but hopefully about 90 percent of a normal first cut. Stands established in 1982 should have 3 normal cuts in 1983. How disease affects alfalfa Within aplantthere are two main conducting systems. One is responsible for moving water and nutrients to the top of the plant (xylem). The other moves sugars from the leaves back to the roots (phloem). Verticillium Wilt (or vert as it is nicknamed) attacks the zylem tissue and makes this water conducting tissue very inefficient. If there is lots of moisture, vert does not seriously affect alfalfa. For this reason most of our first cut should be nor- mal next year. Once the late June -July drought period comes this disease really becomes evident. The plant will start to grow and as long as there is lots of moisture BAKING AT BAZAAR — The ladies of Exeter Christian Reformed Church held a successful bazaar Saturday. Shown with some of the delicious baking are Ann Klungel, Jane Van Wieren and Lida De Vries. T -A photo Few spokesmen outside of agriculture have been able to maintain a high profile when speaking for farmers. One exception is Delbert O'Brien of Pembroke, On- tario, a lawyer and chairman of the Ontario Drainage Tribunal. Mr. O'Brien is an intelligent articulate man. I have heard him speak only once but have followed reports of his talks in a number of publications. A copy of the March issue of Municipal World was sent to me recently by Garth Noecker of Listowel. In that issue, Mr. O'Brien maintains that the whole fabric of rural life in,Ontario is being erod- ed and I heartily agree with him. The bottom line, he said, is that farms and businesses are now largely owned by the len- ding institutions. Farms in Ontario are encumbered with debts of$5billion, collaterally secured by mortgages. The mortgages are deeds that transfer titles to the len- ding institutions until the debt is paid. In other words, the lending institutions hold titles to the farms. Daily, he said, banks are securing ownership by default to more and more of rural e loot in the UrrOW°by /alto,. art oc Med., foo Trots*, (Mato Re Ontario. "Our legal system, our financial system, our com- merical system, our political system are all calculated to make us support the astoun- ding costs of the city," he said when he spoke to the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association. He decries the tremendous amounts of money allocated by senior governments to ur- ban development: urban housing, urban planning, ur- ban transit, urban core development.Yet, how much help is given to rural com- munities? They are allowed to die slow, painful deaths because fewer farmers are around every year to have any definite effect at the ballot box. In the last 20 years, fewer dollars have been spent for agricultural programs; in fact, agriculture represents little more than one percent of provincial and federal budget allocations. I agree with Mr. O'Brien when he suggests that the best friend Ontario farmers have are at Queen's Park. Dennis Timbrell, in my hum- ble opinion, is making his mark in the -provincial Cabinet and has shown con - McCann Redi-Mix Inc. DASHWOOD, ONTARIO ALL TYPES OF CONCRETE WORK REDI-MIX CONCRETE 8. FORMWORK PRECAST PRODUCTS DEALER MANGERS STEPS SLATS CURBS Phone Office 237-3647 Lloyd 236-4819 Good corn in the bin on time. Find out more about our rugged standing, high yielding SX 181 and 834 varieties with yields up to 200 bushels per acre from Gerald Lynn 227-4677 or Gerald McBride 235-1843 siderable initiative in the agriculture and food portfolio. Mr. O'Brien, with his ex- perience and education, also takes a good swipe at the Economic Council of Canada and the economists at the University of Guelph for the recent reports and documents that were so unfair to the Canadian farmer. He calls the economists at Guelph "some of the most misguided critics of rural On- tario in the country." "They mistakenly elected to include capital apprecia- tion as a portion of farm in- come, a procedure", said O'Brien, which is unsound academically and in conflict with basic accounting. "No one..would consider in- cluding the increased value of his house or the increased value of his common stocks in his income, but that is what they (the economists at the University of Guelph) have done for farmers and that is the basis of the Economic Council of Canada reports," said Mr. O'Brien. The problem is one which this writer has mentioned before, ad museum: trying to convince the urban majority that there is a confrontation brewing out here in the Boondocks. The cities control the mass media. "Farmers observe, with total frustration, the Toronto Globe and Mail carrying on its crusade against marketing boards - highlighting every foible and quoting every critic no matter how transparent their vested interest." We could also include the Reader's Digest in this declaration of war against marketing boards. "Our numbers are declin- ing, our base'is eroding. Our leadership must come to you," said Mr. O'Brien. Amen to that. everything is alright. However, as soon as we get four or five days of extreme- ly dry weather the plant will "wilt" The diseased xylem tissue will not be able to keep the water flowing from the roots to the top. These individual plants or parts of plants will turn brown as if they have been frosted. In fields that have a high level of vert the affected plants tend to only grow a small number of stems. As long as there is lots of moisture these few stems tend to be taller than the near- by unaffected stems. But, when the water flow is slow- ed down these taller stems wilt. How did we get the disease? At this point it is academic. The number of theories is on- ly surpassed by the imagina- tion of those thinking up theories. The most probable theory is that the disease was introduced with the seed. Pro- bably as infected plant debris mixed with the seed. All of our present varieties are susceptible to this disease. Northrup King has a variety near licencing called Trumpeter. Hopefully this variety will be licenced this year. It is presently licenced in the U.S. One problem though is seed supply. Since it is a new variety there is very little seed available for 1983. How Disease Spreads I talked to Greg Tegart,. a Field Crop and' Range Specialist from British Col- umbia. Vert is 1-2 years fur- ther advanced in British Col- umbia than it is in Ontario. He says that the disease can be spread from field to field by haying equipment. But, there is no way to stop this spread. Once the disease is in a field it is spread effectively by in- sects such as aphids. In On- tario aphids and leaf hoppers may spread vert. If this is the case, then we don't have to worry about equipment spreading vert. Insects will do a good enough job. Greg said that vert has shortened the life of their alfalfa stands by half. Farmers that used to be able to leave stands down for 5 to 6 years -are not only getting 21;2 to 3 years from their stands. Implication for farmers So where does that leave you, the Perth and Huron county farmers? Probably your stands of susceptible varieties will only last about 2 years. Next year you may have a period of grace until the disease becomes more widespread. But, to be realistic, you have to count on only having 50 to 75 percent of a normal alfalfa yield from fields seeded in 1981 or earlier. If your present acreage at a yield of 50 to 75 percent of normal will give you enough feed for '83-'84 there is no problem. If it won't produce enough feed you have to make plans. What I suggest is a plan, that if verticillium becomes a problem I am predicting you will have enough feed. This plan must also be flexible enough so that if this disease PLAN SPEAKER Huron County Federation of Agriculture's monthly meeting is to be held Thurs- day, December 2, at the St. James Separate School in Seaforth. Guest speaker for this meeting is the newest ex- ecutive from O.F.A., Harry Zwerver. '� SAW DEAL IS A STIHL! HI-PSRTORMAMCC • M100ZD. STIHL FEATURES tWCLQDCI •Anti Vlbratfo. triter,. , •Automatic oiling •Hlgh pewter tommtgla ratio •Qal.l. .tllct.nl front. mounted baffled multi. The growing name in corn 032 1 11-- . • ►.n••. moor ,5 ✓ on THE PRICE or THE SAW THE TOMS ATl fKO DEI OT • chain • 150 ml. mlf oil •Extra spark plug •Chain I' • File hand). • Hook 'n Adjust tool *Hoe faqir*, N ovae►.✓ 30,1142 i'Mw1 — -e.-,. 1*h 11 Fon! ST/HL' �......, ua...r .Ola.. llaY. SAM AVAILABLE HERE, NOW - AT YOUR TIHL DEALER, WHILE SUPPLY LASTS Ban Weld Saw and Blade 153 Victoria St. E., Crediton Phone 234-6339 4 does not develop you are not out money. The reason that 1 am hedging is because nobody knows how this disease will develop. We have never had it in Ontario before. The first step is with your new seedings next year: I sug- gest you put in 5-10 percent grass. If you have been successful with direct seedings, definite- ly direct seed. If you use a companion crop, do not put any nitrogen with this crop unless you will harvest the grain as green feed in early July. This option will allow a cut of alfalfa in August. This year we have lost too many new seedings because of a little bit of nitrogen. The second part of the plan is to find out who of your neighbours are using double cut red clover as a plough down crop. If we have a nor- mal year in '83 then at least 1, of these fields should have a harvestable crop of haylage by mid-September '83. If you are growing wheat yourself, then next spring seed it to double cut red clover. The third part of this plan is to line up new alfalfa acres. Especially if you feel extra vulnerable. (The older the alfalfa stands are the higher the chance of a kill out.) Get an agreement with someone who does not grow alfalfa. Get him to grow alfalfa for you, trade acres with him or just rent hisland. The be;t fields tolook for are fields that had beans in 1982. If there was twitch on this land you can see it. Of course, you don't want fields with twitch. Stay away from corn fields. I don't care how little atrazine was supposedly put on. If you have to use corn fields get an atrazine residue test. Verticillium cloud has a silver lining When you were confronted with the alfalfa weevil, it was seen as a hardship. However, the alfalfa weevil forced you to cut the at first cut earlier. This in turn gave you a higher protein feed and ensured a third cut. Vert will also give us benefits. Many of you are leaving alfalfa down too long. By the fourth year twitch grass is well established. Alfafa is thinning out and weeds are more plentiful. This means your protein content is drop- ping. Verticillium will make you go to a shorter rotation. This will give you economic benefits because of the nitrogen produced for the next crop and higher protein feed. It will also give more of your fields and hopefully more of your neighbours fields the benefits of growing alfalfa. -Pat Lynch, Soils & Crop Specialist -John Heard, Assistant Agr. Representative • November 24 Paye 15A Chained Lightning... John Deere Chain Saws Highly rated by a leading consumer publication. Choose from 7 models 30 to 80 cc. Rugged and durable. Get profes- sional quality and dependability from the line of John Deere chain saws BUY NOW and SAVE on a JOHN DEERE Snow Blower Interest FREE till March 1, 1983 • • Save time, effort, and money this winter with a new heavy-duty John Deere Snow Blower. Drop into our place and take a good look at the John Deere 8 H.P. that cuts a 26" path. This 2 stage design blower is efficient. 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