1)   Daffodils Not Blooming? Think Back

1) Daffodils Not Blooming? Think Back

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Most daffodils across the Midwest put on a good show this spring. That simply added to the mystery of why other established plantings never even tried to flower.

Several factors can cause bloom failure, said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

Daffodils tend to perform so well in the region, however, that the only common reason is overcrowding. Unlike this year’s malady, overcrowding shows up as fewer and fewer bloom numbers.

“Diagnosing our current problem is unusual in that the most likely cause happened early last April during the 2007 Easter freeze,” Upham said.

Spring arrived in March last year, so most daffodils had finished blooming by the time Easter’s freezing weather arrived. Foliage was all that was left for the cold to injure, but in some cases, the damage was extensive.

“For six or more weeks after flowering, daffodils need their foliage. More to the point, they need the food those leaves make to feed each plant’s bulb,” Upham said. “That’s why we recommend leaving daffodils’ foliage in place until it dies back completely. If you remove it right after flowering, this exact kind of thing will happen.”

The weeks between the end of flowering and the end of the year’s foliage are when daffodil bulbs grow and form the buds for the following year’s flowers, he explained. So, although the Easter freeze didn’t kill the bulbs, it could stop the food output that would make bud-making for 2008 possible.

“Fortunately, so long as no further damage occurs, the plants should recover and bloom again next year,” Upham said.

Undersize (typically lowest-cost) daffodil bulbs can fail to bloom for several years, while they grow in size, he said. Bulbs overheated in storage or in a too-shallow planting site also may not flower.

 

2) Tips for Parents: Reduce Risks for Children Using Microwave Oven

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Using a microwave oven to heat up a snack sounds simple enough, but U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety specialists reminded that doing so can put children at risk.

A child must, for example, be old enough to know how to read and understand directions and tall enough to comfortably reach and remove hot, cooked food items from a microwave oven.

Additional tips from the USDA can reduce risks in the kitchen:

            *    Pierce hot dogs with a fork before placing them in a microwave-safe dish to keep them from exploding during cooking. Reheat hot dogs until they are hot and steaming.

            *    Stir and rotate food and liquids midway through cooking in a microwave oven. Foods and liquids heat unevenly, so if not stirred, harmful bacteria can survive in cold spots.

            *    Cover a dish of food for microwaving with a lid or plastic wrap (wrapped loosely to allow steam to escape). Moist heat will destroy harmful bacteria that may be present.

            *    Use potholders to prevent burns when removing food from a microwave oven. Uncover food away from your face to allow steam to escape.

            *    Use glass or other containers labeled "made for microwave use.” In a microwave, metal pans may cause arcing – and sparks to fly. Metal or aluminum foil containers, which also can get too hot and burn, are not recommended. Neither are one-time-use containers (a margarine tub, for example) that may warp, melt or release chemicals that may mix with food.

            *    Discard leftover and perishable foods left at room temperature for longer than two hours or one hour in air temperatures of more than 90 degrees.

More information about food and food safety is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on Extension Web sites: www.oznet.ksu.edu and www.oznet.ksu.edu/foodsafety.


 

3)  Placing Fertilizer With Seed Requires Care

MANHATTAN, Kan. – As spring planting begins to pick up pace, some agricultural producers may consider placing fertilizer with the seed during planting. That can be a good practice, but only if done with great care, said Kansas State University’s Dave Mengel.

“All fertilizers are salts so can cause germination problems if too much is placed with the seed,” said Mengel, who is a soils scientist with K-State Research and Extension. “Too much fertilizer may inhibit germination completely, which results in a stand loss.”

In other instances, too much fertilizer placed with the seed may simply delay germination, or it may result in weak seedlings with poorly developed root systems, he said. Either way, the affected seedlings will be at a competitive disadvantage, and a loss of yield potential could result.

Mengel advised keeping several points in mind when evaluating seed-placed fertilizer:

            * The potential for injury is greater in sandy and/or dry soils.

            * Nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) are the fertilizer components responsible for seedling injury. For corn, the maximum rate to place with seed is 6 to 8 pounds of N + K per acre.

            * For grain sorghum, reduce that rate 25 to 30 percent.

            * Place no fertilizer with soybean or sunflower seeds.

            * Some fertilizers should never be applied with seed. Do not apply ammonium thiosulfate by itself in direct contact with the seed. Don’t place urea-containing fertilizers with seed.

Further details are available on K-State’s Extension agronomy Web site: http://www.agronomy.ksu.edu/  (click on Extension; Agronomy e-Updates; e-Update 4/17/08).


 

4)  Spring Cattle-Pen Cleaning Can Curb Odors, Insects

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The expression “spring cleaning” conjures images of spotless households, but it can apply to cattle operations, too.

Spring is a good time for producers to clean feedlots or areas of manure accumulation, once cattle are removed for summer grazing, said Kansas State University’s Joel DeRouchey.

If not properly cleaned and maintained, confined feeding pens and temporary feeding sites for wintering cows or winter-backgrounding calves are prime contributors to odor emissions, said DeRouchey, who is an animal scientist with K-State Research and Extension.

In addition, fly production from those sites is much greater when manure and wasted feed are present. This, in turn, creates a nuisance and the potential for reduced animal performance for the remainder of the summer.