Kansas: Nitrogen Tie-Up a Common Cause of Yellow Wheat

Doane Daily Cotton Commentary

DTN Grains: Opening | Midday | Closing

Sunbelt Ag News:

DOANE: Cotton Commentary

Closing Livestock: Feeder Cattle Score Triple-Digit Gains on Close 1/5

DTN Fertilizer Outlook 1/5

Outlook 2009: Focus on Ag Markets 1/5

Outlook 2009: The Confidence Game 1/5

Closing Rice: Futures Sharply Lower Despite Slight Recovery at Midday 1/5

Closing Cotton: Cotton Futures Pare Sharp Setback 1/5

Alaron Energy Comment: New Optimistic Mood Greets New Year 1/5

Closing Grain: Late Fund Buying Leads to Mixed Day 1/5

U.S. Stock Market News 1/5

U.S. Economic News 1/5

Midday Grain: Mixed Start for Corn, Soybeans; Beans Up at Midday 1/5

Midday Livestock: Lean Hog Futures Break at Midday in Face of Discounted Cash 1/5

USDA National Weekly Rice Summary 1/5

Linn Corn Comment: Demand for Corn Still Very Light 1/5

Opening Cotton: Overbought Cotton Futures Skid Sharply 1/5

Opening Grain: Mostly Lower Overnight 1/5

Opening Livestock: Uneven Opening Expected in Lean Hog, Belly Futures 1/5

USDA National Weekly Cotton Review 1/2

USDA National Weekly Grain Review 1/2

Canadian Railways Fined $68 Million 1/2

Loophole in USDA Payment Rule 12/31

Soybean Database Will Help Breeders Engineer Better-Performing Plants 12/31

Texas: High Plains Grain Elevator Workshop Scheduled for February 5 12/31

Georgia: DuPont Acquires Ag Data Management Business to Enhance Information Solutions for Growers

U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey 12/28

Grain news from STAT

Fruit and Vegetables from STAT

More Ag News | Grain Futures Newswire

Sugar, U.S. Nut Markets

Upcoming Events:

(FD: field day; SS: scout schools)

Texas AgriLife Extension Profitability Conference, 1/5/09, 1 p.m., Ochiltree Co. Expo Center, Perryton.

Texas AgriLife Extension Profitability Conference, 1/5/09, 7 p.m., Lipscomb Clubhouse, Lipscomb.

National Cotton Council Cotton Consultant Conference, 1/5, San Antonio, Texas, just before the 2009 Beltwide Cotton Conference.

Beltwide Cotton Conference, 1/5-8, 2009. Marriott Rivercenter/Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Texas; Register.

Texas AgriLife Extension Profitability Conference, 1/6/09, noon, O’Laughlin Center, Spearman.

Southwest Louisiana Rice Forum, 1/6, 8 am, Welsh Community Center, Welsh, Agenda.

Southwest Louisiana Soybean Clinic, 1/6, 12:45 pm, Welsh Community Center, Welsh, Agenda.

Louisiana Evangeline/St. Landry Rice and Soybean Meeting, 1/7, Ville Platte Civic Center, Ville Platte.

Texas Feed Grains Marketing Workshop, 1/7-8, 9 am, Texas AgriLife REC, Amarillo.

Louisiana Acadia Rice Grower Meeting, 1/8, Crowley.

Louisiana 53rd Annual Tri-State Soybean Forum, 1/9, 7:30 am, lunch provide, Thomas Jason Lingo Center, Oak Grove.

Louisiana Vermilion Rice Grower Meeting, 1/9, 7:30 am, American Legion Hall, Kaplan.

2009 UK Winter Wheat Meeting, 1/13, Bowling Green, Ky, Transpark Center.

Texas High Plains Irrigation Conference and Trade Show, 1/14, 8 am, Amarillo Civic Center.

North Carolina County Meetings, 1/15 - 2/23, Various locations and dates.

Mississippi Peanut Growers Association Annual Meeting, 1/16, Forrest County Extension Complex, Hattiesburg.

2009 Ag Expo Forestry Forum, 1/17, Hilton Garden Inn, West Monroe, Louisiana.

South Texas Irrigation Conference and Trade Show, 1/20, 8:30 am, Medina Co. Fair Hall, Hondo.

Northeast Louisiana Crop Forum, 1/21, 8:30 am, Delhi Civic Center.

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation's Annual Winter Commodity Conference, 1/22-23, 12:30 pm, MFBF office, Jackson.

Georgia Ag Forecast Breakfast, 1/26, 7 am, Dalton.

National Conservation Systems Cotton & Rice Conference, 1/26-27, 2009, Marksville, La.

Texas AgriLife Extension Profitability Conference, 1/27/09, 10 a.m., Deaf Smith Co. Ext. Center, 903 14th Street, Hereford.

Georgia Ag Forecast Breakfast, 1/27, 7 am, Gainesville Civic Center, Gainesville.

2009 Arkansas Crop Management Conference, 1/27-30, 2009, North Little Rock Wyndham Hotel, Little Rock Arkansas.

Georgia Cotton Conference, 1/28, 2009, 7:30 am, UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Registration.

Georgia Ag Forecast Breakfast, 1/28, 7 am, Statesboro.

Farm Day 2009 (in cooperation with Alabama, Florida and Georgia Extension Systems), 1/29, 8 am, Walnut Hill Community Center,Walnut Hill, Florida.

Georgia Ag Forecast Breakfast, 1/29, 7 am, Tifton.

Georgia Ag Forecast Breakfast, 1/30, 7 am, Macon.

Texas High Plains Grain Elevator Workshop, 2/5, 8 am, Ashmore Inn and Suites, Amarillo.

15th Annual Arkansas State University Agribusiness Conference, 2/11, 8 am, ASU Fowler and Convocation Centers, Jonesboro.

Louisiana Agricultural Technology and Management Conference, 2/11-13, SAI Conference Center, Alexandria.

8th Annual Mississippi Farm Toy Show, 2/27-28, MAFES Conference Center, Starkville.

AgFax: Midsouth Cotton Archives

To list an event, contact Owen Taylor

Kansas:

Nitrogen Tie-Up a Common Cause of Yellow Wheat

By Steve Watson

K-State Research and Extension

MANHATTAN, Kansas (November 20, 2008) - Tree leaves aren´t the only thing turning yellow this fall. There are also plenty of wheat fields with a yellowish cast, especially in central Kansas, said Dave Mengel, Kansas State University Research and Extension soil fertility specialist.

The most common cause of yellow wheat is nitrogen deficiency, Mengel said. One of the reasons for nitrogen deficiency on wheat in the fall is nutrient tie-up, or nitrogen "immobilization," on plant residue, he said.

Nitrogen immobilization is common where less than 25 pounds per acre of fertilizer nitrogen has been applied to the wheat, and there are large amounts of wheat, corn, or sorghum residue present in the upper layer of soil or on the soil surface, he said.

"The amount of undecomposed plant residue present is a key factor. Immobilization of nitrogen is more likely when there are high levels of plant residue with a wide carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Wheat, corn, and sorghum residue all have a wide carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. These plant residues are an energy source for the microorganisms commonly found in soils," Mengel said.

"When plant residues are present, soil microbes actively begin to use them as a food source," he added. "The soil microbes begin multiplying, and in the process they utilize nitrogen present in or on the soil. The microbes incorporate nitrogen into proteins, nucleic acids, and other organic nitrogen compounds."

This nitrogen essentially becomes part of the soil organic biomass, and will remain unavailable to plants until the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio drops to a critical ratio, about 20-to-1, the soil scientist explained.

"At that point, nitrogen is no longer limiting and some of it will become available to plants again through the process of mineralization," Mengel said.

Until the crop residues have been sufficiently decomposed, nitrogen will remain tied up in the microbes. During this period, wheat plants may show nitrogen deficiency even if fertilizer nitrogen was applied, especially if the amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied was too low, he said.