Fall Weed Control in Lawns
Right now is the best time to try to be taking care of the weeds that occur in your yard. Most people believe that spraying in the spring is the best idea so they do not grow all summer, in fact spring and summer are the worst times to spray for weeds. Right now all plants are starting to store sugars in their roots to make it through the long winter, so killing them now before they go dormant is the best option. Next year’s dandelions have already germinated so preventing next year’s growth is key. With most of the plants going dormant at this time, spraying for weeds now is ideal because it will cause little to no harm on other surrounding plants. ‘Weed and feed’ products are not highly effective, as they lead to herbicide runoff and can easily track indoors. Broadleaf herbicide ingredients such as 2, 4-D, dicamba and MCPP can have unintended effects, such as drift. Physical drift, applying small droplets in windy conditions, can cause the herbicide to end up in unintended places. The next type of drift is vapor drift, the applied herbicide volatizes into a gas and will travel away from where it was applied. Because of the two types of drift, young plants may be affected or killed because the plants are not established yet. If you are applying a broadleaf herbicide that contains dicamba, do not apply it repeatedly near tree roots. Dicamba builds up in the soil, gets absorbed through the roots and will kill the tree with time. Remember to always follow the label when applying any type of herbicide, same goes for fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. Wear boots, and long pants and shirts. This information was gathered from the Carrington Research Extension Center.
Needle Drop In Conifers
Every year deciduous trees like ash, maple and oak change color and lose their leaves. This is normal and expected. When evergreen (conifer) needles turn brown and die, it’s unexpected, but not necessarily abnormal. There are commonly two types of evergreens or conifers that grow in North Dakota, pines and spruces. Pines have long needles (two to nine inches) and spruce have shorter needles (three-quarter to an inch long). Pine tree needles live for two to seven years then die and drop to the ground. The older needles are towards the center of the tree, the older needles will start turning yellow in August. By mid-September those older needles will turn brown, die and fall to the ground. Spruce tree needles usually live longer than pine tree needles. Generally spruce needles will live up to ten years. Similarly to pine needles, older spruce needles will change color and drop. Seeing some conifers drop their needles is normal, larch trees, also called tamarack, are one exception. Larch trees are deciduous evergreens and lose their needles yearly, the most common larch in North Dakota is the Siberian Larch. The needles turn bright yellow in the fall then drop to the ground. This information was gathered from Dr. Zeleznik, the NDSU Extension Forester.
Joppa Durum Soon To Be Available
Throughout Williams County we have five farmers currently growing Joppa Durum. This year Joppa was a foundation seed released from North Dakota State University. Joppa has medium straw strength, good disease resistance, and high yields. To gather more information about Joppa Durum you can go to the following website. http://www.ndsuresearchfoundation.org/images/pdf/Joppa%20Durum.pdf
If you are interested in growing Joppa Durum next year, please call the Williams County Extension Service Office and ask for Danielle, 701-577-4595.
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