Economics | Forage | Horticulture | Livestock | Soils | Wildlife

What slicing tomato varieties does the Noble Foundation recommend?
We've experienced good results growing the following varieties: Heat Wave, Celebrity, Mountain Spring, Amelia, Florida 91, Florida 47 and Merced. Good luck finding Merced. Merced plants are in short supply because the seed company offering this variety discontinued it several years ago. If you come across any Merced plants, be sure and purchase a few because it "was" a winner.

When is the best time to fertilize my pecan trees?
In our service area, February is the best time to apply fertilizer. Research has shown that pecan trees experience less competition for fertilizer, especially nitrogen, when the fertilizer is applied during the late winter, a time when the groundcover (warm season grasses) is dormant.
The preferred method of determining fertilizer rates is leaf analysis. Analyzing the nutrient content of the foliage collected in July of the previous year is a more accurate method of determining pecan fertilizer requirements compared to soil analysis. In the absence of a leaf analysis report or soil test report, we recommend a "shotgun application" of a complete fertilizer such as 13-13-13 or 17-17-17 applied at the rate of 600 pounds per acre. For individual trees, plan on applying one pound of complete fertilizer per inch of trunk diameter for trees less than 18 inches in diameter and two pounds per inch of diameter on larger trees. Be sure to evenly scatter fertilizer over the area covered by the tree canopies.

When is the best time to prune deciduous trees?
Trees can be pruned any time of the year if the situation warrants. If a tree is injured as the result of a wind storm during the growing season, pruning is acceptable to remove broken or damaged branches. To minimize the loss of sap and reduce the incidence of disease, pruning trees while they are dormant is preferred. Ideally, waiting to prune just before the tree breaks dormancy will minimize the chance of freeze injury to newly cut surfaces and promote quick healing with the start of new growth.

When should I stop fertilizing my warm-season turf grass?
I usually recommend making the last application in late September or no later than the first week of October. The normal recommended rate of nitrogen (N) fertilizer (1 pound actual N/1,000 square feet) applied later than this will not be completely utilized by the plant before a killing freeze, primarily because of a reduced growth rate. The nitrate form of nitrogen not used by the grass is susceptible to leaching during the winter months. Research suggests that on nutrient deficient sites, a complete fertilizer applied late in the growing season can increase cold hardiness of turfgrass. In the absence of a soil test, your final fertilizer application should consist of a complete fertilizer such as 13-13-13 applied at the rate of 10 lbs./1,000 sq ft.

When should I stop fertilizing my lawn?
Normally, we don't recommend applying a nitrogen fertilizer to warm-season turf grasses such as bermudagrass and St. Augustine later than September. Nitrogen applied in October is not utilized to the extent it is during the summer months because of a slower growth rate caused by shorter days and cooler temperatures. Also, applying excess nitrogen late in the year can prevent the turf from hardening off, making it more susceptible to winter kill. A common practice is to apply a "winterizer" fertilizer in the fall. A winterizer is a complete fertilizer containing phosphorous and potassium. Phosphorous is known to assist with root development, which acts to impart winter hardiness in turf. Keep in mind you may not need to add phosphate fertilizer if there is an abundance of this mineral in your soil. The only way to determine this is to have a soil test performed. Speaking of winter hardiness, don't forget the importance of having the turf well hydrated going into the winter. Be sure to irrigate in the absence of rainfall before the first hard freeze. The take home message is this: Grass that is hydrated is much more resistant to cold injury compared to turf that is drought stressed and starving for nutrients.

Do I need to remove cattle from my pecan orchard?
If you are a livestock producer and have native pecan trees you expect to harvest this fall, remember to remove cattle from all pastures containing pecan trees by Sept. 1. While livestock manure deposited during grazing complements pecan tree nutrition and boosts soil organic mater, it may contain bacteria harmful to humans, including E. coli. As a result, fresh manure should not be present on the orchard floor during mechanical harvest. Most experts suggest the manure needs a maximum of 6 weeks for sufficient time to decompose before harvest. Removing cattle from pecan groves the first week of September allows plenty of time for decomposition before early maturing trees are ready for harvest. For further reading, see: Two Story Agriculture - Pecans and Livestock

How much money can I make with native pecans?
Income potential from native pecans will vary from year to year, depending on many variables. Most native pecan trees are alternate bearing, meaning they make a good crop every other year. A well-managed native grove may produce an average of 500 pounds of in-shell nuts per acre. If the crop can be marketed for 75 cents per pound in-shell, then that is a gross of $375 per acre. There are expenses, but if the enterprise is leased on a 70:30 share, the landowner receives 30 percent of $375, or $112.50 per acre every other year. For more information see www.hortla.okstate.edu/pecan/

How often should I fertilize my warm-season lawn?
In our NF service area the first application of nitrogen fertilizer should be made during mid- to late April. This is also a good time to apply other nutrients as recommended by a soil test report. To ensure a high-quality turf throughout the growing season, apply a nitrogen fertilizer 4 to 6 weeks following the initial April application and continue every 4 to 6 weeks through September. If the turf will not be irrigated, omit application during the summer months.

I think my bermudagrass is dead. What should I do?
Bermudagrass has the wonderful survival trait of going dormant during periods of unfavorable weather. Often times during cold or dry weather, bermudagrass will go dormant but will recover quickly when conditions are more favorable. Therefore, the first step may be to wait and see if the bermudagrass recovers. You can also dig up some roots and see if they still appear to be healthy. They should be white to yellow, moist on the inside and flexible. If water can be applied affordably, irrigate thoroughly and deeply about once per week during the growing season and about once per month during the winter. One way to help bermudagrass manage weather stress is to apply appropriate fertility, especially potassium, according to soil test recommendations.

What can I do about fire ants?
The short answer is to learn to manage them. If you have them, you will probably never get rid of all of them. If you don't have them now, you probably will some day. The first step in management is to identify the problem. Red imported fire ants often build raised mounds of soil with no obvious entrance hole. When this mound is disturbed, the ants will swarm out. Identification is important because it is thought that some native ants may be enemies of fire ants, so don't assume all ants are bad and kill those that may be beneficial. Once you have determined the need to treat, the "Two-Step" process has proven to be most effective. With this method, insecticide bait is applied to a large area. The fire ant workers take this bait back to their mounds where others eat it and die. Several days after the bait is applied, contact insecticide is used on individual mounds to kill surviving ants. Before purchasing or using any insecticide, be sure to read the label and see if it was made for your intended use. For good control, use the insecticide exactly as the label says. Once you have fire ants under control, be vigilant against new invasions so they can be treated before populations have a chance to build. An excellent Web site with additional information is fireant.tamu.edu.

Additional information is also available at:
http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2333/CR-7309web.pdf
http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-3059/CR-7193web.pdf

When do I need to start scouting for pecan weevil?
Adult weevils start emerging from the soil in August, usually following a soaking rain. If a rain doesn't occur, the weevil will still emerge, but they will do so sporadically. After emergence, the weevils either fly to a low-hanging limb or crawl up the trunk. The vast majority of these critters choose to walk rather than fly. The best method of scouting for weevil is to use a circle trap applied to the trunk. Give your county ag extension agent or a Noble Foundation horticulture specialist a call for information on scheduling spray applications based on threshold levels of weevils caught in circle traps.