Ag Decision Tools

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension

While you wait for the snow to clear and the ground to dry out a bit please check out the Southern Ag Research Center website for some tools that may help you once spring actually arrives.

The research centers are good resources that we all need to keep in mind, along with local county Extension offices.  At the aforementioned website you will find a link on the left hand side that says “Agronomy Decision Tools.”  It is under this link that you will find several tools that you can utilize throughout the season.  For example, in the eventuality that we ever get in the fields this spring, you might be wondering about a seeding rate.  There is a seed rate calculator link that you can follow that has you input your desired plant population on a plants per square foot basis.  You can also modify your seed weight, germination rate, purity, emergence mortality, row spacing, the size area that you are planting and the seed price.  Once those numbers are inputted it will spit out your seed rate calculations., including target plant population, planting rate, and total cost.

 

As we get into the season and are fertilizing crops there is also a fertilizer recommendation tool that you can use, if you have had a soil test done recently that you can refer to, as it asks for numbers from those tests. 

Additionally, as you spray for various weeds throughout the season and plan for your rotations over the coming year, an herbicide selection tool is there to assist you.  All you need to do is select what weeds you would like to control, what your current crop is, what your next crop is anticipated to be, when the next crop will be planted and whether the herbicide will be applied pre- or post-emergent.  This will then spit out all available herbicides for use, including what pesticide group they below to and for what weeds the chemicals will work on, if you selected for control for multiple weeds.  We aren’t making a recommendation.  We are helping you make an informed decision when you talk with your chemical dealer or professional advisor.  The only downside of this tool that I can find is that it doesn’t help with tank mixes.  For tank mixes I would still advise reading the label and visiting with your chemical representative. 

I would encourage all growers to take some time and explore the website and the tools I briefly outlined.  These can greatly help you in your yearly operations.