Tri River Area
Small Acreage Management

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2009 Building Farmers Program
Delta, Colorado
October 14 through November 17
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Alfalfa Yield Response to Additional Potash in the Tri River Area

Colorado State University Extension recommendations for potassium are zero if the soil test analysis results exceed 120 ppm available potassium in the soil. There have been comments made by producers and dealers that added potash provided greater yields of alfalfa even though a soil test analysis showed that no additional potassium was needed. However, there was no actual yield data to substantiate these observations. Information provided by A. Wayne Cooley (deceased), former Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science), Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science).

Commercial Fertilizer Test on Irrigated Mountain Meadows in the Tri River Area

Input cost for production agriculture takes directly from the profit margin of the operation. Obviously, production agriculture requires a certain amount of input cost to produce a quality commodity that can be sold. The goal of every operation is to maximize profits.

Fertilizer is a production input that can easily increase the profit margin. However, too much fertilizer can waste money and possibly be leached or runoff to non-target sites. Too little fertilizer will result in lower yields and lost profits. How can the needed fertilizer for a given field or meadow be determined? Information provided by A. Wayne Cooley (deceased), former Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science), Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science).

Pesticides for Native Plant/Plant Materials Seed Production

Production of native plant and other plant materials seed is dependent in part on pesticides for weed, insect and disease control. This series of web pages provides links to insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and molluscicides labeled for seed crops.

Pollen Movement from Alfalfa Seed Production Fields

In alfalfa pollen flow study was conducted near Fruita, CO (Mesa County) during the summer of 2006 with the objectives of determining the distance that bees transport Roundup Ready® alfalfa pollen under local field conditions, and estimating the role alkali bees play in alfalfa pollen transport in the area. We harvested seed from feral alfalfa plants at 23 sites on roadsides, abandoned fields, and edges of active hay fields within two miles of Roundup Ready® alfalfa seed fields. The gene was found at 83% the collection sites, out to a distance of 1.7 miles from the pollen source. Honey bees appeared to be the most important bee involved in long distance pollen transport. More Melissodes and Anthophora species than alkali bees were captured at the seed collection sites. Alkali bees played a minor role in long distance transport of pollen under these conditions. Information provided by Bob Hammon, Area Extension Agent (Entomology/Agronomy).

2000 Sweet Corn Seed Treatment Tests in the Uncompahgre Area

There are products on the market that claim to enhance seed germination, seedling vigor, make nutrients more available for plant uptake, work as antagonists against pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and promises various other benefits. In order to verify if these products will provide the benefits to the crops grown under our environmental conditions requires local testing on commercial farms. Information provided by A. Wayne Cooley (deceased), former Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science), Area Extension Agent (Soil and Crop Science).