San Joaquin County and Delta Field Crops Meeting this Friday Jan. 12

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Farm News Director

Cooperative Extension of San Joaquin County will host the San Joaquin County and Delta field Crops meeting this Friday, January 12 8:00 AM to noon. The meeting location will be at the Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton. Lunch will be provided.

Among some of the items to be discussed at that meeting will be a Regulatory Update, with Tim Pelican, the San Joaquin County agricultural commissioner; Alfalfa Weevil Management, with Rachel Long UCCE Farm Advisor; California Farmer Voices on Nitrogen Management with Jessica Rudnick, UC Davis; Managing Weeds and Agronomic Crop Rotations, with Kurt Hembree UCCE Farm Advisor: and Tools for Selecting Small Grain Varieties.

There will also be a discussion on Sorghum Seeding Rates for optimum productivity. Michelle Leinfelder-Miles UCCE Farm Advisor has been running some trials

“So we tested five, six, nine, twelve and fifteen pounds per acre,” Leinfelder-Miles said. “I think growers in my region were recommended to plant on that higher side, maybe 12-15 pounds per acre. Feedback that I was getting from researchers including our UC Specialist is that we should probably be planting on the lower end, more like five or six pounds per acre—targeting a plant population of, maybe 85,000 plants per acre up to 100,000 plants per acre. But not overshooting 100,000.”

“The real take home message is that we didn’t see the higher seating rates yielding better. We saw basically even yield across the different treatments,” noted Leinfelder-Miles. “So what does this mean? It means that if you’re planting these larger seeding rates, you’re spending more money on more seed, but you’re not seeing a yield benefit from that extra cost of planting more seed.”

Find out more about these seeding rates and other items at that field day. Please RSVP for a Lunch count. (209) 953-6100.