Purdue Ag News Roundup

August 7, 1998 Indiana wines earn record number of medals NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A list of medal-winning wines and of Indiana wineries is available from Sally Peart at (765) 496-3842. She is the communications director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council, which is based at Purdue. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana wines earned a record 207 medals -- 11 gold, 86 silver and 110 bronze -- in the 1998 Indiana State Fair Wine Competition, also known as Indy International. "This has been the largest medal count ever for Hoosier vintners," said Richard Vine, a world-renowned enologist and Purdue University food science professor who directs the competition. The winning wines were announced Thursday (8/6) at "A Taste of Indiana Agriculture" reception at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The wine competition was held July 23-25 in Indianapolis. Huber Orchard & Winery, Starlight, Ind., took the Governor's Cup for the third year running for the most points earned by an Indiana Winery. Huber won two gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 19 medals overall in the Indiana and national divisions. Geyser Peak, a California winery, earned the coveted Best of Show trophy from American Airlines for its 1995 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. The best amateur wine award in both the national and Indiana divisions went to Dan and Donna Adams of Tobinsport, Ind., for their Labrusca Rose. The Indiana State Fair will display the winning wines Aug. 12- 23 in the Ag/Hort building. An information booth staffed by volunteers from Indiana wineries will be nearby. The Indy International, one of the five largest international wine competitions in the country, attracted 2,147 entries from 19 countries. The judges for the competition are wine professionals from coast to coast -- wine makers, writers, marketers, educators and researchers -- who evaluate thousands of wines competing for gold medals and the prestigious American Airlines trophy. For a free guide to Indiana's wineries, send a self-addressed, long envelope with 55-cents postage affixed to: Indiana Wine Grape Council, 1160 Food Science Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1160, 1-800-832-WINE. CONTACTS: Vine, (765) 494-6704; e-mail, vined@foodsci.purdue.edu, or Sally Peart, communications director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council, (765) 496-3842; e-mail, pearts@foodsci.purdue.edu Grain harvest, handling to be featured at NEPAC WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- As farmers approach the end of the growing season, a new set of challenges such as grain harvest, storage and post-harvest grain quality take center stage. These are especially important to farmers who are growing genetically engineered crops for the first time. Help and advice on the best ways to deal with these challenges will be available at the Northeast Purdue Ag Center Field Day on Aug. 27. "This field day's focus is on how to make farming operations more profitable by fine-tuning storage and harvesting techniques," said Rolla Parsons, chairman of the NEPAC field day committee. The field day also will feature tours of 65 different corn and soybean herbicide plots and a demonstration on plugging an abandoned well. "Some of the things people will learn about include grain grading and preserving the quality of stored grain," said Phil Walker, NEPAC superintendent. Attention also will be directed to new, genetically altered crops, such as those with high phytase or oil contents that require special handling, said Parsons, a Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service educator in Huntington County. "Growers of these new varieties are contracted to produce a certain quality of crop for their buyers, and new techniques will be necessary to deliver the quality of product they are expected to deliver," Parsons said. "Participants should walk away with a better understanding of new, alternative crop-handling procedures. They will have a better understanding of contracts, what to expect, and the quality of grain they need to deliver." NEPAC's grain handling facilities will be open, and there will be a presentation on preparing grain bins for storage. Personnel from Central Soya of Decatur, Ind., will make a presentation on grain handling. The field day is free and open to the public. Preregistration is not necessary. Registration will take place on-site from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The first educational session will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the first tour starting at 9:30 a.m. NEPAC is 7 miles southeast of Columbia City, 4 miles east of State Road 9 on Whitley County Road 400 South. From U.S. 30 at Coesse, go south on Whitley County Road 500 East for approximately 2 miles. CONTACTS: Parsons, (219) 358-4826; e-mail, rolla.parsons@ces.purdue.edu; Walker, (219) 244-7290; e-mail, nepac@dept.agry.purdue.edu Rusty grass gives homeowners orange soles, lawn blues WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- If walking across your lawn turns your white tennies orange, it's not the detritus of a massive Chee.tos fest on your lawn. It's from a lawn disease called rust that is especially prevalent this summer in Indiana. According to Zac Reicher, Cooperative Extension Service turfgrass specialist at Purdue University, rust often occurs in Indiana in September. This year, however, the rust came early. The rust fungus is killed each year by Hoosier winters, but, in the southern regions of the country, rust never sleeps. "Rust infects Hoosier lawns late in the summer after it is blown in from the South on upper-level winds," Reicher said. "The unusual winter weather during the past year may have allowed rust to overwinter farther north, which in turn caused us to see infections much earlier than expected. "Plus the above-average rainfall and high humidity are creating conditions that are perfect for a rust outbreak." Rust appears on lawns as reddish-orange lesions or spots on the leaf blades and a rust-colored powder that you can rub off with your fingers. The fungus will rarely kill a turf area, but it can substantially thin a lawn, especially this year when it probably will stay active well into September. Because rust is most common on slow-growing, underfertilized lawns, the best control is an application of fertilizer, Reicher said. "This control method is fine for late August infections with the fertilizer applied in early September, when we recommend an annual fertilizer application anyway," he said. "If you have a minor rust outbreak on your lawn, consider just living with the disease and wait until September to apply fertilizer, following the manufacturer's guidelines." For homeowners with a serious rust problem who decide to treat the disease immediately, Reicher cautioned not to apply more than one-half to three-quarters of a pound of nitrogen fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of lawn. He also said that homeowners should use a fertilizer that is at least 30 percent to 50 percent slow-release nitrogen, such as sulfur or polymer-coated urea, urea formaldehyde, or natural organic fertilizers. "Apply the fertilizer on a cool day, early morning or late evening, and be sure to water it in immediately after application," Reicher said. CONTACT: Reicher, (765) 494-9737; e-mail, zreicher@dept.agry.purdue.edu; Web, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/agronomy/turf/turf.htm Now is the time to improve your lawn for next year WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It's not too early to start thinking about improving your lawn for next year, according to Purdue University turf expert Zac Reicher. Mid-August is the best time to seed a new lawn or overseed an existing lawn, and autumn is the best time to fertilize your lawn. Here's Reicher's advice: If the lawn is in fairly good shape but thin and with a fair population of weeds, you can improve the lawn dramatically by applying fertilizer at a rate of 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in September and another 1.5 lb. of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in November. An application of a broadleaf herbicide in mid-October should take care of most of the broadleaf weeds such as clover and dandelion. If your lawn is very thin and very weedy, but doesn't have serious soil problems such as compaction, you can follow one of two courses of action. The first is to mow very low in early to mid August and then use a power overseeder to cut in turfgrass seed. The second option is to apply a nonselective burndown herbicide such as Roundup to the weeds and grass, wait about five days, and then use a power overseeder to cut in seed. Aerifying the lawn in many different directions before cutting in the seed will help to improve the germination and establishment of the new grass. Be sure to keep the lawn well-watered until the new seedlings are established. Applying a starter fertilizer (high in phosphorus but low in nitrogen and potassium) at 1.5 pounds of phosphorus per 1,000 square feet before seeding will help. If your lawn is very thin, weedy, and has serious soil problems such as compaction or bad drainage, apply a nonselective burndown herbicide in early August to kill the existing vegetation. After about five days, till the soil as deep as possible, rake the surface smooth, and then seed. Give the area a light rolling to improve the seed soil contact, and keep the lawn well-watered until the new seedlings are established. Again, applying a starter fertilizer before seeding will enhance grass establishment. More information on turf and similar topics is available on the World-Wide Web at https://www.agry.purdue.edu/agronomy/turf/turf.htm. CONTACT: Reicher, (765) 494-9737; e-mail, zreicher@dept.agry.purdue.edu Bug spray repels golf greens, too, turf expert says WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Golfers and homeowners should avoid using bug spray when they are around sensitive turf, warns Purdue University turf specialist Zac Reicher. According to Reicher, the sprays that repel mosquitoes and other biting insects also do a good job of damaging turf. "Sometimes on a golf green you can see a brown spot with two green footprints in the middle of it," Reicher said. "That's where a person was applying bug spray." Reicher said that insect repellent will turn the blades of grass yellowish white or brown within days, and that the grass will stay that way for up to a week. "Low-mowed areas like greens, tees and fairways are especially sensitive to damage from insect repellents," he said. Reicher acknowledged that insect repellent is necessary, but he suggested that golfers stand off to the side of the green or fairway in the deep rough or on cart paths when applying the spray. CONTACT: Zac Reicher, (765) 494-9737; e-mail, zreicher@dept.agry.purdue.edu; Web, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/agronomy/turf/turf.htm Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page