Five tours will highlight the latest in crops and soils research at Agronomy Field Day, Wednesday, July 1 at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Arlington Agricultural Research Station. The field day is being held in conjunction with the Farm Progress Hay Expo, and a number of machinery manufacturers will be demonstrating their equipment.

The forages tour will cover management options that get more mileage from corn silage, Kura clover for pasture and hay, alfalfa blotch leafminer in Wisconsin, and how plant maturity influences forage mineral composition.

The grains tour will include management of transgenic soybean varieties, management strategies for white mold control in soybeans, effects of post-emergence weed control on soybean yields, and winter wheat variety performance and selection.

The weed-management tour will cover finding, identifying and controlling new weeds, weed management in direct-seeded alfalfa, factors that affect weed/crop competition, and how to prevent or delay the development of herbicide-resistant weeds.

The soils tour will include nitrogen management for winter wheat, composted manure as a soil amendment, field verification of soil potassium buffering, and effects of subsoiling on corn and soybeans.

The grazing and pastures tour will include palatability of orchardgrass, orchardgrass variety selection, stockpiled forage, and nitrogen cycling in pastures.

Specialists from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW Cooperative Extension will staff the tour stops. To accommodate the large crowd expected this year, the tours will not begin at the station”s Public Events Facility. Tours will leave the exhibit area at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. (exit U.S. Highway 51 at Badger Road; exit Interstate 90-94 at Wis. Highway 60 and follow the signs). Lunch and refreshments will be available on the grounds.

Rain date is July 2. The Arlington station is on U.S. Highway 51, about 5 miles south of Arlington and 15 miles north of Madison. Watch for field day signs. For more information, contact the Agronomy department, (608) 262-1390; or the Soils department, (608) 262-2633