Diesel fuel leak has raised the level of conscience about sinkholes

Weather for April saw nearly record amounts of precipitation, with “Big Sink” and Ottawa Lake (the lake) full of water at the end of the month. For your information, there are 27,154 gallons of water in an acre inch of rain. 2024 has been an April of almost record amounts of rain, with 4.93 inches recorded at the MSU Enviroweather station at Applewood Orchards in Deerfield. Good news is that most of May is forecast to have below normal levels of precipitation. Bad news is a cold snap is forecast for May 9-10. Growing degree day (heat units) since April 1 are 173.2 GDD (base 50 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the highest amount of the past five years for the Deerfield location.   

Wheat and barley diseases are a definite possibility as many diseases like humid or rainy weather. These could include leaf and stem rust, Powdery mildew, Septoria leaf spot and possibly Stagonospora leaf blotch. First is to double check the varietal resistance information. Then scouting fields as wheat enters the critical flag leaf emergence time. The Crop Protection Network has a Small Grain Disease Management, CPN-3002-W, listing Fungicide Efficacy for Control of Wheat Diseases, that can be downloaded free of charge. One key column is a harvest restriction listing for each fungicide listed. One key is the sprayer set up, with the boom above the canopy and perhaps using twin nozzles that provide a medium droplet size of about 300-350 microns. It is too early now to check the Penn State Fusarium Head Bight, or Scab, computer forecasting model. (This is the same disease, called vomitoxin or DON [Deoxynivalenol], that we had in corn last fall). MSU was going to see if Penn State could run this model another month as corn infection come at tasseling and pollination time). It is possible to apply more nitrogen to wheat now, as long as the flag and flag-minus-one leaves are not burned. Any additional nitrogen now will not be the cause of lodging, but farmers may only want to try this only on some of their highly managed acres.

The diesel fuel leak in southern Monroe County has raised the level of conscience about karst, sinkholes, drainage wells and water quality with the soft bedrock and this potential hazard to our groundwater. After weekend rains of April 27-29, “Big Sink,” Ottawa Lake (the lake) and many streams and county drains were full of water. Monroe County has about 1,300 miles of surface drainage, largely through county drains. The River Raisin served as a travel route by early settlers before surface roads were constructed. The 2023 Monroe County plat book still shows ownership parcels along the river, and nearest the city of Monroe, which originally were about 160 yards wide by two miles long. Plat books can be purchased at the Farm Bureau office in Ida, the Ottawa Lake Co-Op, and Greenstone Farm Credit Services and the MSU Extension office in Monroe.

Shade trees poses a challenge for anyone who wishes to grow plants or flowers underneath. Large trees, such as maples, have roots nearer the soil surface, as compared to ash or oak trees, which have relatively deep roots. Amending the soil or environment under a tree may be possible, though some flowering plants such as phlox, groundcovers, ferns, bluebells or trillium are some possible choices. Remember to not suffocate a tree by artificially raising the soil level surrounding the trunk by more than about six inches.