There was not much fieldwork performed last week due to deep snowpack and periodic showers of rain and snow. There was some frost spreading of fertilizer noted on wheat fields to the east where there was little to no snow blanketing fields.
Melting of the snowpack followed by rainfall on Friday, has created ponds in some fields. The Malone area picked up 1.75 inches of rain on Friday. It looks like the tile lines will be getting a work out the next several days due to the wet soils and additional precipitation in the forecast this week.
This week I would like to continue with the discussion of plant genetics with a focus on genetic diversity. Genetic diversity refers to the range of different inherited traits within a species. In a species with high genetic diversity, there would be many individuals with a wide variety of different traits. Genetic diversity is crucial for a population to adapt to changing environments such as disease, insects, weather patterns, soil conditions, etc. Genetic diversity is akin to your retirement plan. - By Kevin Mueller, Senior Agronomist, WI CCA of the Year
The United States early in its history had seen the importance of collecting plant germplasm from this nation and around the world. (Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for plant breeding, preservation, and research.) Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were huge believers in collecting seed from countries where the US had ambassadors stationed.
By Kevin Mueller, Senior Agronomist, WI CCA of the Year
