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Many of the improved varieties offered
today last an amazingly long time. To keep them looking good and
lasting, keep the room temperatures between 60-68 degrees (if
possible) and with very high humidity. Temperatures over 75 are
really hard on poinsettias, especially with low humidity. Try to
place your poinsettia by a bright window just out of direct
sunlight. Remove it from the window at night if there is a danger of
chilling. Keep soil moisture at moderate and uniform levels, and
never let the pot stand in water.
[Photo provided by John Fulton]
Re-blooming poinsettias is a common
goal, but bear in mind that this is one of the most difficult plants
to succeed with. If you're a gambler, or a die-hard
horticulturalist, here are the basic steps to improve your success.
After you are done displaying your
poinsettia, gradually withhold water. The leaves should soon turn
yellow and drop. Store the dried-off plant in a cool (meaning 50-60
degree), dry, dark basement room until April or May. During this
period, water lightly with just enough to keep the roots and stems
from drying out too much.
When you bring the plant back up, prune
stems to about six inches. Remove from the pot, take some old soil
from the roots, then repot using a well-drained mixture. If there
are several plants in the pot, separate and pot them individually.
Use a pot that provides plenty of room. Water the plant well and
place in a warm, sunny spot for renewed plant growth. You can put
the plants outside when frost danger has passed, but be wary of
direct sun in the hottest part of the day. You may have to repot the
plant if it becomes root-bound. If you're into starting cuttings,
you may have decent success by starting new plant from the shoots
that appear on your old cut-back plant in the spring.
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Keep the plant actively growing during
the summer months by watering regularly and applying a complete
liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks. As new shoots form, pinch
them back so that two nodes (leaf pairs) remain on each. Stop
pinching off shoots in August. Also, you may want to remove some of
the weaker stems completely, allowing only a few of the stronger
ones to develop. Control insects as they appear, and if plants
become diseased they should be pitched.
Before cool weather in the fall, place
the plant inside at a south window with full sun through the day.
Watch the temperatures and moistures. Temperatures should be 60-65
during the day and 70-75 at night. Moisture should be moderate.
Starting the last week of September, your plant should be exposed
only to natural sunlight (this means no house lights after dark).
Probably the best method is to put the plant in a closet overnight.
Once the leaf color forms you can increase non-daylight light.
With these recommendations, and a
little bit of luck, your poinsettia should be ready for the holiday
season. If you're really into poinsettias, try the University of
Illinois Extension "Hort Corner" pages on poinsettias. Point your
browser to
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/
poinsettia/index.html and enjoy.
[John
Fulton]
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"Inventories at the beginning of this
year were large enough to compensate for the declines in production
in 2002," said Darrel Good. "Inventories will not be large enough to
buffer the impact of another small crop in 2003. Once the market
absorbs the coming USDA reports and South American production
prospects become clearer, attention will turn toward next year's
crop."
Good's comments came as he reviewed
recent actions in the corn and soybean markets. Both have been
responding to the rate of exports and progress of Southern
Hemisphere crops. Upcoming USDA reports will provide some added
perspective on both the supply and demand side of the price
equation.
The Dec. 30 Quarterly Hogs and Pigs
report will provide an update on prospective feed demand for corn
and soybean meal through the remainder of the 2002-03 crop year.
"Declining numbers of hogs and cattle
reported to date suggest some softening of feed demand this year,"
said Good. "The USDA has projected the largest year-over-year
decline in pork production -- 3 percent -- for the second quarter of
2003. Beef production is expected to be down 7 percent in the third
quarter and 11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003. Poultry
production in 2003 is expected to be only 1 percent larger than in
2002."
The Dec. 1 Grain Stocks report, to be
released on Jan. 10, will provide an estimate of feed and residual
use of corn for the first quarter (September-November) of the
2002-03 crop year.
"It is expected that report will show
only a modest reduction in feed and residual use compared to the
same quarter last year," said Good. "Year-over-year reductions
should be larger during the last nine months of the crop year. Corn
supplies are large enough that a large decline in use is not
required this year."
In addition to the Grain Stocks report,
the USDA will release the final U.S. corn and soybean production
estimate for 2002. In each of the past four years, the January corn
production estimate was smaller than the November projection. In the
previous 17 years, the January estimate was below the November
projection only three times. Except for 1988, the difference between
the January and November figures over the last 20 years has ranged
from zero to 159 million bushels.
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"The difference was 250 million in
1988," said Good. "The difference has not exceeded 100 bushels since
1993. A relatively small difference is expected this year. With a
smaller estimate of harvested acreage, the January figure may be
marginally below the November 2002 projection."
The January soybean production estimate
was below the November projection in each of the past seven years,
in eight of the past nine years and in 13 of the past 20 years. The
difference, whether up or down, ranged from two million bushels to
60 million bushels. The difference has not exceeded 35 million
bushels since 1987. The late harvest in parts of the southern United
States is expected to result in a marginally smaller estimate in
January 2003.
"The USDA will also release a Winter
Wheat Seedings report on Jan. 10," said Good. "Typically, this
report has minimal implications for corn and soybeans. This year,
however, the higher wheat prices may have resulted in a sharp
increase in winter wheat seedings. If so, there will be fewer acres
available for spring-planted crops.
"The estimate of the total area seeded
to winter wheat, as well as the geographic distribution of seedings,
may provide an early look at potential changes in oilseed and feed
grain acreage in 2003. At this earlier stage, there is still some
expectation that the increase in corn acreage and decline in soybean
acreage in 2002 will be repeated in 2003. The magnitude of the
switch in acreage will continue to be debated."
Good added that, for now, corn and
soybean prices appear to have established a trading range that may
persist until some new fundamental information appears. March corn
futures are finding support near $2.35 and should have excellent
support at $2.30 for now.
"The $2.50 area is the recent high and
may be difficult to exceed without a few surprises in upcoming
reports," said Good. "January soybean futures have apparently found
a trading range between $5.55 and $5.80. However, the contract high
is at only $5.93.
"With a
strong export pace and lingering concerns about the South American
crop, soybean prices may have more potential to exceed the recent
trading range than do corn prices."
[U
of I news release]
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The five members of the ag issues team, Matthew Wrage, Nick Alberts, Brittney Kavanaugh, Kyle Hoerbert and Kory
Leesman, presented pros and cons on the topic of "Upgrading the
Locks and Dams on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers." The
participants role-played the major constituents involved in this
issue. The team
also met recently with U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood concerning the issue.
[Photos provided by
Hartem FFA]
[Left to
right: Kory Leesman, Nick Alberts, Kyle Hoerbert, Rep. LaHood,
Brittney Kavanaugh, Alyssa Moehring and Matthew Wrage]
As state
winners, the team will now represent the Illinois FFA Association at
the 2003 National FFA Convention. This is the third state-winning
team competing in the Ag Issues Career Development Event for the
Hartsburg-Emden FFA chapter.
[News release]
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section] |
[Members of the Hartsburg-Emden FFA ag issues team, which won in
state competition: (left to right) Matthew Wrage, Brittney
Kavanaugh, Kyle Hoerbert, Kory Leesman and Nick Alberts]
[Members of the Hartsburg-Emden FFA
state champion team in food science and technology are Alyssa
Moehring, Krista Ubbenga, Natalie Coers and Brittney Kavanaugh with
Drew Dediraemaker, state FFA president.] |
