Drought

[bladesmith]

We are in the midst of a drought in most of Mississippi. Currently we are at level 4, Extreme. If I am following my local weather correctly, we have had 0.45 inches of rain in the past 34 days in my local area. Go 20 miles to the west and they had over an inch of rain last week. Screwed up weather around here. Forgot to mention, we still are having days in the upper 80's.

My pine trees and the sweet gum dropped most of their leaves early. That and no rain have killed most of my grass, so I have to scramble to come up with a quick cover "crop" for the winter for the yard that will serve as a green manure when I replant the yard in the spring. I will try to post some photos to give you an idea of what I'm facing and perhaps you can give suggestions. I'm in Zone 7, btw.

Food plots for deer are devastated. Bob oats and rye have not germinated. After the soybeans were harvested, the deer hit the clover plots heavy and nibbled them to the ground. Without rain, we aren't getting new growth. As I see it, we will have to dramatically raise our supplemental feeding and look at an increased cull of does/young bucks. We don't have the browse to take them through the winter and the other option is they starve. This is going to cause severe set backs to our Quality Deer Management Association practices we have fought so hard to implement.

[Unclefred]

At least you'll have plenty of venison this year.

[RedHawk454]

We are in the midst of a drought in most of Mississippi. Currently we are at level 4, Extreme. If I am following my local weather correctly, we have had 0.45 inches of rain in the past 34 days in my local area. Go 20 miles to the west and they had over an inch of rain last week. Screwed up weather around here. Forgot to mention, we still are having days in the upper 80's.

My pine trees and the sweet gum dropped most of their leaves early. That and no rain have killed most of my grass, so I have to scramble to come up with a quick cover "crop" for the winter for the yard that will serve as a green manure when I replant the yard in the spring. I will try to post some photos to give you an idea of what I'm facing and perhaps you can give suggestions. I'm in Zone 7, btw.

Food plots for deer are devastated. Bob oats and rye have not germinated. After the soybeans were harvested, the deer hit the clover plots heavy and nibbled them to the ground. Without rain, we aren't getting new growth. As I see it, we will have to dramatically raise our supplemental feeding and look at an increased cull of does/young bucks. We don't have the browse to take them through the winter and the other option is they starve. This is going to cause severe set backs to our Quality Deer Management Association practices we have fought so hard to implement.

Were you guys in Mississippi effected by the drought of 2012?

[bladesmith]

The 2012 drought was along the river and really hit the river valley hard to the north of Mississippi. It caused the river levels to drop to historic lows in places. I'm over in the hill area. My hunting lease has 2 boundaries with the Tombigbee National Forest, another with the turkey refuge.

[RedHawk454]

The 2012 drought was along the river and really hit the river valley hard to the north of Mississippi. It caused the river levels to drop to historic lows in places. I'm over in the hill area. My hunting lease has 2 boundaries with the Tombigbee National Forest, another with the turkey refuge.

I'm wondering if 2017 could be another bad year.

[bladesmith]

We can buy used 275 gallon totes for $35 a piece. I'm thinking about putting a couple in my truck and watering food plots with them. I have a trailhead with a water source less than a mile from an entrance to my lease I could use. I realize water is 8lbs a gallon, but I think my F250 can handle it. I don't know, to do any good I might have to water everyday

[RedHawk454]

We can buy used 275 gallon totes for $35 a piece. I'm thinking about putting a couple in my truck and watering food plots with them. I have a trailhead with a water source less than a mile from an entrance to my lease I could use. I realize water is 8lbs a gallon, but I think my F250 can handle it. I don't know, to do any good I might have to water everyday

And you don't "need" to top off those tanks either.

[swampbilly]

Were you guys in Mississippi effected by the drought of 2012?

knot down here...just the yankees where

[RedHawk454]

knot down here...just the yankees where

We got hit hard.

[HeavyHauler]

Pine trees don't have leaves, they have needles...

[Steve28]

Pine trees don't have leaves, they have needles...

I noticed that too. I don't think Americans know much about nature since so much of their nature is under pavement.

[Mayaca]

I noticed that too. I don't think Americans know much about nature since so much of their nature is under pavement.

this is quoted from http://www.friendsoftrees.org/



"

Why do some trees have needles instead of broad, flat leaves?

Needles offer some nifty advantages over broad leaves—especially in tough conditions.
Photo: Flickr CC / Tom Brandt



The short answer is: survival.

In general plants like it hot and humid—such as in rain forests near the Equator (or in greenhouses). But about 250 million years ago, the Earth’s climate was going in the opposite direction: colder and drier. (Blame it on Pangaea.) Plants needed new tactics to survive. Conifers, or cone-bearing trees, evolved to have needles that retain more water and seeds that could hang out until there was enough moisture to take root.

It may not seem like it, but needles are leaves."





So all you really smart people might want to go get lernt up about it. Needles are a subset/ type of leaf. sorry to break it to you.

[Mayaca]

And this from wikipediea:

Foliage




Illustration of needles, cones, and seeds of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)




Pines have four types of leaf:

• Seed leaves (cotyledons) on seedlings, born in a whorl of 4–24.
• Juvenile leaves, which follow immediately on seedlings and young plants, 2–6 cm long, single, green or often blue-green, and arranged spirally on the shoot. These are produced for six months to five years, rarely longer.
• Scale leaves, similar to bud scales, small, brown and non-photosynthetic, and arranged spirally like the juvenile leaves.
• Needles, the adult leaves, which are green (photosynthetic), bundled in clusters (fascicles) of 1–6, commonly 2–5, needles together, each fascicle produced from a small bud on a dwarf shoot in the axil of a scale leaf. These bud scales often remain on the fascicle as a basal sheath. The needles persist for 1.5–40 years, depending on species. If a shoot is damaged (e.g. eaten by an animal), the needle fascicles just below the damage will generate a bud which can then replace the lost leaves.

[Steve28]

this is quoted from http://www.friendsoftrees.org/



"

Why do some trees have needles instead of broad, flat leaves?

Needles offer some nifty advantages over broad leaves—especially in tough conditions.
Photo: Flickr CC / Tom Brandt



The short answer is: survival.

In general plants like it hot and humid—such as in rain forests near the Equator (or in greenhouses). But about 250 million years ago, the Earth’s climate was going in the opposite direction: colder and drier. (Blame it on Pangaea.) Plants needed new tactics to survive. Conifers, or cone-bearing trees, evolved to have needles that retain more water and seeds that could hang out until there was enough moisture to take root.

It may not seem like it, but needles are leaves."





So all you really smart people might want to go get lernt up about it. Needles are a subset/ type of leaf. sorry to break it to you.

Irrelevant. Pines are evergreens, they're not deciduous. They do lose needles through their life, but not all at once the way a Maple will drop it's leaves in fall. If that happens to a pine tree it means it's dead. At least up here. Maybe you have mutant pines down there that think they're Maple trees.

[Mayaca]

Irrelevant. Pines are evergreens, they're not deciduous. They do lose needles through their life, but not all at once the way a Maple will drop it's leaves in fall..

You are seriously wanting to argue that the single criteria that makes a leaf, a leaf is that it falls off yearly? Then I guess Oak trees in florida have needles...........

By the way..... I know "dementia" and everything, but I am a Forest Service person..... Trees are sort of my job and stuff.....