Nathan Kleczewski Email

This author has written 69 articles

Tips for small grain planting in an odd 2019 field season.

  • September 14, 2019

Soon many producers will be starting to plant small grains.  Below is my “Top six” list of important things to consider when planting wheat and other small grains in the coming weeks.
1) Ensure that you remove green bridges at least 10 days prior to planting.  This season, prevent plant acres may have favored the development of grassy weeds and other potential hosts of aphids that transmit barley yellow dwarf (BYDV) virus in small grains.  Aphids acquire BYDV upon feeding,…

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Late season tar spot- what is on the horizon?

  • September 4, 2019

There has been some chatter about tar spot starting up a bit in Northern Illinois corn fields.
However, crops are almost at R5 in many places.  What options do we have and what can you expect?  Check out our new post on the Illinois Field Crop Disease Hub by clicking here.  Remember to sign up at the website for updates and look forward to new materials such as factsheets, images, and guides by Spring,…

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Diagrams to help you rate foliar disease on corn

  • August 19, 2019

Many in the agricultural community, as well as researchers annually rate corn for disease as a means to assess hybrid response, hybrid effectiveness, or potential disease level on field productivity.  It can be difficult to rain the eye to accurately measure disease on foliage, and differences in the type and size of the structure or lesion associated with the pathogen varies significantly.  The four links below will direct you to disease area diagrams we developed in order to help you obtain accurate disease severity estimates in your fields.…

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Let us know if you see these diseases in Illinois!

  • August 8, 2019

There are two, fairly new and / or important diseases  to keep an eye out for in 2019.  We are actively seeking samples of symptomatic plants for research to help us understand the biology, ecology, and management of these pathogens.  If you have a suspect sample, please send to the UIUC plant diagnostic clinic for confirmation (cost will be covered), and or contact me via email, telephone, or twitter.
 
The first is a disease that we started working on in late 2017- Tar spot on corn. …

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Southern rust in Illinois- it’s complicated

  • July 18, 2019

This week we started picking up Southern rust in the southern Illinois.  Thusfar, reports indicate that disease severity is low.  However, the recent hurricane remnant and warm forecasts may mean that we may see the disease progress somewhat in the coming days and weeks.
When people in Illinois hear the words southern rust, it brings back memories of a few years ago when the disease moved in and environmental conditions favored disease development for a prolonged period of time. …

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New maps for tracking Southern rust in corn (repaired link)

  • July 14, 2019

Southern rust is caused by a fungal pathogen that does not overwinter in Illinois.  Instead, it blows in from warmer regions during the growing season.  When conditions favor spread and development of this disease significant damage can occur, especially if it arrives before tasseling (VT).  For more information on Southern rust, check out the Crop Protection Network publication by clicking here.  Yesterday our colleagues detected this disease in Southeast Missouri.  With the hurricane/tropical storm remnant pushing northward,…

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Avoid the cosmic freakout

  • July 13, 2019

Today colleagues in Indiana reported tar spot presence in some of their research plots located in North West IN.  They found an extremely low number of stroma (less than 10) when assessing approximately 500 feet of plots.  When you see or read about the report keep a few things to keep in mind:
1) The amount detected was exceptionally low, and not close to the widespread severity we saw early last year.  For example, on  July 5th,…

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RSVP for the Champaign Pest and Pathogen Field Day!

  • July 5, 2019

Come to Champaign, Illinois on July 22nd for the first annual field crop Pest and Pathogen Field Day from 9am-noon.  Registration, doughnuts, and coffee will start at 8:30 am. Parking for the event will be available at the Agricultural and Biological Engineering farm on the UIUC South Farm Facility, located at 3603 South Race Street, Urbana, IL, 61802.  Click HERE to register.
Join us to walk research plots and learn about insect and disease identification in field crops,…

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Common rust on corn- a concern?

  • June 29, 2019

Over the past week there has not been much activity as far as corn disease is concerned.  The only exception has been the detection of very light common rust infections on some corn in the north central and southern parts of the state.  Although the occurrence of common rust on corn this early in development may be a concern to some, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
1) Common rust, caused by Puccinia sorghi,…

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