cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Each week, I put out a request to crops educators and specialists from the University of Illinois to compile an update to share with the entire state. We hope you find this information useful. If you have any questions or suggestions about the format or any feedback in general about these updates, please email me (harbach2@illinois.edu).
 
Nick Seiter, field crops entomology Extension specialist, University of Illinois
I have received few reports of insect damage to date,…

While planting has been slow in 2022, moth flights have been steady across much of the state. Regular flights have been observed through much of the northern two-thirds of the state. Several counties have reported significant moth flights (9 or more moths over a 2-night span). We can use the date of the significant flight to predict potential cutting dates based on degree day predictions.
A few key things to note:
Black cutworm moths are strong migratory insects with northward flights commonly observed from Gulf States into the Midwest from March through May.…

A potential scenario of planting delays will be corn planted in fields where no soil-residual herbicide was applied. If the corn has not yet emerged, the soil-residual herbicide can be applied as originally planned. But, what if the corn has emerged and the soil-residual herbicide has not been applied? Can the application proceed as planned, or will a different product need to be selected? The answer depends on the respective herbicide.
Most, but not all, soil residual herbicides can be applied after corn has emerged.…

Soil-residual herbicides are important components of integrated weed management programs. Labels of many single and multiple active ingredient products allow application before and after crop emergence, but other active ingredients can cause severe crop injury if applied to emerging crop plants. In fields where a PRE herbicide application has been delayed and corn or soybean are beginning to emerge, the following active ingredients (applied either alone or as a premix product) or commercial products should not be applied:
Corn
saflufenacil (Sharpen and Verdict,…