cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

A “new” crop to Midwestern agriculture, best management practices (BMPs) and varietal performance of industrial hemp have yet to be determined. Hemp producers are required to grow hemp that contains less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to comply with state and federal regulations.…

In terms of insect management, we are pretty close to the finish line for corn and soybean in Illinois. However, there has been a late-season onset of bean leaf beetles in soybean in some parts of the state. Pod and seed feeders are one of the last insect pest threats we face in soybean,…

Corn rootworm activity, in general, appears higher in much of Illinois than it has been for the last several years. Along with higher activity, resistance to Bt traits in western and northern corn rootworm remains our top insect management concern in Illinois corn.…

What a difference July rainfall makes. The U.S. Drought Map based on data through July 28 showed that only six percent of Illinois was rated as abnormally dry or with moderate drought, down from nearly 19 percent two weeks earlier. Above-normal rainfall over the past week in the southern half of Illinois will erase at least half that area,…