Ready for Samples at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic
Welcome to another Diagnostics season! Samples have been steadily appearing this spring here at the Clinic in our 39th year of operation. On the field front, there have been concerns with virus disease diagnosis in wheat. On the home landscape front, there is a mountain of winter kill and windburn injury from the harsh winter just past.
The University of Illinois Plant Clinic began year-round operation in the fall of 2011. Our new location is in Jonathan Baldwin Turner Hall on the south end of the Urbana campus.…
2014 Illinois Crop Management Conferences Registration Now Open
The latest research information on crop production and management issues will be discussed at four University of Illinois Crop Management Conferences this winter. These two-day conferences are designed to address a wide array of topics pertinent to crop production, pest management, and natural resource issues and provide a forum for discussion and interaction between participants and university researchers.
Certified Crop Advisers can earn up to 13 hours of CEU credit. Advance registration, no later than one week before each conference,…
Brownstown Agronomy Research Center Field Day – July 25
The 2013 Brownstown Agronomy Research Center Field Day, presented by the University Of Illinois Department Of Crop Sciences, will be held on Thursday, July 25. Extension researchers and specialists will address issues pertinent to the current growing season. Tours will start at 8 a.m., with the second and third groups leaving the headquarters around 8:20 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. The tours will last about two and a half hours and will be followed by lunch provided by U of I Extension.…
Western Corn Rootworm Hatch Confirmed in West Central Indiana
Entomologists (Christian Krupke, John Obermeyer, and Larry Bledsoe) at Purdue University have confirmed that the annual larval hatch of western corn rootworms is underway. They found the first corn rootworm larva on June 6 and believe that hatch was initiated on June 4. This event was a little later than heat-unit totals predicted. I suspect that the drought of 2012 forced much deeper egg laying in the soil contributing to the slightly later hatch this spring.…
Early Season Soybean Aphid Observations
On May 15-19, 2013, Drs. David Voegtlin (retired entomologist, Illinois Natural History Survey) and Dave Hogg (Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison), surveyed the overwintering hosts of soybean aphids — the common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus). Their 2,000 + mile survey of these primary hosts took them across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. A synopsis of their observations by state are provided below.…
Armyworms Reach Impressive Levels in Southwestern Illinois Wheat
Wheat producers, especially in southwestern Illinois, should be scouting their fields for armyworms and considering the need to apply a rescue treatment. Kevin Black, Insect and Plant Disease Technical Manager, Growmark, Inc., reported on June 7 that large numbers of armyworms were leaving roadside ditches, moving into adjacent wheat fields, and inflicting heavy damage. Armyworm densities and damage in one wheat field located northeast of St. Louis was particularly impressive. Because of the heavy rains this spring and the lack of mowing,…
Potato Leafhoppers Active in Central Illinois
On June 5, I sampled an alfalfa field in Champaign County and found potato leafhoppers by using a sweep net. These small insects have the potential to cause injury to subsequent cuttings of alfalfa. Typically, the first cutting across much of Illinois is not at economic risk to this migratory pest. Producers are encouraged to scout their fields for potato leafhoppers and recognize that very low densities of these insects equipped with piercing and sucking mouthparts can cause economic losses to alfalfa soon after the first cutting.…
Armyworm Activity Reported in Corn and Wheat
Producers are encouraged to scout both corn and wheat for armyworms and potential feeding. Kevin Black, Insect and Plant Disease Technical Manager with Growmark Inc., reported that a field of corn (Putnam County) planted into a rye cover crop had received some defoliation by armyworms. Kelli Bassett, a Field Agronomist with DuPont Pioneer, observed (May 30) some armyworm feeding in scattered wheat fields across Macoupin and Montgomery counties.
For more information about the biology, life cycle,…