cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Dry soil conditions across many areas of Illinois have contributed to accelerated crop planting. It is a bit unusual at this point in the season that such a high percentage of corn and soybean acres already have been planted. Soon, postemergence herbicide applications will begin. However, one potentially adverse consequence of very dry soil is the often large amount of dust propelled into the air by either application equipment or high winds.
Airborne dust has been shown to reduce the activity of some foliar-applied herbicides,…

While conditions during much of April were conducive for planting, these same conditions were NOT conducive for good performance of soil-residual herbicides. Many surface-applied herbicides received neither timely precipitation nor mechanical incorporation to move the applied herbicide into the soil solution. Herbicide effectiveness can be significantly reduced when a soil-applied herbicide is sprayed on a dry soil surface with no incorporation (mechanical or by precipitation) for several days following application. The amount of precipitation required to move the herbicide into the soil and how soon after application the precipitation is needed are difficult to define and can vary by herbicide,…

Soil-residual herbicides are important components of integrated weed management programs.  Reducing the number of weeds exposed to foliar-applied herbicides helps reduce the selection intensity for weeds to evolve resistance to foliar-applied herbicides. Residual herbicides applied with postemergence soybean herbicides also can reduce the need for a second postemergence application. However, simply applying a soil-residual herbicide does not guarantee the product will provide the desired level or duration of weed control. Many edaphic and environmental factors influence the level of weed control achieved by soil-residual herbicides.…

A potential scenario encountered each growing season is 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.…

The weed science program at the University of Illinois invites all weed management practitioners to our annual weed science field tour on Wednesday, June 28 at the Department of Crop Sciences field research location known as the Clem Farm, located at 1114 County Road 1200 East, Champaign. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and the tour will start at 9:00 a.m. Preregistration is not required, but please let us know in advance if you will be bringing a large group of participants so we can plan accordingly for meals.…

Pest management practitioners will increasingly find changes to many pesticide labels as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begins to implement requirements mandated by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We encourage all who are involved in pest management disciplines (farmers, applicators, scientists, etc.) to become more familiar with the ESA and how the EPA proposes to meet the agency’s requirements under ESA when registering or reregistering pesticides.
Dr. Lee Van Wychen is the Executive Director of Science Policy for the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA).…