cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Soil temperatures and fall ammonia application

  • October 25, 2019

  • Emerson Nafziger

According to NASS, Illinois producers harvested 36 percent of the corn crop and 52 percent of the soybean crop by October 20. That’s still behind the average pace of harvest, but harvest continues in many areas this week, and as it progresses, fields in many areas are becoming available for fall field work to begin.
Many producers in central and northern Illinois have fall anhydrous ammonia application high on their to-do list, especially after the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019,…

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Fall fertilizer considerations in 2019

  • September 27, 2019

  • Emerson Nafziger

The high number of prevented-planting fields in some areas, the late start to harvest, and the inability to apply P and K fertilizer as planned last fall or this past spring combine to raise a number of questions about fall application of P, K, and lime over the next few months.
Prevented-planting fields
If P and K fertilizers were applied last fall or this past spring but no crop could be planted, there’s no reason not to count all of the applied P and K as available for the 2020 crop.…

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

  • September 14, 2019

  • Nathan Kleczewski

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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Insect monitoring in soybean: what to look for during pod fill

  • September 6, 2019

  • Nick Seiter

At this point in the season, most of our insect monitoring efforts are focused on soybean. There are several pests that can damage soybean during pod fill, and proper scouting is necessary to identify and, occasionally, control these insects. While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the insects and insect relatives to be on the lookout for as the growing season winds down.
Stink bugs. Stink bug (Fig. 1) feeding during pod fill (particularly R5- R6) can reduce soybean yield and quality.…

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Corn and soybean crops limp towards the finish line

  • September 5, 2019

  • Emerson Nafziger

After the worst start to a cropping season in decades, mid-season lack of rain in parts of Illinois, and season-long low crop ratings, it’s time to take a look at what comes next as the 2019 cropping season moves into its final stages.
Corn
To no one’s surprise, various crop tours in recent weeks have confirmed that corn yields in parts of Illinois are likely to be disappointing. If there is a positive, it’s that the crop may look a little better than we thought it would by now after more than half of it was planted after June 1.…

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Late season tar spot- what is on the horizon?

  • September 4, 2019

  • Nathan Kleczewski

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

  • Nathan Kleczewski

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

  • Nathan Kleczewski

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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2019 Observations from the Field: Dicamba

  • August 2, 2019

  • Aaron Hager

Approximately two weeks ago, only a few (11 reported as of July 16) dicamba-related complaints had been filed with the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA), and some held aspirations that the magnitude of off-target issues would be less this year than during the two previous seasons.  Today, it appears those hopeful aspirations are being replaced by the harsh reality that the magnitude of off-target issues in 2019 might be either similar to or possibly exceed those of previous seasons. …

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