The following is posted on behalf of Dr. Nathan Kleczewski, Field Crops Pathologist for Growmark. This content is from the Field Crop Disease Hub webpage Dr. Kleczewski curated.
This week, growers and ag professionals have noticed round tan-colored lesions with red margins and yellow halos on Illinois corn. These symptoms likely were a minor disease called Holcus spot. Holcus spot is a bacterial disease of corn that can occur on young corn and is rarely damaging.…
This week I have had several calls and emails regarding the appearance of a minor disease of corn called Holcus spot. Click here to view my article on Holcus spot and tips to differentiate it from herbicide drift.
…
It goes without saying that this spring has been a challenge. With extreme planting delays throughout the state, crop development is well behind normal expectations, while insect pest populations have continued to progress. In addition, the tight schedule we have faced has forced planting into less than ideal conditions in terms of both soil moisture and weed control, which can have consequences for insect pest management. There are a few pests in particular to target during early season scouting this season:
…
One of the most pressing questions as planting continues into June after a very wet May is whether or not the high rainfall amounts over the past month have affected the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed for the corn crop this year. This is a complicated question, related both to concern about how much early-applied N might be lost and to decreased yield potential from late planting that might lower the need for N. The recent price increase in corn also provides an incentive to make sure the crop gets enough N.…
The weed science program at the University of Illinois invites all weed management practitioners to our annual weed science field tour on Wednesday, July 10. Please note the tour will begin at our off-campus field location (“The Lost Forty”) which is located on Cottonwood Road (County road 1700 east) approximately one-quarter mile north of County road 1850 North (see map). Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and refreshments (coffee, juice, and doughnuts) will be available. Preregistration is not required,…
Despite the fact that the “active” weather pattern gave no signs of changing over the past month, few of us thought we’d see so little planting progress by now. But here we are, with only 35% of the Illinois corn crop and 14% of the soybean crop planted by May 26. With more rain this week, we will have less than half the corn and less than a fourth of the soybeans planted before June 1 in Illinois.…
Persistent wet field conditions have increased the likelihood that many farmers will opt to take the prevented planting option through their crop insurance policy. Even though no crop will be planted, weed control practices still should be implemented to reduce seed production from summer annual weed species. Any weed seed produced in 2019 will add to future weed control costs. The old weed science adage “One year’s seedling equals seven years weeding” reinforces the need to adequately manage weeds on prevented planting acres.…
A few weeks ago we wrote an article on how to assess severity of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in small grains as well as some practices to consider that can help improve potential profitability in cases where outbreaks are severe. Now that symptoms of FHB are starting to develop in the earliest flowering wheat, it is a great time to assess your fields and determine if any considerations for harvest need to be made. To access the article click here.…
Much of the vegetation visible from the road is comprised of winter annual species, including the now obvious yellow-flowered species cressleaf groundsel (a.k.a. butterweed) and yellow rocket. Some summer annual weed species, including common lambsquarters, smartweeds giant ragweed and waterhemp, also have begun to emerge. When field conditions become conducive for planting, several possible scenarios exist for the management of existing weed vegetation. One possible scenario is that planting will occur before any type of weed management program (tillage or herbicide application) is implemented to control existing vegetation. …
Most Illinois producers are behind in getting corn and soybeans into the ground this year as a result of persistent rains and cool temperatures. Some people are wondering what this might mean for some of the diseases we encounter in our field crops.
Keep in mind, disease occurs when you have the correct host, plant pathogen, and environment together. The longer those three factors are together, the more disease will occur. Although we cannot speculate much on the long term environmental conditions we will face this year and how that will impact diseases,…