cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Registration is open for the 2017 Crop Management Conferences. These regional conferences provide a forum for discussion and interaction between participants and university researchers and are designed to address a wide array of topics pertinent to crop production in Illinois: crop management, pest management, nutrient management, soil and water management.
Certified Crop Advisers can earn up to 8 hours of continuing education credit. Advance registration, no later than one week before each conference, is $100 per person.…

The 2016 growing season has been a very good one for corn in Illinois, with the November yield estimate of 202 bushels per acre, slightly higher than our previous best of 200 bushels per acre in 2014.
In sharp contrast to the wet June of 2015, most of Illinois received below-normal rainfall in June 2016, with parts of western and southwestern Illinois receiving less than an inch for the month. With May rainfall close to normal across the state in 2016,…

Producers in western and west-southwestern Illinois may have observed symptoms of Diplodia ear mold during harvest.
 
Diplodia Symptoms and Machinery Adjustments at Harvest. Diplodia ear mold can cause lightweight kernels with a dull grey to brownish color and sometimes small black structures call pycnidia (Figure). The infected kernels are prone to breakage and can result in poor test weights, poor grain quality and fine materials in the hopper or grain bin. Adjusting combine settings can help to maximize grain cleaning and minimize breakage.…

Insects require a certain amount of heat to develop from one stage in their life cycle to another (eggs to larvae to pupae to adults). Degree-days measure insect growth and development in response to daily temperatures. The accumulation of these degree-days can be measured over a period of time and used to estimate growth and predict insect development. Calculating degree-days allows us to predict when significant biological events such as the appearance of insect pests may occur or when they may reach a life stage that is damaging to a particular crop.…