The Bulletin Archives - Page 50 of 79

Palmer Amaranth ID of seed or plant tissue and Herbicide Resistance Testing at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic

June 12, 2017
Suzanne Bissonnette

Are you having trouble with Palmer amaranth? We have something new for you.
NEW Palmer ID test available this year: We spent a long winter optimizing a new assay in collaboration with Dr. Pat Tranel’s lab to aide in Palmer amaranth ID. Contamination of seed mixes with Palmer amaranth became a wide-spread issue last year. Efforts to determine if a seed mixture is contaminated can be hampered by low germination rates and slow grow outs in greenhouse tests.…

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The Corn Crop and Sidedress Nitrogen

June 10, 2017
Emerson Nafziger

The weather has turned from cool and wet to warm and dry, with thoughts now turning to when it might rain next. The US Drought Monitor at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ shows no drought in the Corn Belt, and water use is still low, but some plants whose roots are not growing well or are in compacted soil are starting to show afternoon leaf curling, and water demand is increasing as plant growth rates increase. We hope rainfall returns soon.…

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Insect Snapshots from the Field

June 9, 2017
Kelly Estes

Just a quick overview of some insect issues presenting themselves recently.

True Armyworm
Lots of reports of armyworm being found in wheat and corn. With reports of wheat harvest starting/getting close, reports of armyworm in corn seem to be taking over. I’ve seen a range of larvae stages from 2nd-4th instars. Injury to the whorl and ragged leaf margins is usually noticed around field margins first. Armyworm larvae are night feeders and will usually spend the day in soil cracks,…

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What to do if you suspect herbicide drift

June 8, 2017
Aaron Hager

Each year, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) receives approximately 120 pesticide misuse complaints, of which 60% are pesticide drift complaints. Neighborly discussions before pesticides are applied are important so applicators understand if sensitive plants are growing near the application site. In the unfortunate case that drift has occurred, it’s a good idea to know the basics of the complaint process and what resources are available to you.
Before doing anything, both parties should make an effort to discuss the suspected drift incident and rule out other possible causes of the damage. …

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Positive signs for nitrogen

June 1, 2017
Emerson Nafziger

The welcome return to Illinois of drier and warmer weather has allowed most of the remaining crops to be planted, and has brought a lot of improvement to the corn crop that struggled through cool, wet weather during the first and third weeks of May. The plants in many fields have gotten back their green color (or have gotten it for the first time) and the early-planted crop is about to enter the period of rapid growth.…

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Postemergence Herbicides in Corn

May 25, 2017
Aaron Hager

The 2017 Illinois corn crop currently is at various stages of development. Applications of postemergence corn herbicides continue to be made across areas of Illinois, although the recent precipitation has delayed applications in some areas. Even though applications may be delayed, adequate soil moisture coupled with warm temperatures will certainly promote rapid growth of emerged weeds.
Properly timing the application of the postemergence herbicide is critical toward achieving the goal of removing weed interference from the corn crop before the weeds adversely impact (i.e.,…

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How much nitrogen is gone?

May 18, 2017
Emerson Nafziger

The heavy rains of late April and early May have paused and the weather has warmed enough to allow corn and soybean planting (or replanting) to resume in Illinois, except in the low spots in some places.
With a lot of nitrogen fertilizer applied early, and with rainfall totaling 5 inches or more over most of the state in the two weeks before May 10, many people are worried about N loss and the possible need to apply more nitrogen than planned.…

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Corn Replanting and Herbicide Considerations

May 9, 2017
Aaron Hager

Following the recent and excessive precipitation, some corn replanting likely will occur when soil conditions are conducive. We hope that replanting occurs only in small areas of a given field, but in some situations entire fields may have to be replanted. While there are many agronomic considerations associated with replanting, some weed control/herbicide issues also should be considered.
Herbicide-resistance traits in the replanted hybrids should be taken into account. For example, if you initially planted a glyphosate-resistant corn hybrid and have areas that need to be replanted,…

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A Little Drier, But Not Yet Warm

May 8, 2017
Emerson Nafziger

Very little corn or soybean planting took place in Illinois over the past week, and while planting progress is not far behind average for the end of the first week of May, crop development is starting to lag as temperatures remain cool. Crop emergence has been slow, with only less than half of the corn crop that was planted by the end of April emerged by May 7.
One of the most visible consequences of the cool weather has been the poor corn crop color of recent days.…

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University of Illinois Weed Science Field Research Tour

May 5, 2017
Aaron Hager

The weed science program at the University of Illinois invites all weed management practitioners to our annual weed science field tour, which will be held on Wednesday, June 28 at the Crop Sciences Research and Education Center (a.k.a. South Farm), located south of campus on Wright Street extended. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and refreshments (coffee, juice, and doughnuts) will be available. 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.…

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