Deciding on whether or not to replant can be a difficult decision. Cutworm, compaction and seedling blight are some of the problems that can lead to reduced plant populations. The sight of an uneven reduced stand is often more than many farmers can take, but the desire to “fix-it” may not make sense agronomically or economically.
For fields where the stand has been relatively evenly thinned out the following advice is most relevant.…
On June 5, I sampled an alfalfa field in Champaign County and found potato leafhoppers by using a sweep net. These small insects have the potential to cause injury to subsequent cuttings of alfalfa. Typically, the first cutting across much of Illinois is not at economic risk to this migratory pest. Producers are encouraged to scout their fields for potato leafhoppers and recognize that very low densities of these insects equipped with piercing and sucking mouthparts can cause economic losses to alfalfa soon after the first cutting.…
Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) is a summer annual broadleaf weed species taxonomically related to other pigweed species (waterhemp, smooth, redroot) common in Illinois agronomic cropping systems. Palmer amaranth is not indigenous to Illinois, but rather evolved as a desert-dwelling species in the southwestern United States including areas of the Sonoran Desert. Genotypic and phenotypic adaptability have allowed Palmer amaranth to expand its distribution and colonize the vastly different agricultural landscapes across much of the eastern half of the United States,…
The past several days have experienced a noticeable increase in questions about options to control marestail after crop emergence. Many have reported poor marestail control from herbicides applied prior to planting (primarily no-till soybean), especially when these burndown applications contained only glyphosate or glyphosate and 2,4-D. The increasing frequency of glyphosate-resistant marestail populations, the rush to plant whenever field conditions were conducive, and the less-than-ideal environmental conditions when many burndown applications were made, have contributed to a challenging situation for which a good solution might not be available. …
Producers are encouraged to scout both corn and wheat for armyworms and potential feeding. Kevin Black, Insect and Plant Disease Technical Manager with Growmark Inc., reported that a field of corn (Putnam County) planted into a rye cover crop had received some defoliation by armyworms. Kelli Bassett, a Field Agronomist with DuPont Pioneer, observed (May 30) some armyworm feeding in scattered wheat fields across Macoupin and Montgomery counties.
For more information about the biology, life cycle,…
The stormy spring weather across much of the nation’s mid-section continues to cause planting delays. Planting estimates (USDA NASS, May 28, 2013) indicate that approximately 40% of Illinois soybean acres have been planted. Roughly 12% of the soybean crop has emerged across the state. These percentages are well below the five-year averages for Illinois by this date – 53% planted and 28% emerged. As overwintering bean leaf beetles break dormancy and begin to seek out soybean fields,…
The NASS report indicated that corn planting in Illinois was 89% complete by May 26. This leaves more left to plant than we’d like, and it’s still wet in some areas, so we expect a long “tail” to corn planting this year, unless some of the acres intended to corn get switched to soybeans.
The rainfall that delayed planting across Illinois this year is also affecting nitrogen fertilizer management. For many, the rush to get the crop planted meant abandoning or modifying plans to apply N before or after planting or before tillage.…
The economic impact of the variant western corn rootworm that evolved in the eastern Corn Belt continues to reverberate nearly twenty years later. The overall impact includes yield losses in first-year corn and the additional input costs of Bt seed and/or soil insecticides to rotated corn. In 1995, severe root injury and punishing yield losses occurred in first-year cornfields across east-central Illinois and northern Indiana. These were fields in which the annual rotation of corn and soybeans had rigidly taken place for decades.…
The 2013 AGMasters Conference will be held at the i Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, IL on December 2 and 3. The conference will begin with a morning general program followed with 1 1/2 days of specialized sessions. Participants will be able to pick and choose the sessions of most interest to them. These sessions are designed to encourage interaction between instructors and students and cover a broad range of topics including crop production challenges,…
The following table provides supplemental information to an article (“Soil-Residual Herbicides Applied to Emerged Corn”) published last week. Table 1 summarizes information about postemergence applications of more traditional soil-applied corn herbicides. Please consult the respective product label for additional information.
Table 1. Maximum Corn Size for Postemergence Applications of Soil-Residual Herbicides
Herbicide
Maximum Corn Size for Broadcast Application
Prequel, Princep, Verdict
Before corn emergence
Balance Flexx, Corvus
2 leaf collars
Bullet, Micro-Tech
5 inches
Bicep Lite II Magnum,…