While dry weather is allowing N application to start in some places in Illinois, the ongoing cool temperatures continue to raise questions about N management this spring.
With help from the Council on Best Management Practices (C-BMP), we are organizing a webinar for Thursday, March 27 at 8:00 AM to address some of these issues, including fate of fall-applied N, use of inhibitors this spring, and how cool soils might affect soil N supply and plant uptake.…
Hearing a lot about cover crops lately but unsure if or how they will work for you? Then plan to attend the Cover Crop Field Day at the University of Illinois Extension Ewing Demonstration Center on March 28, 2014 starting at 10 AM. The field day offers the latest information on cover crops uses – from livestock grazing, soil erosion and compaction reduction, increasing soil organic matter, to increasing future nutrient availability.
Topics for the tour include:
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The winter of 2013-14 will long be remembered as one of the snowiest and coldest since the late 1970s for many midwestern states. Not surprisingly, many questions have surfaced regarding the impact of these cold temperatures on the overwintering survival of western corn rootworm eggs. Research on this topic has only sparingly occurred. In my estimation, one of the best field studies on this challenging research area, was undertaken by an Iowa State University graduate student,…
We hope that we’ve seen the last of the snow by now, but both air and soil temperatures remain below average in Illinois heading into the second half of March. According to the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/soiltemp.asp) minimum temperatures 4 inches deep under bare soil ranged from the low 30s in northern Illinois to the mid-30s in southern Illinois the morning of March 17, and with some sunshine on that day, reached the upper 40s to low 50w in southern Illinois but did not get above the low 30s in the northern part of the state.…
On February 20, 2014, a webinar was presented by five land grant entomologists (see below) concerning western corn rootworm management challenges and recommendations. As we move forward this year, there remain many lingering concerns regarding the root protection performance of some Bt hybrids in light of the evolving resistance to certain traits. The live webinar was well received (over 300 participants); however, for those unable to take part in this session, you can now view the recorded session. …
As we approach the 2014 growing season, many questions remain concerning how best to manage western corn rootworms in light of the on-going concerns over resistance to some Bt proteins. A corn rootworm management webinar will be available on February 20 (Thursday), 2014. The program will begin at 1 PM (CST) and conclude at 3:30 PM. The program is supported by a USDA-NIFA North Central IPM Program grant. An excellent slate of land grant entomologists will take part in this session:
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Nature reminded us earlier this week that even though we select meeting dates well in advance, the weather often determines whether or not we can actually hold the meeting. Our long streak of good fortune came to an end this week as the adverse weather and road conditions forced us to reschedule two Classic meetings. The Classic meeting at the Urbana I Hotel and Conference Center originally scheduled for January 6 has been rescheduled for January 28. …
The 2014 University of Illinois Corn & Soybean Classic begins in two weeks! Even though the pre-registration deadline has passed you still can register to attend by visiting the on-line registration site (http://www.cropsciconferences.com/Corn_Soybean/Registration/), or you may simply register on-site at the venue you attend. The 2014 Classic will feature nine presentations made by speakers from the Illinois State Water Survey, USDA/ARS, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics,…
We have been receiving reports since corn harvest began this fall about an unusual phenomenon: yields of the outside 8 to 24 rows on the south or west edges of corn fields show lower or much lower yields than corn farther into the field. The damage tends to be relatively uniform down or across the field, and is on field edges that border a soybean field, road, ditch, or another short-growing crop (such as forage legumes or grasses) other than corn.…
The 2013 growing season in Illinois was wet early with delayed crop planting, good rainfall in June and July, mostly cool conditions in July, and little rainfall in August and September, with some high temperatures in late August and in September. With late planting and cool weather at times in mid-summer, seedfillling began only in mid-August, 10 days to 2 weeks later than normal, and took place during a period of very little rainfall. Our expectation for such a season,…