cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Running On-Farm Strip Trials

  • May 1, 2014

  • Emerson Nafziger

On April 16 I posted an article http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu/?p=1966 on the use of nitrogen fertilizer on soybean, mentioning at the end of the article that this would be a good thing to test in on-farm trials. Here I’ll provide a little background and a brief description of how to go about doing such a trial.
Background: dealing with variability
If there were no variability in yields (or soils) going across a field, a single strip of N fertilizer (or without N while applying N to the rest of the field) would measure the effect.…

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2014 Field Day Events in Illinois

  • April 28, 2014

  • Emerson Nafziger

Fields days organized by Crop Sciences and Extension at the University of Illinois and by other institutions will focus on crops and pests, with speakers talking about current crop issues along with information from previous research. Each event will offer CEUs for CCAs.
Following is the schedule of crop-related 2014 field days organized by University of Illinois Crop Sciences and by several other institutions.

Event
Date – start time
Food
Contact

Urbana – Weeds
June 25 –…

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Visualizing the growth rate of Palmer amaranth

  • April 28, 2014

  • Aaron Hager

Recently, the weed science program at the University of Illinois published recommendations for the management of Palmer amaranth in Illinois agronomic crops.  One particular recommendation emphasizes the need for timely application of foliar-applied herbicides; in particular, foliar-applied herbicides must be applied before Palmer amaranth plants are taller than four inches.  Most weed management practitioners are very familiar with the growth rates of waterhemp and many other weed species, but perhaps are less familiar with the growth rate of Palmer amaranth.…

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Black Cutworm – Projected Cutting Dates for Some Illinois Counties

  • April 28, 2014

  • Michael Gray

Significant flights of black cutworm moths were reported in several counties of Illinois during mid-April. Based upon these captures of moths in pheromone traps, projected cutting dates are offered for the following counties: Champaign (May 20), Fayette (May 11), Logan (May 14), Madison (May 11), Pike (May 17), and Warren (May 18). Fields most at risk to economic infestations include those that are planted late and infested with winter annuals. Weedy fields are often targeted for egg laying by these strong migratory moths.…

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Ready for Samples at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic

  • April 24, 2014

  • Suzanne Bissonnette

Welcome to another Diagnostics season! Samples have been steadily appearing this spring here at the Clinic in our 39th year of operation. On the field front, there have been concerns with virus disease diagnosis in wheat. On the home landscape front, there is a mountain of winter kill and windburn injury from the harsh winter just past.
The University of Illinois Plant Clinic began year-round operation in the fall of 2011. Our new location is in Jonathan Baldwin Turner Hall on the south end of the Urbana campus.…

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Do Soybeans Need N Fertilizer?

  • April 16, 2014

  • Emerson Nafziger

There has been a great deal of interest in recent months in the idea of using nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season to increase soybean yields. This is somewhat surprising given that there has been so little evidence from published and unpublished reports showing that this practice increases yields, let alone provides a return on the cost of doing this.
Soybean plants in virtually every Illinois field produce nodules when roots are infected by Bradyrhizobium bacteria,…

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Terminating cover crops

  • April 16, 2014

  • Aaron Hager

The number of acres in Illinois seeded with various cover crops has increased during the past few seasons.  Those cover crops that do not winter kill are usually controlled the following spring with herbicides.  Dr. Bob Hartzler, extension weed scientist at Iowa State University, recently published an excellent article in which he describes several factors that can impact the performance of spring-applied herbicides used to terminate cover crops.  We sincerely appreciate Dr. Hartzler’s willingness to allow us to reproduce his article which follows.…

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Field Evolved Western Corn Rootworm Resistance to Bt (Cry3Bb1) Confirmed in Three Additional Illinois Counties

  • April 3, 2014

  • Michael Gray

On August 24, 2012, in cooperation with Dr. Aaron Gassmann’s laboratory, Iowa State University, I confirmed the evolution of field resistance by western corn rootworms to the Cry3Bb1 protein in some problem fields located in northwestern Illinois (Henry and Whiteside Counties). During the summer of 2012, Dr. Joe Spencer, Illinois Natural History Survey, received suspected Bt-resistant western corn rootworm adults that had been collected in continuous cornfields in McDonough, Mercer, and Sangamon Counties. Eggs were obtained from these adults in the laboratory.…

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Management of Palmer amaranth in Illinois

  • March 27, 2014

  • Aaron Hager

Palmer amaranth is a weed species that must be thoughtfully and carefully managed; simply attempting to control Palmer amaranth often leads to ineffective herbicide applications, substantial crop yield loss, and increasing weed infestations.  Ignored or otherwise not effectively managed, Palmer amaranth can reduce corn and soybean yield to near zero.  The threat of Palmer amaranth during the 2014 growing season is very real across a large portion of Illinois.
In January 2014, the weed science program at the University of Illinois developed recommendations for management of Palmer amaranth in agronomic crops. …

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