Corn planting in Illinois has gotten into gear over the past week, with 12 percent of the state’s crop planted by April 17. That’s close to the planting pace of a year ago, and is behind the 5-year average only because that average includes 2012, when nearly half of the state’s corn crop was planted by mid-April. Illinois corn yield averaged 105 bushels per acre in 2012, while in 2014, the year with the record-high corn yield of 200 bushels,…
Even though the price of nitrogen fertilizer has dropped some in the past year, the lower price of corn means that decisions about N management need to be made carefully, with an eye towards maximizing the return to this critically important input.
The return of dry weather over the past week and the forecast for the coming week has lessened the concern about N loss, though we still need to consider the possibility that some fall-applied anhydrous ammonia might have moved out of the upper part of the soil.…
The pattern of warmer and wetter than usual weather this past winter has changed some in the past two months, but hopes for a warm, dry, early spring have faded as well. Concerns remain about how much fall-applied N might have been lost and about whether and how this should change how we manage N this spring.
Most Illinois producers waited until soil temperatures had dropped to 50 degrees or less before applying anhydrous ammonia last fall.…
The following information about cover crop termination is taken from the 2016 Weed Control Guide for Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The information was originally written by extension weed scientists at Purdue University.
Cover crops are unique in that most are planted primarily to reduce soil erosion and otherwise enhance soil quality, and are not harvested for their seed, fruit, or forage (although some are grazed or used as forage). Instead, cover crops are terminated before planting of summer annual grain crops such as soybeans and corn.…
The University of Illinois is part of a large, multi-state research project funded by the North Central Soybean Research Program (funded by state checkoff programs) to look at effects of weather, soils, and management on soybean yields.
As part of this project, we need to gather basic information on at least 500 soybeans fields around Illinois for each of the crop years 2014 through 2017. These data will go into a large database that will be used to take a look at how management affects yields in a given soil type and with a certain weather pattern.…
On February 3, Monsanto announced its commercial launch plans for soybean varieties resistant to the herbicides dicamba and glyphosate (designated Roundup Ready 2 Xtend varieties). This announcement followed China’s decision to import grain from these varieties. Many weed management practitioners hope this new technology package will provided improved control of problematic weed populations, including those with evolved resistance to glyphosate and herbicides from other site-of-action families. The weed science program at the University of Illinois has evaluated this technology for several years,…
The 2016 Weed Control Guide for Ohio, Indiana and Illinois contains 224 pages of weed management information, including weed response ratings for corn and soybean herbicides. Information and recommendations for managing weeds in small grains and forages is included, along with more specific information about and control recommendations for several problem weed species. A pdf of the 2016 Weed Control Guide is available to download, and a printed version of the guide can be ordered at: http://estore.osu-extension.org/2016-Ohio-Indiana-and-Illinois-Weed-Control-Guide-P433.aspx
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This January Extension Specialists from both Iowa State University and the University of Illinois will present some of the latest research-based information on crop production and management issues at two Bi-State Crop Advantage Conferences:
January 8 in Burlington, IA and January 29 in Moline, IL.
Certified Crop Advisers can earn up to 6 hours of CEU credit. Re-certification credit is also offered to Iowa private pesticide applicators. Advance registration, no later than one week before the conference,…
Registration is open for the 2016 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 dates and locations for the 2016 regional Crop Management Conferences are as follows:
January 20: Mt. Vernon – Krieger/Holiday Inn Convention Center.
January 27: Springfield – Northfield Inn Conference Center.
February 3: Champaign – i-Hotel and Conference Center.
February 10: Malta – Kishwaukee College Conference Center.
These 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,…