The Bulletin Archives - Page 63 of 73

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 This is somewhat surprising given that there has been so little evidence from published and unpublished reports showing that this practice increases yields, let alone provides a return on the cost of doing this.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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Webinar to Focus on Nitrogen

March 24, 2014
Emerson Nafziger

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.…

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Cover Crop Field Day March 28th at the Ewing Demonstration Center

March 18, 2014
Nathan Johanning

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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Western Corn Rootworm Egg Survival and the Winter of 2013-14: What’s the Likely Outcome?

March 18, 2014
Michael Gray

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,…

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Soil Temperatures and Spring Prospects

March 18, 2014
Emerson Nafziger

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.…

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