cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

If you have found yourself dealing with alfalfa weevil more often in the last few years, you are not alone. Reports of large populations and control failures have seemingly increased in recent years, not just in Illinois but throughout the Midwest. Alfalfa weevil populations resistant to pyrethroid insecticides were confirmed in the western U.S. several years ago, and there are some indications we might be seeing this in the Midwest as well. In Illinois specifically, it has been several years since our management recommendations in alfalfa have been revisited – we want to make sure these recommendations reflect the current situation.…

Temperatures this week were all over the place, but the average temperatures ended 7 to 15 degrees colder than normal across the state. December to date has also been 7 to 14 degrees colder than normal, making it a top 10 coldest start to December on record in most places, including the 6th coldest on record in Bloomington-Normal.
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
Extremely cold air settled in on Sunday night,…

The genus Acalypha includes approximately 450 species that are mostly of tropical and temperate origin. Approximately five species are native to Illinois, although most are not considered weeds of Illinois agronomic cropping systems. One species previously known to grow in corn and soybean fields is hophornbeam copperleaf (Acalypha ostryifolia), but due to its later emergence characteristic it rarely results in crop yield loss. Other Illinois species in this genus that usually are found in non-crop areas include the common Virginia copperleaf (Acalypha virginica) and rhomboid mercury (Acalypha rhomboidea),…

CLIMATE REVIEW & WEATHER FORECAST
This week marked the start of climatological winter, both by the calendar and by the weather. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 20s in northern Illinois to the low 30s in southern Illinois, between 8 and 12 degrees below average. Most places in the state saw nighttime low temperatures dip into the teens and single digits, with some very impressive lows like -7 in Lincoln and -6 in Moline.…