The Bulletin Archives - Page 64 of 72

Potash Fertilizer: Is There a Problem?

November 21, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

In a publication brought to the public’s attention by news release from the University of Illinois several weeks ago, S.A. Khan, Richard Mulvaney and a colleague in the Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois challenged a number of basic tenets of soil fertility, especially practices related to use of potassium (K) fertilizer. Citing hundreds of references and thousands of reported studies, they asserted that: K fertilizer is generally unnecessary in soils like most of those in Illinois;…

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“Handy Bt Trait Table” Published by Michigan State University and University of Wisconsin Entomologists

November 7, 2013
Michael Gray

Drs. Chris DiFonzo (Michigan State University) and Eileen Cullen (University of Wisconsin) recently updated and published their “Handy Bt Trait Table.” This great reference provides information for transgenic hybrids on the types of Bt proteins expressed, insects controlled, herbicide tolerance, and refuge requirements for selected traits. Depending upon the specific Cry protein (below ground and/or above ground) expressed and combinations of Cry proteins delivered within the large range of Bt hybrids sold,…

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Issues with Nitrogen Fertilizer: Fall 2013

November 1, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

With 85 percent of soybean and 74 percent of corn acres harvested by October 27, the annual process of deciding when and how to supply nitrogen fertilizer for the 2014 corn crop is underway.
Lessons from this past year
Following the very dry first half of 2012 and low corn yields, soil sampling last fall revealed an average of about 80 lb N present as nitrate in the top foot of soil in Illinois. With a lot of rain in late winter and early spring,…

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Fall Fertilization for the 2014 Crop

October 27, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

Corn and soybean harvest continues to move along in Illinois, and as the 2013 crops come off, thoughts turn to fall fertilization. In this article we’ll discuss nutrients other than nitrogen. This will be followed soon by an article on nitrogen.
P and K
In areas with dry soils, we have in recent years had reports of lower than expected soil test K values. There might be some of this in 2013, but we’re also hearing some reports of soil test P and K levels higher than expected.…

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Would More Rain Have Made Good Corn Yields Even Better?

October 16, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

The Illinois State Water Survey weather recording site in Champaign near the South Farms provided the following rainfall totals (in inches) in 2013: May – 4.65; June – 5.33; July – 3.47; August – 0.49; September – 0.50. The dry weather along with high temperatures in late August into September – it reached 98 degrees on August 31 and again on September 10 – had many of us believing that yields would be lowered. I was also hoping that irrigation in a study we conducted here might bring us 300-bushel yields by preventing such a decline.…

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Register Now for the 2013 AGMasters Conference

October 15, 2013
Michael Gray

The on-line registration site is open for the 2013 AGMasters Conference. The conference will take place December 2 and 3 at the i Hotel and Conference Center, Champaign, Illinois. The program will begin with a general session that features five outstanding speakers who will cover a broad range of topics that relate to agricultural production and the environment. Following the opening session, participants will be able to select eight of sixteen specialized workshop topics of most interest to them.…

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Fall Herbicides to Control Marestail (Horseweed)

October 2, 2013
Aaron Hager

Widespread and often very dense populations of marestail in soybean fields last spring caught the attention of farmers and other weed management practitioners. Many came to the difficult realization that marestail is not a problem weed species only in the more southern portions of Illinois. It’s difficult to say with complete accuracy how far north these infestations occurred, but mature marestail was easily observed during recent travels through Kankakee and Will counties. As we mentioned earlier this year,…

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Thoughts at Harvest

September 27, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

Corn and soybean harvest in Illinois stood at 5 and 1 percent, respectively, on September 22, 2013. These are behind the 5-year averages, and far behind the 51 percent of the corn crop harvested by this date in 2012. Using 5-year averages may be reasonable, but corn harvest progress by October 1 ranged from 4 percent to 71 percent over the past five years, so “average” does not describe “typical” very well.
Harvest of both corn and soybean have ramped up in Illinois the last week of September,…

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Update on Palmer amaranth Distribution in Illinois

September 24, 2013
Aaron Hager

Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) has garnered much attention recently in both academic discussions and popular press releases, and with good reason. Among the weedy species of Amaranthus, Palmer amaranth has the fastest growth rate and is the most competitive with the crops common to Midwest agronomic cropping systems. Soybean yield losses approaching 80% and corn yield losses exceeding 90% have been reported in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Palmer amaranth can be effectively managed in Illinois agronomic crops,…

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Late-Season Dry Weather and Soybean Prospects

September 12, 2013
Emerson Nafziger

Soybean planting was very late in Illinois in 2013; it was early June before 50 percent of the crop was planted, and well into July by the time planting was completed. Even so, the crop condition ratings were good by mid-season, with some 70 percent of the crop rated good or excellent in mid-July.
With the late planting and some cool temperatures in July, soybean flowering and pod-setting started late, with half the crop flowering by July 21,…

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