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Corn Rootworm Larval Injury and Adult Emergence Lagging this Season

  • July 11, 2013
  • Michael Gray

Although western corn rootworm adult emergence is underway across many central Illinois counties, a quick poll of participants at the DeKalb Research and Education Center field day near Shabbona, Illinois on July 10 revealed that participants have not observed any beetles moving about their cornfields. Joe Spencer, an entomologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, observed larvae continuing their root feeding activity in his research plots north of Urbana on July 9. Based upon these observations,…

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2013 Field Day July 16 at Orr Ag Center, Perry

  • July 9, 2013
  • Emerson Nafziger

The 2013 Orr Center Field Day presented by the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois will be held on Tuesday, July 16 at the Orr Center, which is located on Route 104 four miles west of the junction of Illinois Routes 104 and 107.
Tours will start at 9:00 AM, with the second and third groups leaving the headquarters at about 9:20 and 9:40. The tour will take about two hours, and will be followed by lunch provided by UI Extension.…

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Controlling Large Horseweed and Waterhemp in Soybean

  • July 3, 2013
  • Aaron Hager

The volume of inquiries about how to control large (taller than 12 inches) horseweed (a.k.a. marestail) and waterhemp in soybean has remained consistent over the past 10 days.  The answer can be summarized as follows: there are NO postemergence herbicides that will consistently control these very large weeds in soybean, especially if these weeds are resistant to glyphosate.
Glyphosate-resistant waterhemp can be controlled by foliar-applied PPO inhibitors (such as lactofen (Cobra), fomesafen (Flexstar) or acifluorfen (Ultra Blazer)) in conventional or glyphosate-resistant soybean varieties,…

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Western Corn Rootworm Adult Emergence has Begun

  • July 2, 2013
  • Michael Gray

Western corn rootworm adult emergence is underway across east central Illinois. On July 1, Nick Tinsley, Research Specialist in the Department of Crop Sciences, observed his first adult male western corn rootworm of the growing season just south of Urbana within a University of Illinois research plot. Later that day, Joe Spencer, Associate Research Professor, Illinois Natural History Survey, observed five western corn rootworm adults after about 20 minutes of searching in his research plots north of Urbana.…

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Count Down to the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center Field Day

  • July 2, 2013
  • Aaron Hager


Preparations are underway for the 32nd Annual University of Illinois’ Northwestern Agricultural Research Center Field Day. The program will begin at 8 am on Wednesday, July 17th.
Buses will carry members of the public to different stops in the research center where specialists from the University of Illinois’ Department of Crop Sciences or Extension personnel will present their most current crop and pest management research and recommendations.
 
Topics and speakers include:
Identification and management of Goss’s wilt of corn –…

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Stormy weather and Goss’s wilt go hand in hand

  • July 2, 2013
  • Aaron Hager

Goss’s wilt of corn often is most severe after fields are exposed to high winds and/or hail damage, because the causal bacterium, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis, readily infects corn leaves through wounds.  With the recent storm activity across the state, growers should be on the lookout for the appearance of Goss’s wilt symptoms.  Goss’s wilt lesions on the leaves generally have wavy margins with a water-soaked appearance on the edges of the lesions. …

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2013 Northern Illinois Agronomy Field Day

  • July 1, 2013
  • Russel Higgins

The University of Illinois’s Northern Illinois Agronomy Research Center will host a summer Agronomy Day Wednesday, July 10. U of I Extension specialists and researchers will address issues that are pertinent to the 2013 growing season. The program will begin at 9 a.m. and finish with a meal provided at noon. Anyone can attend, and there is no registration or fee required. CEUs will be available for certified crop advisers.

A Corn Rootworm Root Rating Field Day will be held in conjunction with Agronomy Day.…

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Corn Roots, Wet Soils, and Nitrogen

  • June 28, 2013
  • Emerson Nafziger

The June weather pattern in Illinois was variable, and the month is ending with rainfall totals ranging from a little less than normal in parts of western Illinois to nearly double the normal amounts, with some totals as high as 7 to 8 inches, in parts of southeastern and northern Illinois.
While getting rainfall in June is certainly preferable to getting little or none as happened in Illinois in 2012, standing water and wet soils can badly damage a rapidly-growing corn crop.…

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Japanese Beetle Emergence Underway Across the State

  • June 26, 2013
  • Michael Gray

Reports of Japanese beetles are becoming more common across the state of Illinois. On June 19, Ron Hines observed his first Japanese beetles of the season in Massac County. Much further to the north, Angie Peltier, University of Illinois Extension Commercial Agriculture Educator located at the Research and Demonstration Center, Monmouth, Illinois, collected about 1 inch of beetles in a trap from June 20 to 24. These observations confirm that this perennial insect pest of corn and soybeans is present throughout much of  the state.…

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Soybean Aphid Update: Insecticidal Seed Treatments and Resistant Varieties

  • June 25, 2013
  • Michael Gray

In mid-June, Chris DiFonzo, Extension Entomologist at Michigan State University, reported that a soybean field (Saginaw Farm) was infested with soybean aphids (~44% of plants infested).  Chris indicated that none of the plants had received an insecticidal seed treatment. Reports from other entomologists (Iowa and Minnesota) indicate that soybean aphids are being found at more modest levels. At this point, it remains unclear what soybean aphid infestations will look like for much of the Corn Belt.…

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