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We are starting to look for cooperators that are willing to place and monitor traps for black cutworm and true armyworm this spring and European corn borer, corn earworm, fall armyworm, and western bean cutworm this summer. We provide traps and lures. We ask cooperators to place and check traps several times a week, reporting trap catches to our site.
We will also be looking for cooperators to participate in our summer field surveys as well.…

The fall of 2018 and so far in 2019, there have been limited opportunities to apply nitrogen fertilizer. Average rainfall through the first 25 days of March ranged from a little less than normal in the northern half of Illinois to an inch or more above normal in south-central Illinois. But temperatures have averaged 3 to 4 degrees below normal, which slowed drying. There were several days in the first week of March when it was frozen on the surface and a considerable amount of P and K went on.…

Soybean Cyst Nematode is an extremely important, yield limiting pathogen of soybeans in Illinois, reducing yields an average of 1-3% across the state.  As I have written in earlier posts, sampling your fields every 3-5 years to assess SCN levels and HG types is the first step in managing this issue.  The best time to sample for SCN is after harvest in the Fall, and this can easily be added onto any samples you gather for soil nutrient testing. …

With harvest winding down in most of Illinois after another year with high to very high yields, it’s time to review some basics of fall fertilization. Neither fertilizer nor grain prices are historically high, so there’s reason to be aware of costs while making sure to cover the nutrient basics.
Nitrogen
In a webinar on October 19 organized by the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association, we looked at some of the nitrogen response data that have come in so far this fall and considered what this might mean in terms of fall N management.…

Illinois corn and soybean yields in 2018 were predicted in the August 1 NASS report (released on August 10) to be 205 and 65 bushels per acre, respectively, both an all-time record for this great state. Corn yields in the U.S. were predicted at 178.4 bushels per acre, a new all-time high, and for U.S. soybean the August 1 prediction was 51.6 bushels, which is very slightly below the 2016 U.S. yield.
Trying to guess which way and how far the yield numbers will move from predicted levels is a popular pastime,…

The crop progress report from NASS showed that on July 1, 40 percent of the Illinois corn crop was silking, the crop rating was 85 percent good + excellent (G + E), and more than 85 percent of Illinois was reported as having adequate or surplus soil moisture. While this combination is very supportive of prospects for high yields, questions remain about whether the crop is actually as good as it looks, and about how dry weather in the coming weeks might affect crop prospects.…

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center near Monmouth has scheduled a field day for July 18. University of Illinois crop sciences faculty, researchers, students, and Extension specialists will address issues pertinent to the 2018 growing season.
The program will begin promptly at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18, and is open to the public at no cost.
Weather permitting, presentations will take place outside next to research plots. Participants will board buses to tour portions of the farm.…

Seedling disease is running rampant across Illinois soybeans.  Many producers are wondering why.  Afterall, you used a fungicide treatment.  Well, there are many things that could be at play.  I describe these in this weeks Field Crop Disease Blog (click here).  Remember to sign up for updates!…