cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Illinois Crop Update – July 12, 2024

  • July 12, 2024

Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
Some side-dressing is still occurring on later planted corn, and beans are currently being sprayed. Some are struggling to finish wheat harvest due to the wet weather we keep getting. Not all areas have been affected similarly with rain, but the range is between just enough and too much to the point of creating drowned out low areas;…

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Illinois Crop Update – July 5, 2024

  • July 5, 2024

Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
This past week I had the opportunity to travel a larger area of northern Illinois. Generally, both corn and soybean crops appear to be in good shape. This comes as somewhat of a surprise when considering what the crop has endured to this point (near midway) in the growing season. Earliest planted crops include R1 corn and R2 soy. In recent trips across the countryside,…

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Illinois Crop Update – June 28, 2024

  • June 28, 2024

Nicole Haverback  – Watershed Outreach Associate
Henry County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
After a few needed storms this week, Henry county received around 2 inches of rain with hail and wind impacting some areas

Figure 1: Hail damage soybeans- Annawan

Figure 2: Hail damage corn – Annawan

Figure 3: Hail damage corn- Annawan
 
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal,…

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Rootworm Beetle Emergence – 2024 Monitoring Program

  • June 25, 2024

Corn rootworm beetles will begin emerging throughout Illinois over the next couple of weeks (we noticed the first few western corn rootworm beetles of the year at our Urbana field site earlier this week). There are a number of things we can learn by keeping track of corn rootworm emergence, particularly in fields that have a history of rootworm problems:

  • Control performance. Usually, our first indication that a local population is developing resistance to a Bt trait package is elevated numbers of beetles emerging from traited corn;

…

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Stress and the 2024 corn and soybean crops

  • June 21, 2024

  • Giovani Preza Fontes

As high temperatures continue and rainfall remains scarce, many Illinois producers are getting concerned about prospects for the 2024 crops. While it is not very productive to ask ourselves if we should have managed tillage and planting differently, remembering how this year’s crop is faring might inform some of our decisions in the future.
After a planting season that stretched from late March to mid-June and included a substantial amount of replanting, Illinois corn and soybeans are almost completely planted;…

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Illinois Crop Update – June 21, 2024

  • June 21, 2024

Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Like much of the state, in LaSalle County it has been hot with only one day in the past week having some scattered showers.  There are some scattered thunderstorms in the forecast for next week, though. Overall, crops are still looking good, but the soil is starting to dry out a bit on top.  Corn at the IVCC research and demonstration plots is at V5,…

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Reminder: University of Illinois 2024 Weed Science Field Research Tour

  • June 21, 2024

The weed science program at the University of Illinois invites all weed management practitioners to our annual weed science field tour on Wednesday, June 26 at the Department of Crop Sciences field research location known as the Clem Farm, located at 1114 County Road 1200 East, Champaign. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the tour will start at 9:00 a.m. Preregistration is not required, but please let us know in advance if you will be bringing a large group of participants so we can plan accordingly for meals.…

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Flash Droughts and Evapotranspiration

  • June 19, 2024

The high temperatures across the corn belt, coupled with the lack of rainfall in some of the states east of the Mississippi River has farmers concerned. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford has this explanation of evapotranspiration under high temperature and high humidity conditions.…

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Illinois Crop Update – June 14, 2024

  • June 14, 2024

Nicole Haverback  – Watershed Outreach Associate
Henry County
Corn stages range from VE- V7, with bean stages similar. Most corn herbicide applications are complete, and side dress nitrogen is almost completed. Little crop response has been noted, and corn is looking good but could use a drink.
 
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Sunshine and warmer weather are accelerating crop and weed growth.…

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Illinois Crop Update – June 7, 2024

  • June 7, 2024

Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
With the significant rainfall the area saw beginning a couple weeks ago (> 2.6 inches between May 21 and 28), plus almost another inch of rain between June 1 and now, corn is beginning to show signs of N deficiency. Some fields are showing areas of stunted, light green plants, and some are exhibiting uneven emergence.…

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