Blog

Most people are already finished with their first cutting of alfalfa throughout Iowa, but each of our 10 field agronomists reports that alfalfa weevil activity continues and has been much...

This past week brought a range of field activities from replanting and POST herbicide applications to putting up hay and sidedressing nitrogen. Herbicide injury and carryover, dry conditions, yellow corn, and alfalfa weevils have been some of the more common issues ISU Extension field...

As we continue the postemerge herbicide applications for corn and begin this process for soybeans, it’s important to be on the lookout for temperature inversions, Photo 1.  This blog will discuss what temperature inversions are, why they can be dangerous for pesticide applications, and how to...

The trapping season for true armyworm (TAW) and black cutworm (BCW) has come to an end. We appreciate our cooperators for tirelessly checking traps the last two months and reporting their captures so we can provide the most accurate scouting information for these pests. To recap, we had 32...

The use of aerial imagery in production agriculture has continued to grow and evolve over the last several years since its debut on the market. With significant changes in how imagery is captured and processed and the quality of images available, there are now many applications for this...

Soybean research and Extension specialists from land-grant universities across the country welcome you to join the next monthly informal discussion on crop production topics that are timely and relevant. When you join the Notes from the Field webinar series, you will get highlights and current...

Frost injury occurred Saturday May 29 across much of the area.  Radiational frost occurs when leaf temperatures actually reach lower temperatures than nearby recorded air temperatures.

Frost has occurred

            - along field edges - especially corn...

For the first time during the 2021 moth trapping season, more total true armyworm moths were reported than black cutworm moths. During Week 8 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 109 total black cutworm (BCW) and 128 true armyworm (TAW) moths.

Week 8 report...

Sandy to clay soils have different hydrological properties such as wilting point, field capacity, and saturation level (Fig 1a). Wilting point means no water is available to plants, field capacity means near optimum moisture for plant growth, and saturation means the soil pores are full of water...

Western and northern corn rootworms are serious corn pests in Iowa and the Corn Belt, primarily due to their feeding habits but also because they can overcome nearly all management tactics available to farmers. The larvae tunnel into and consume corn roots, thereby reducing nutrient and water...

Planting is starting to wrap up around the state for both corn and soybeans, and according to the May 17 NASS-USDA Crop Progress Report, 94% of the corn...

The 2021 cropping year will be remembered for a long time as an unusual year in many respects. Corn and soybean growth are off like a turtle race in many locations this season. So, we may be driving around, doing some road scouting, and asking ourselves why this is taking so long. After all, the...