A new web book, Crop Scouting Basics For Corn And Soybean, by the Crop Protection Network (CPN) has just been released and is available for farmers, students, and agriculture industry to learn more about scouting and integrated pest management (IPM). This book was written and reviewed by extension pest management specialists from across the country, making it useful anywhere corn and soybean are grown.
Crop scouting is an essential part of pest management on a successful farm. Scouting informs crop protection efforts to effectively manage weeds, diseases, insect pests, and other field issues. Scouting gives farmers and agronomists a "heads-up" about what is happening in the field, allowing proactive action and appropriate management decisions to be applied in the present and future.
“We are excited for this book to come out,” said Daren Mueller, extension plant pathologist at Iowa State University. “The Crop Protection Network and extension experts from around the country have worked to make this resource available free of charge to anyone wanting to know about crop scouting.”
The web book is a great way to learn the basics of scouting corn and soybean, starting with becoming familiar with crop growth stages and how to look through a field for pests. Scouting activities such as stand counts and yield estimation are covered, as well as essential subject matter dealing with weed science, plant pathology, and entomology. The book assembles information from a variety of crop-related disciplines and emphasizing recordkeeping and field scouting.
“It is important to know what a healthy crop looks like so you can better identify unhealthy crops,” Mueller said.
The web book can be accessed at the Crop Protection Network here.
Certified Crop Advisors can earn continuing education units after taking quizzes on each chapter in the book.
This educational resource was made possible by contributions from the National Corn Growers Association, Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management; and the United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).
CPN is a multi-state and international partnership of university and provincial Extension specialists, and public and private professionals that provides unbiased, research-based information. CPN’s goal is to communicate relevant information to farmers and agricultural personnel to help with decisions related to protecting field crops
For more information, visit the Crop Protection Network at https://cropprotectionnetwork.org
Adam Sisson Extension Specialist
Adam Sisson is an extension specialist with the Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program and a Certified Crop Adviser. Sisson focuses on the development of publications and other educational resources for farmers, agribusi...