Blog

Planting season is or soon will be underway. This presents an opportunity to talk about a few things; 1) ideal conditions for planting, 2) seeding depth, and 3) imbibitional chilling.

Planting conditions
Ideal planting conditions are when the soil temperature...

A 'true' weed ecologist probably would have shuddered at my explanation to young 4-H'ers how weeds survive our control efforts:  

1) shake them off (giant ragweed) or 2) overrun them with numbers (waterhemp).

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Bean leaf beetle adults are susceptible to cold weather and most will die when the air temperature falls below 14°F (-10°C). However, they have adapted to winter by protecting themselves under plant debris and loose soil. An overwintering survival model developed at ISU in 2000 is helpful for...

Research can be frustrating. For the past 5 years, my lab has been evaluating seed treatments on soybean. In an effort to detect an effect of seed treatment on soybean stand and yield, in 2015 we planted our trials very early (mid-April). A few days later, it rained, soil temperatures dropped...

You may have heard of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), an invasive insect making its way across the U.S. The first live detections of BMSB in Iowa were in 2011. Laura Jesse, Director of the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Lab, has now confirmed BMSB in 12 Iowa counties (see a map...

Adult alfalfa weevils begin moving as soon as temperatures exceed 48°F and begin laying eggs in alfalfa. Alfalfa weevil eggs develop based on temperature, or accumulating degree days, and hatching can start around 200-300 degree days. Start scouting alfalfa fields south of Interstate 80 at 200...

Alison and I spent the week editing the nearly final version of two national publications about corn and soybean diseases. These will be published by our society, APS Press, like the Fungicides for Field Crops ...

I was curious to compare growing degree days (GDDs) over the last couple summers. It seemed like 2014 and 2015 were cool, wet springs with a slow start for insects. But I wanted to check actual temperature history instead of relying on my memory. I used the ISU Agronomy...

Question: What was the most popular POST herbicide program for corn in Iowa Crop Reporting Districts 1 and 2 (NW and NC Iowa) in 1985?

Answer: 2,4-D + Banvel (dicamba), with 78 and 64% of the acres treated, respectively.

Every time I see an...

It’s not easy for insects to survive Iowa winters. Some literally can’t - they freeze to death or migrate away to warmer climates. But many insects have adapted to cold temperatures by entering diapause, which is like hibernation. Diapause is a developmental arrest to survive adverse seasons...

The deadline for farmers to submit data for the "Soybean Yield Benchmarking Project" has been extended to April 1, 2016.

The “Soybean Yield Benchmarking Project” is a collaborative effort and is funded by soybean checkoff funds through the North...

This is fourth and final part of a series focused on using multiple, effective herbicide groups at effective rates as part of a long-term weed management system.

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