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Several soybean diseases have become noticeable after recent rainfall across the state.

The following diseases are currently showing up regularly across Iowa soybean fields, depending on your location in the state:

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomists report crop conditions in your area of the state.

Iowa Code 317 is the section of the Iowa Code that defines the Iowa Noxious Weed Law.  Chapter 317.1 is the piece of legislation that actually defines which...

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomists report crop conditions in your area of the state.

ISU Field Agronomists around the state have noted Japanese beetle feeding injury in corn and soybean over the last week. Japanese beetles have a wide host range that includes many species of fruit and vegetable crops, ornamentals, and field crops. Adults prefer to feed between soybean leaf veins...

The lowest level of insect injury where damage can be measured is called the damage boundary. The damage boundary is a biological relationship between the insect, crop, and environment; and is independent of input costs (e.g., seed, insecticide, etc.). Managing a pest below the...

Soybean aphid feeds fluids within the phloem fluids (sometimes referred to as "sap") by inserting piercing-sucking mouthparts directly into the phloem vessels. Prior to feeding, aphids "taste" the sap to determine if the plant is a suitable host species and if the quality is acceptable. Once...

The current epidemic of wild parsnip has garnered much attention due to the toxins present in the plant.  Since wild parsnip is a biennial, mowing is often recommended as a control option.  The theory is that by preventing seed production, mowing can eliminate future infestations.  In practice,...

About twice a year I get asked these questions. "Angie, what are you doing to promote cover crops in north central Iowa? We just don't have many acres of cover crops up there." Or, "Angie, what can we do to get more cover crops in north central Iowa?" I usually chuckle at these questions, and...

Since the last clinic update (6/17/2016), we are starting to transition from seedling diseases to foliar diseases. There is quite a bit of concern from clients about getting an early jump on foliar diseases, in order to plan for foliar fungicide applications. Similarly to the last blog, a...

Spider mites the end of June or first part of July? Our hot and dry weather here in southeastern Iowa have provided favorable conditions for spider mites. Typically we do not see spider mites reaching economically damaging levels until late July or early August when conations (hot and ry) are...

Last week, my lab crew found a few different caterpillars feeding in our soybean plots at the ISU Northwest Research Farm. They were hesitant to identify it in the field, so they brought one to me for a confirmation. First, I noticed it had a green body and green head and four pairs of prolegs...