Blog
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Erin Hodgson
August 25, 2015 9:19 AM
The last few weeks have been full of soybean aphid discussions. Populations have been going up, down and otherwise looked sort of bumpy this summer. Many fields exceeded the economic threshold of 250 per plant and were treated with foliar insecticides in August, particularly in northern Iowa. My...
Bob Hartzler
August 24, 2015 1:05 PM
Burcucumber and wild cucumber (AKA wild balsam apple) are weedy members of the cucumber family. They are frequently found along river bottoms and other wet areas, and may cause serious problems due to their ability to climb and smother small to medium sized trees. Burcucumber is more likely to...
Paul Kassel
August 19, 2015 4:23 PM
We have experienced quite a turnaround in weather the last four days. Last Sunday August 16 – we were experiencing dry soil, high temperatures and crop stress. After a late Sunday afternoon rain shower of around 0.5 inch – things were looking good.
However, the...
Mark Licht
August 14, 2015 4:32 PM
The new Yield Forecast came out from the UNL project on today. There is a high probability of near- or above-average yields at all six Iowa locations with 95% probability being near- or above average at all locations except northwest and north central Iowa. The range of yield potentials forecast...
Adam J. Varenhorst
August 14, 2015 9:42 AM
Mike Dunbar
August 14, 2015 9:42 AM
Aaron J Gassmann
August 14, 2015 9:42 AM
Erin Hodgson
August 14, 2015 9:42 AM
Corn rootworm adult emergence is underway in Iowa. The three species of rootworm found in Iowa include the northern corn rootworm (NCR), southern corn rootworm (SCR), and western corn rootworm (WCR). Adults of all three species can be found until the first frost. Knowing how to distinguish the...
Bob Hartzler
August 13, 2015 7:23 AM
Wild parsnip is an invasive plant commonly found in roadsides, pastures, restored prairies and other areas with full sun and minimal disturbance. It is a biennial that forms a rosette with 'celery-like leaves' (Fig. 1.) and an umbel with yellow flowers (Fig. 2). It contains a class of...
Bob Hartzler
August 10, 2015 8:21 AM
Meaghan Anderson
August 10, 2015 8:21 AM
The annual ISU-Iowa State Fair Weed Identification Contest is this Friday, August 14, from 9:00 - 11:00 AM in front of the John Deere Agriculture Building. With three divisions (Future Agronomists, General, and Professional) it is indeed fun for the entire family. See how your weed ID skills...
Bob Hartzler
August 10, 2015 7:37 AM
Figure 1. A poison ivy trifoliate leaf.
In the past few weeks I've had at least five inquiries regarding a...
Rebecca Vittetoe
August 6, 2015 3:49 PM
Are you seeing yellow-ish spots showing up in your soybean fields, especially in compacted parts of the field? This could be the start of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). With how wet its been there year, we've had the ideal conditions for disease development.
...
Erin Hodgson
August 5, 2015 2:00 PM
This week, I've had several calls and emails about aphids feeding on corn. They aren't a persistent pest, but can occasionally be found in Iowa corn. I wrote up a short ICM News article in 2011. Although an economic...
Mark Licht
August 3, 2015 12:39 PM
It’s time for another Yield Forecast. A new Yield Forecast came out from the UNL project on July 29. For Iowa, this new forecast is similar to the July 15th forecast with the exception of northwest Iowa. Rains in northwest Iowa have increased yield potentials to 94% likelihood of being near or...
Paul Kassel
July 31, 2015 12:12 PM
Waterhemp continues to be a problem in parts of northwest Iowa. There is a fair amount of waterhemp that survived the glyphosate and/or Flexstar applications in late June.
There is also a new crop of waterhemp that has germinated recently. That fact is surprising since it has been...
Bob Hartzler
July 30, 2015 9:01 AM
Proper selection of adjuvants is essential for effective weed control with herbicides. Unlike herbicides, adjuvants are not regulated - thus anything can be marketed for this purpose and manufacturers are not required to describe the active ingredients. This leads to the introduction of ...
Bob Hartzler
July 28, 2015 8:40 AM
Meaghan Anderson
July 28, 2015 8:40 AM
Most agronomists are aware of the movement of Palmer amaranth into Iowa. Although known Iowa infestations are limited to five counties (Harrison, Fremont, Page, Lee and Muscatine) we are confident that it is present in many more counties. We are pleased by the number of people who have...
Paul Kassel
July 24, 2015 3:17 PM
Parts of northwest Iowa are listed as ‘abnormally dry’ on the most recent edition of the Drought Monitor. I would agree with that – we are seeing some effects of dry weather this week.
Corn and soybean crops are wilting in the afternoon on some of the light soil...
Erin Hodgson
July 21, 2015 11:40 AM
Now that corn silks are out all over Iowa, many people scouting fields will notice a mixture of silk-feeding insects (e.g., corn rootworm, Japanese beetle, grasshoppers, etc.). Sometimes I get asked about how long corn rootworm will emerge. It all comes down to temperature. Like all insects,...
Mark Licht
July 20, 2015 9:54 AM
Summer is upon us with warmer temperatures, corn pollination underway, and corn grain fill beginning. That also means talk about estimating corn yields come fall. I’m involved in two yield forecasting projects. One is out of ISU and is led by Dr. Sotirios Archontoulis using the APSIM crop model...
Paul Kassel
July 19, 2015 2:07 PM
I am seeing some really good crop development progress in my area. Most of the corn is tasseled out. I am thinking...
Erin Hodgson
July 16, 2015 9:43 AM
Yesterday during my class at FEEL, I asked participants to go out in the corn and soybean plots and find pests. It didn’t take too long to find a few plants loaded with soybean aphid. It was the largest natural colonies I have seen this summer (potentially exciting for my research but not great...
Erin Hodgson
July 15, 2015 2:37 PM
In case you want to try something a little different, you may be interested in listening to a podcast about field crop pest management. If you are new to podcasting, it is basically an audio file. Some people listen to podcasts on their computer/smart device, in their vehicles while traveling,...
I have just got back from the ISU Southeast Research Farm near Crawfordsville. I was assessing my Cardinal fungicide trial. With all the reports of northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) in SE IA I decided it was probably worth the drive to get some "disease at VT" data.
The crop in the...
Erin Hodgson
July 14, 2015 1:46 PM
Every summer since 2001, Iowa farmers have to think about soybean aphid. Well, I hope you are thinking about our primary soybean insect pest!
Aphids have been detected throughout the northern counties this year, and some are asking if it will be a "bad" aphid year. I have to say it's too...
Erin Hodgson
July 13, 2015 12:23 PM
Last summer, I posted an ICM News article about how scouting for alfalfa weevils in southern Iowa. It doesn't take too many accumulated degree days for them to start moving around and laying eggs. If you grow or scout...