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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...