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Timing is crucial for spring planting. Planting too early can expose young stands to damaging frost, while planting too late can lead to greater potato leaf hopper and weed pressures.  Establishing a vigorous alfalfa stand is pivotal for future production, forage quality, and minimizing weed...

Given the dry conditions that prevailed Iowa in 2023, there will be herbicide carryover in 2024. Suspect herbicides that are likely to carryover include, but are not limited to atrazine, clopyralid, and the various HPPD inhibitor herbicides. Specifically, the accuracy, evenness, and timing (i.e...

Planting, in my opinion, is THE most important field operation. Planting in the optimal planting window and into good seedbed conditions will set the plant up for rapid growth and high yield potential. With planters beginning to move or sitting in waiting for better...

I have been observing, and also receiving phone calls and e-mails about, purple weeds in untilled fields. If you observe such an area, the weeds are probably either purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) or henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) or a mixture of the two. They are very...

The 2024 moth trapping season is underway, and our volunteers began placing traps the week of March 24. Black cutworm (BCW) monitoring is a long-standing project in Iowa to detect moths migrating from southern overwintering sites each spring. By monitoring adult black cutworms, we can provide...

Over the last 10 days, precipitation totals across the state have varied with less precipitation falling in the western and northern part of the state and heavier amounts falling in the east-central and southeast part of the state.

During the past 90 days, temperatures have been warmer than average, keeping soils from freezing and allowing much needed precipitation to infiltrate into the soil. Despite accumulated precipitation across the state being greater than average for the past 90 days, soil moisture is still lacking...

With recent reports of mandatory water...

The spring planting season in Iowa is quickly approaching. Therefore, it is critical to prepare now and check a few items when starting each field. While it takes time to check these items, field research has shown that getting the correct gauge wheel pressure (downforce pressure) to help create...

By Nabin K. Dangal, Edgar Nieto, Stith Wiggs, Jose Gonzalez-Acuna, and Daren S. Mueller.

It most certainly has been a strange winter with very little moisture. This fact, combined with a multi-year drought has people concerned for spring planting. Most farmers I have talked to this winter have shared concerns about not only the lack of precipitation, but the lack of soil moisture....

You are invited to the Southeast Iowa Agricultural Research Association's annual meeting, on Thursday, March 7, at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm, located at 3115 Louisa-Washington Rd, Crawfordsville.

The association, in partnership with Iowa State University, oversees the...