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Elwynn Taylor
January 11, 2017 5:00 PM
Soil Temperature at the 4-inch depth is important to crop establishment even though seed placement is usually at depths of less than 2 inches. Soil temperature of below 50F is important to responsible fall anhydrous application. The estimated county soil temperature in Iowa is derived from...
Bob Hartzler
December 29, 2016 8:22 AM
People involved in weed management for at least 20 years probably remember corn being damaged by glyphosate drift when Roundup Ready soybean were first introduced. The extensive damage was due to the high susceptibility of corn to glyphosate; equipping sprayers with low-drift nozzles and the...
Bob Hartzler
December 22, 2016 7:56 AM
The recent approval of the new dicamba products approved for use on Xtend soybean has been received with mix feelings by the agricultural community; many are excited about the new options to help with the growing herbicide resistance problem, whereas others are concerned about the risks...
Bob Hartzler
December 12, 2016 7:34 AM
Micheal D.K. Owen
December 12, 2016 7:34 AM
The 2017 version of WC 94 - Herbicide guide for Iowa corn and soybean production - is now available. The guide includes several tables providing information on herbicide effectiveness, composition of package mixes, and herbicide sites of action. In addition the guide...
Bob Hartzler
December 5, 2016 9:29 AM
I’ll admit it, I enjoy the laughing weeds in Syngenta’s Acuron advertisements. The Acuron Chronicles remind me of something written by Dutch Sylwester more than 60 years ago. Dutch was ISU’s extension weed scientist from 1945 to 1975, and his...
Erin Hodgson
December 2, 2016 8:29 PM
This week during ICM Conference, I talked about a resistance management plan for soybean aphid. My presentation abstract can be downloaded now (ICM Proceedings, pg. 97...
Daren Mueller
November 21, 2016 3:37 PM
The Crop Protection Network (CPN; www.cropprotectionnetwork.org) is a working group made up of state university and provincial Extension specialists, and public/private professionals. This group produces collaborative Extension outputs for...
Sotirios Archontoulis
November 7, 2016 3:30 PM
The effect of cover crop on crop yields, soil health, and nitrate-nitrogen (N) leaching is complex and variable from year to year. From an environmental point of view, the higher the rye biomass production at termination day, the higher the likelihood of increasing soil organic carbon and...
Mahdi Al-Kaisi
November 1, 2016 10:40 AM
Building on the success of the Inaugural Soil Health Conference in 2016, the second Soil Health Conference will be held in the Scheman Building at Iowa State University on February 16-17, 2017. This conference is organized by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, College of Agriculture...
Rebecca Vittetoe
October 25, 2016 9:04 AM
Meaghan Anderson
October 25, 2016 9:04 AM
Fall is a great time to take soil samples and test the soil to see where the nutrient levels are. The results of soil tests can help make critical management decisions for the next growing season. Soil testing starts with the soil sample. The small sample of soil collected serves as the basis...
Kristine Schaefer
October 20, 2016 2:44 PM
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is now offering an online review course for individuals taking the next Iowa Certified Crop Advisers Examination on February 3, 2017. This course is exclusively online and will not have a...
Erin Hodgson
October 17, 2016 1:03 PM
There is a lot of discussion lately about grain storage and quality. I wanted to make you aware of webinars that may be of interest to you. I was part of a regional project that organized a 4-part webinar series focused on stored grain IPM in the north central region. Here are the topics and...
Bob Hartzler
October 17, 2016 6:26 AM
One of the more popular pages on the old ISU Weed Science website was the Herbicide Ad Hall of Shame. It featured ads that I deemed went against Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles. Recently, two of my colleagues nominated the attached ad that promotes the effectiveness of dicamba in...
Rebecca Vittetoe
October 12, 2016 3:31 PM
The weather forecast is calling for temperatures to dip close to freezing tonight (10/12/16) in south central/southeast Iowa, which could mean that we may see a light frost. What does...
Bob Hartzler
October 7, 2016 1:57 PM
A grower provided us a sample of the seed mix used on one of the conservation plantings where Palmer amaranth developed following planting. We were able to extract Amaranthus seed from the native seed mix. Since it is difficult, if not impossible, to visually differentiate the ...
Aaron Saeugling
October 7, 2016 9:32 AM
In my previous post, I discussed six key factors to keep in mind when considering hybrid choices for 2017, including: cost, disease tolerance, insect package...
Erin Hodgson
October 6, 2016 11:11 AM
Many people have been asking me about little black bugs biting them this summer. Have you experienced this? I would have to guess they would be minute pirate bugs, also known as insidious flower bugs.
Aaron Saeugling
October 6, 2016 11:10 AM
Harvest is underway! Long days and short nights in the combine, tractor and truck give farmers time to reflect. Key things to remember from 2016 are the wet spring, dry June, wet and late summer, and early fall. With commodity prices lower than past years farmers need to begin developing budgets...
Bob Hartzler
October 6, 2016 7:09 AM
Meaghan Anderson
October 6, 2016 7:09 AM
Palmer amaranth has been identified in newly-seeded conservation plantings in more than 30 Iowa counties, and we would not be surprised if the actual number is double that. The number of Palmer amaranth plants per acre has typically been low enough (<250 plants per acre) to make physical...
Erin Hodgson
October 5, 2016 2:05 PM
Right now, I have five different insects walking around my office! Of course, they are accidental invaders along with many other nuisance pests active right now. It’s also a sign of the quality of the building I work in [sigh]. I’ve been asked several times, “how cold does it have to get to...
Clarke McGrath
September 30, 2016 9:57 AM
Seems like I have written an article on stalk rot about every year for the last five or six seasons. Luckily, for the most part, the last few years it was a “heads up” about a relatively small amount of fields that were having lodging issues. However, this year it sure seems like stalk integrity...
Clarke McGrath
September 22, 2016 12:22 PM
From a non-farm citizen perspective, safety on the roads is imperative. We have to be aware that during harvest and fall field work season, there will be a lot of large and slow moving equipment on the roads. There will also be a lot of grain trucks on the roads, and it is a tough job to drive...
Clarke McGrath
September 21, 2016 10:22 AM
Safety is always a priority for farmers at harvest, but this year may push us harder than most. If our current wet weather pattern continues into the fall, it could be a muddy, difficult 2016 harvest season.
Clarke McGrath
September 20, 2016 10:16 AM
Sept. 18-24 is National Farm Safety and Health Week and Iowa Farm Safety and Health Week. Clarke McGrath, on-farm research and extension coordinator for the Iowa Soybean Research Center and extension agronomist at...
Bob Hartzler
September 19, 2016 6:42 AM
I tell students in my ID class that weed identification is easy since very few species have traits that allow them to persist in disturbed habitats, thus you run into the same weeds over and over. After a few years in the business, you seldom encounter a weed you haven’t dealt with before. That...