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Ashley Dean
June 10, 2021 1:36 PM
Erin Hodgson
June 10, 2021 1:36 PM
Most people are already finished with their first cutting of alfalfa throughout Iowa, but each of our 10 field agronomists reports that alfalfa weevil activity continues and has been much...
Prashant Jha
June 9, 2021 9:12 PM
Most herbicide labels caution against applications made under environmental stress such as prevailing hot and dry conditions in Iowa this year. This is because of increased risk of crop injury and/or decreased weed control. Weeds growing under hot, dry conditions are often difficult to control...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 8, 2021 10:26 PM
This past week brought a range of field activities from replanting and POST herbicide applications to putting up hay and sidedressing nitrogen. Herbicide injury and carryover, dry conditions, yellow corn, and alfalfa weevils have been some of the more common issues ISU Extension field...
Ryan W Bergman
June 8, 2021 3:36 PM
Levi Powell
June 8, 2021 3:36 PM
With technology advancing all the time, it’s hard to resist the appeal of new equipment. However, there are many upgrades available that can be added to your existing planter to achieve speed and efficiency next planting season. When we talk about upgrades to your planter system, there are three...
Terry Basol
June 8, 2021 11:26 AM
As we continue the postemerge herbicide applications for corn and begin this process for soybeans, it’s important to be on the lookout for temperature inversions, Photo 1. This blog will discuss what temperature inversions are, why they can be dangerous for pesticide applications, and how to...
Mark Licht
June 8, 2021 8:51 AM
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 8, 2021 8:51 AM
The dry conditions are causing some to see what is known as “floppy” corn (aka rootless corn). Rootless corn is easy to diagnose – simply dig up plants that are not standing erect like they should be, then gently knock off the soil to get a look at the roots. With rootless corn you will see the...
Ashley Dean
June 3, 2021 11:16 AM
The trapping season for true armyworm (TAW) and black cutworm (BCW) has come to an end. We appreciate our cooperators for tirelessly checking traps the last two months and reporting their captures so we can provide the most accurate scouting information for these pests. To recap, we had 32...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 2, 2021 4:56 PM
Frost damage, uneven corn, yellow looking crops, and volunteer corn becoming more prevalent were some of the more common issues observed in fields this past week. Read on for more specifics about what ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists are hearing and seeing across the state.
...
Ryan W Bergman
June 2, 2021 3:46 PM
Chris Murphy
June 2, 2021 3:46 PM
The use of aerial imagery in production agriculture has continued to grow and evolve over the last several years since its debut on the market. With significant changes in how imagery is captured and processed and the quality of images available, there are now many applications for this...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 2, 2021 1:25 PM
Kristina TeBockhorst
June 2, 2021 1:25 PM
For those worried about the need for additional N this spring, one method in determining if additional N is needed is by doing the Late Spring Soil Nitrate Test (LSNT). This test measures the nitrate-N concentration in the top foot of soil. The measured N is a combination of nitrate residual...
Soybean research and Extension specialists from land-grant universities across the country welcome you to join the next monthly informal discussion on crop production topics that are timely and relevant. When you join the Notes from the Field webinar series, you will get highlights and current...
The first ‘official’ finding of Palmer amaranth in Iowa was August 2013 in Harrison County. Shortly thereafter the weed was identified in Muscatine, Fremont and Page County. These infestations were likely due to Palmer amaranth seed being transported on equipment/trucks involved in crop...
Frost injury occurred Saturday May 29 across much of the area. Radiational frost occurs when leaf temperatures actually reach lower temperatures than nearby recorded air temperatures.
Frost has occurred
- along field edges - especially corn...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 31, 2021 10:43 PM
Virgil Schmitt
May 31, 2021 10:43 PM
Carbon markets and weed management strategies in soybeans will be the featured topics at an upcoming Agronomy Workshop and Crop Advisor Training being offered from 8 AM to noon on June 16 at the Southeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm located near Crawfordsville.
...
Ashley Dean
May 26, 2021 12:17 PM
For the first time during the 2021 moth trapping season, more total true armyworm moths were reported than black cutworm moths. During Week 8 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 109 total black cutworm (BCW) and 128 true armyworm (TAW) moths.
Week 8 report...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 25, 2021 10:02 AM
While the rain may have limited fieldwork across the state this past week, it was much welcomed in many areas that have been on the drier side. Most of the corn and soybeans that have been planted are now emerged. Two of the more common issues seen in fields this past week included alfalfa...
Sotirios Archontoulis
May 24, 2021 2:43 PM
Mark Licht
May 24, 2021 2:43 PM
Mike Castellano
May 24, 2021 2:43 PM
Sandy to clay soils have different hydrological properties such as wilting point, field capacity, and saturation level (Fig 1a). Wilting point means no water is available to plants, field capacity means near optimum moisture for plant growth, and saturation means the soil pores are full of water...
Sotirios Archontoulis
May 24, 2021 1:55 PM
Mark Licht
May 24, 2021 1:55 PM
Mike Castellano
May 24, 2021 1:55 PM
The Forecast and Assessment of Cropping sysTemS (FACTS) webpage is evolving. When it was launched in 2015, FACTS provided forecasts soil moisture, nitrogen, phenology, and crop yields at two Iowa locations. In 2016, it was expanded to six Iowa...
Ashley Dean
May 20, 2021 1:49 PM
Erin Hodgson
May 20, 2021 1:49 PM
Western and northern corn rootworms are serious corn pests in Iowa and the Corn Belt, primarily due to their feeding habits but also because they can overcome nearly all management tactics available to farmers. The larvae tunnel into and consume corn roots, thereby reducing nutrient and water...
Ashley Dean
May 20, 2021 11:59 AM
Reported captures for both species in the trapping network were down from previous weeks. During Week 7 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 60 total black cutworm (BCW) and 22 true armyworm (TAW) moths.
Week 7 report:
The TAW moths...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 18, 2021 3:05 PM
Planting is starting to wrap up around the state for both corn and soybeans, and according to the May 17 NASS-USDA Crop Progress Report, 94% of the corn...
Levi Powell
May 17, 2021 3:26 PM
Ryan W Bergman
May 17, 2021 3:26 PM
As planting wraps up and crops begin to emerge across the state, data collected during planting can help you diagnose many issues in your field and determine if they were related to machine performance or agronomic factors. In this video, Program Specialist Levi Powell shows how to use spatially...
The 2021 cropping year will be remembered for a long time as an unusual year in many respects. Corn and soybean growth are off like a turtle race in many locations this season. So, we may be driving around, doing some road scouting, and asking ourselves why this is taking so long. After all, the...
Ashley Dean
May 12, 2021 2:03 PM
Black cutworm remains the dominant moth species captured by cooperators in our trapping network. During Week 6 of the Iowa Moth Trapping Network, our cooperators reported 73 total black cutworm (BCW) and 34 true armyworm (TAW) moths.
Week 6 report:
The TAW moths...
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 11, 2021 10:34 PM
This past week brought some much needed and welcomed rain across the state. Planting is getting on the downhill slide with corn planting about 86% complete and soybean planting about 67% complete across the state according to the...