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Rebecca Vittetoe
May 14, 2019 2:52 PM
“Rain, rain, go away come again another day.” This nursery rhyme seems to be an appropriate theme song for how the weather has been this spring. The wet weather has been a major challenge for getting any fieldwork completed across the state. According to the most recent...
This week we begin Week 7 of moth trapping in Iowa. Significant captures of black cutworm (BCW) have occurred in several counties during weeks 3-6 of trapping (bold and * in Table 1). Significant captures occur when 8 or more BCW moths are caught in a wing-style pheromone trap over 2 nights....
Meaghan Anderson
May 10, 2019 9:07 AM
As everything greens up, we often receive photos of mystery plants for identification. Typically, I get a wide range of species via email or text message. This spring, more than any I can recall in recent history, I’ve received many photos of the same species: purslane speedwell (Veronica...
Elizabeth Danielson
May 9, 2019 7:24 AM
According to a recent State Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act Issues Research and Evaluation Group (...
Perla Carmenate
May 3, 2019 8:50 AM
Danielle M Clark (Wilson)
May 3, 2019 8:50 AM
Emily Heaton
May 3, 2019 8:50 AM
Have you been driving in rural eastern Iowa lately? You might have noticed those choppers and wagons a few weeks ago harvesting miscanthus fields, but what have you seen most recently? Planters! You might have noticed that they don’t look like the grain planters most of us are used to seeing....
Dennis Todey
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
Justin Glisan
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
Rebecca Vittetoe
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
Meaghan Anderson
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
Mark Licht
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
The calendar may now say we are in the month of May, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way with the weather and with planting progress across Iowa.
Soil temp. Ideally we want soil temps at the 4” depth to be 50oF or warmer prior to planting corn. While we did...
Erin Hodgson
May 1, 2019 11:41 AM
This summer, I am starting a couple of new research projects looking at cover crop pest activity that might be relevant to corn production. Shout out to Alison Robertson and Mark Licht for including me on these massive research projects! The usual cover crop pest suspects are migratory moths,...
Mark Licht
April 29, 2019 3:54 PM
Last week planters made progress across portions of Iowa. Rains this weekend and the forecast for the coming week indicate planting will be at a standstill this week. In light of the weekend weather, soil temperatures quickly fell below 50oF. What does this mean for corn and soybean...
Rebecca Vittetoe
April 29, 2019 3:43 PM
Like #Plant18, #Plant19 seems to be off to a slow start. Approximately 21% of the expected corn crop and 3% of the soybean crop in Iowa has been planted according to the...
Ethan Stoetzer
April 29, 2019 1:04 PM
Daren Mueller
April 29, 2019 1:04 PM
Alison Robertson
April 29, 2019 1:04 PM
Now that we’re within the time frames for planting to achieve optimal yields for corn and soybean, producers might be getting antsy with the cold, damp weather, and weighing the risks of a potential cold front that can cause damage to germinating seeds or seedlings.
For those that have...
Mark Licht
April 23, 2019 2:27 PM
Sotirios Archontoulis
April 23, 2019 2:27 PM
Mitchell Baum
April 23, 2019 2:27 PM
Corn planting progress began over the last several days, especially in the central and southern tiers of Iowa. That is good news, unfortunately, in north central and northwest Iowa field conditions remain wet putting farmers in those areas further behind and with Monday’s rain will not be making...
Collin De Graaf
April 22, 2019 2:07 PM
Danielle M Clark (Wilson)
April 22, 2019 2:07 PM
Emily Heaton
April 22, 2019 2:07 PM
If you have been driving in rural eastern Iowa and noticed a lot of choppers and wagons, you might have been seeing the UI Biomass Fuel Project Miscanthus harvest.
Ashley Dean
April 19, 2019 5:00 PM
Erin Hodgson
April 19, 2019 5:00 PM
Adam Sisson
April 19, 2019 5:00 PM
Each year, Iowa State University’s IPM team monitors field crop pests to help inform farmers and scouting personnel about pest activity in Iowa. This year, our moth trapping network includes black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW), two migratory pests of crops in Iowa that are unpredictable...
Valeria Cano Camacho
April 16, 2019 11:30 AM
Danielle M Clark (Wilson)
April 16, 2019 11:30 AM
Emily Heaton
April 16, 2019 11:30 AM
Today, we will take a quick trip around the world to explore how other cultures have used miscanthus. East Asian cultures incorporated miscanthus into their everyday lives: paintings, toys, household items, rituals, and in some cases medicinal uses.
Elizabeth Danielson
April 15, 2019 7:59 AM
Under the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) as revised in 2015, there are specific requirements for handlers when pesticide labels require the use of a respirator. Handlers are employees, owners, and family members who apply, load, unload, rinse pesticide application equipment or do other tasks...
Ethan Stoetzer
April 12, 2019 9:21 AM
The Crop Protection Network (CPN) has published its 2019 fungicide efficacy tables for corn and soybean foliar diseases and soybean seedling diseases. These three publications can be found at the CPN website, under resources...
Ethan Stoetzer
April 12, 2019 9:03 AM
University of Missouri's Kevin Bradley and Mandy Bish recently shared a tailored list on several principles that have been researched and verified regarding dicamba usage ahead of #Plant2019.
Bradley and Bish's list includes five principles to remember when communicating with producers...
March more or less came in and went out like a lion. The below normal temperature trend we experienced in February continued through March, averaging 5.2 F below normal. Western and southern Iowa experienced wetter than average conditions in March while the rest of the state experienced below...
Ethan Stoetzer
April 5, 2019 10:03 AM
Hungry pests begin to emerge with warm spring weather and spread to favorite foraging spots such as trees, shrubs, gardens and even crop fields. To raise awareness of damaging pests, the United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a proclamation making April 2019 “...
Ethan Stoetzer
April 3, 2019 11:20 AM
University of Illinois Extension Plant Pathologist Nathan Kleczewski recently conducted an interview through the Illinois Extension news service regarding pre-season management and preparation for tar spot in 2019.
While Iowa isn't as heavily impact as some counties in Illinois, the...
Maya C Hayslett
April 1, 2019 10:08 AM
The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Integrated Pest Management program will host the ninth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Iowa Youth, July 29 at the Field Extension Education Laboratory in...
Bob Hartzler
March 25, 2019 11:18 AM
Meaghan Anderson
March 25, 2019 11:18 AM
One benefit of planting cover crops is their contribution to weed management. While several factors contribute to the inhibition of weeds by cover crops, the physical barrier of cover crop residue on the soil surface is most important. Research has shown a strong relationship between the...
Bob Hartzler
March 21, 2019 4:26 PM
The introduction of Palmer amaranth has the potential to significantly impact Iowa crop production in the future. But as the saying goes, there’s a silver lining behind every cloud, and Palmer amaranth’s silver lining might just be the Iowa Noxious Weed Law.
Iowa’s Noxious Weed Law has...
Old man winter seems to just be hanging around, but we have had some glimpses that spring will arrive eventually.
We’ve had below normal temperatures (averaged for December, January, and February was 20.8 degrees or 1.3 degrees below normal) and above normal precipitation (total...