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Erin Hodgson
July 18, 2022 7:52 AM
The most effective way to make treatments decisions for pests with chewing mouthparts (e.g., Japanese beetle, bean leaf beetle, caterpillars, and grasshoppers) is to estimate defoliation. I’m a “lumper” and don’t try too hard to distinguish feeding by species. Replicated data over multiple...
Brian Dougherty
July 13, 2022 2:00 PM
Joshua Michel
July 13, 2022 2:00 PM
Angie Rieck-Hinz
July 13, 2022 2:00 PM
Iowa Soil Health Workshop Planned for August 4th
Topics will include fertility tests, cover crops, and evaluating soil health with a microscope
A soil health workshop will be held Aug. 4 at Iowa State University’s Field Extension Education...
Rebecca Vittetoe
July 13, 2022 10:04 AM
While there was some much-needed rain across the state last week, the rain also brought some wind with it as well that resulted in lodged or leaning corn as well as some greensnap in fields. In addition to the wind damage, herbicide injury in soybeans, tar spot concerns, and Japanese beetles...
Ashley Dean
July 12, 2022 2:24 PM
Erin Hodgson
July 12, 2022 2:24 PM
Western and northern corn rootworm are serious pests of corn throughout the Corn Belt. We recommend that farmers scout every cornfield every year, regardless of the management tactic(s) used, to evaluate management decisions and prepare for next year. It is a good idea to scout for larvae early...
Gentry Sorenson
July 8, 2022 9:59 AM
Justin Glisan
July 8, 2022 9:59 AM
Mark Licht
July 8, 2022 9:59 AM
In the evening hours of July 5, 2022, a derecho moved through South Dakota into northwest Iowa. Gusts in South Dakota were as high as 99 mph with winds that lasted up to 20 minutes. The path of the storm’s length was about 600 miles. A...
Meaghan Anderson
July 7, 2022 4:25 PM
Bob Hartzler
July 7, 2022 4:25 PM
The annual ISU Extension & Outreach Iowa State Fair Weed Identification Contest will be held on...
Rebecca Vittetoe
July 6, 2022 5:04 PM
Herbicide injury in soybean, Japanese beetles, potato leafhoppers in alfalfa, tar spot being found in Marshall and Jones counties (and some additional counties since) at low levels, and some hail damage in NE Iowa were some of the issues observed by ISU Extension field agronomists this last week...
Alison Robertson
June 30, 2022 1:38 PM
In pathology, we joke that to control a disease, just put a research plot out, and you’re guaranteed no disease. A couple of days ago I blogged about tar spot, hoping for a similar effect. Alas,...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 28, 2022 10:33 PM
While most areas received some needed rain last week, some areas in Western Iowa continue to miss out on the rain or get minimal amounts of rain and it’s starting to show more in the crops. Getting out in the fields, some pests or issues observed by...
Alison Robertson
June 28, 2022 8:55 AM
Are you using the Tarspotter app this year? If you are, you may have noticed that the forecast for tarspot is high for Iowa. In addition, The Cruz Lab in Indiana tweeted they had found tar...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 21, 2022 11:56 AM
Isolated hail and wind damage, iron deficiency chlorosis, herbicide damage, and moisture stress (too much or too little depending upon the area) were some of the big issues that ISU Extension field agronomists noted in fields across the state. Read on to for more specifics about what’s happening...
Erin Hodgson
June 17, 2022 11:09 AM
Ashley Dean
June 17, 2022 11:09 AM
Today, while scouting for bean leaf beetle south of Ames, my lab found a few early vegetative plants with soybean aphid. Actually, it was Ashley Dean who found them. It was the ants moving on plants that caught her eye. Taking a closer look revealed a few small aphid colonies feeding on the...
Erin Hodgson
June 15, 2022 12:12 PM
While in westcentral Iowa yesterday setting up some small plot experiments, I got distracted by a long stretch of grass alongside a cornfield. I noticed some “deadheads” among the green plants and decided to dig a little deeper.
...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 15, 2022 7:25 AM
Virgil Schmitt
June 15, 2022 7:25 AM
Clarabell Probasco
June 15, 2022 7:25 AM
Farmers and farm businesses are invitied to join us on July 7 at Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville for our Agronomy Workshop and Certified Crop Advisor Training in the morning and our Summer Field Day in the afternoon. These events are being hosted by the research...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 14, 2022 11:52 PM
While parts of western Iowa seem to miss the rain or get small amounts of rain, other parts of the state received over 3 inches of rain this past week and experienced flooding. Unfortunately, some areas, particularly southwest and south-central Iowa, received some significant hail damage as well...
Meaghan Anderson
June 10, 2022 12:10 AM
The month of June has come roaring in with severe weather affecting crops in many different areas. This blog with briefly discuss some management considerations and resources associated with different types of early-season crop injury.
Wind
Some areas received...
Ashley Dean
June 9, 2022 9:37 AM
Erin Hodgson
June 9, 2022 9:37 AM
Last year, entomologists and field specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach received many questions about effective management of corn rootworms as populations have increased in the past two years and farmers have experienced enhanced root injury during drought conditions....
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 7, 2022 3:50 PM
Cutworms and armyworms, flooding, replant considerations, and weed management/herbicide application considerations were some of the more common questions ISU Extension Field Agronomists received over this last week. Read on for more specifies about what is happening and being seen across the...
Joshua Michel
June 7, 2022 3:28 PM
Meaghan Anderson
June 7, 2022 9:26 AM
Postemergence herbicide application season is already upon us in much of Iowa, but with the delayed crop planting in some areas, it may extend through much of the month of June. Herbicide application timing should always focus on the sizes of weeds targeted but remember that many products use...
Rebecca Vittetoe
June 1, 2022 10:39 PM
Regional Update: May 23 – June 1, 2022
With planting wrapping up across the state, the attention is focusing to taking the first cutting of alfalfa, herbicide applications, and starting sidedressing nitrogen in corn. Read on to hear what ISU Extension Field Agronomist’...
Ashley Dean
June 1, 2022 5:37 PM
The trapping season for true armyworm (TAW) and black cutworm (BCW) has come to an end. We appreciate our cooperators for tirelessly checking traps over the last two months and reporting their captures so we can provide the most accurate scouting information for these pests. To recap, we had 44...
Ashley Dean
May 31, 2022 12:57 PM
Erin Hodgson
May 31, 2022 12:57 PM
Recent surveying suggests that farmers and their advisors are interested in receiving short bursts of information via text messaging. We formed the Iowa Pest Alert Network with the goal of providing short, timely insect pest updates to farmers and advisors through text messages. These updates...
This year’s Weed Science Field Day will be held on Thursday, July 14 at the Iowa State University Curtiss Farm, Ames, IA.
Although the 2022 cold and wet spring has significantly delayed corn and soybean planting in Iowa, we are still on track to demonstrate corn and soybean research plots...
Ashley Dean
May 25, 2022 11:15 AM
Last week, moth flights into Iowa continued to decrease compared to previous weeks. In total, our cooperators captured 38 true armyworm (TAW) moths and 65 black cutworm (BCW) moths during Week 8 (May 15 to May 21).
Week 8 report:
Nearly all TAW moths were...