Blog

My lab has been driving all over western Iowa looking for soybean gall midge. They stop by 3-6 fields in each county and scout for larvae along field edges. This is part of a larger effort funded by the North Central Soybean Research Program to better understand the current distribution of this...

With parts of northern Iowa now being in a D3 or extreme drought and other areas on the drought monitor expanding, the drier conditions are a concern with what impact they are having on the crops as well as forage...

The “I See Dead Plants” podcast, a new offering from the Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, is now open to listeners interested in learning how plant science research impacts everyday life.

Crop management experts are interviewed to share findings about plant...

The hot and dry conditions this past week resulted in crops showing more signs of stress, especially in the drier parts of the state. Drought stress, spider mites, corn rootworms, and questions regarding fungicide applications were the big questions or issues observed by ISU Extension field...

If you listen carefully, you can hear corn tassels rattling in the breeze, and occasionally the hum of a crop sprayer. 

This growing season started off exceptionally dry, apart from southeast Iowa. The moisture that arrived in July and hung around for a couple of weeks was welcomed by...

Corn started pollinating within the last week, and soybeans range from full flowering (R2) to beginning pod (R2). The hot topics this past week across the state included foliar fungicide decisions, corn rootworms, and herbicide injury in soybeans. Read on for more specifics on what ISU Extension...

Now is the time to make plans for cover crop planting if you have not already done so. There are several cover crop species that are often talked about, however, cereal rye,...

Soybean gall midge detections continue in western Iowa. As of this week, there are ten counties with infested soybean fields. These counties were previously infested with larvae. In some fields where we monitor activity a bit closer, we noticed first-generation adults were produced. These adults...

The drier parts of the state finally received some much-needed rainfall, and unfortunately parts of southern Iowa that are pretty well saturated also received some more rain this past week. Herbicide injury in soybeans,...

Herbicide drift, fungicide decisions, and iron deficiency chlorosis were common questions or issues received and/or observed by ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists this past week. Read on to see what's happening in different regions across the state.

North Central Iowa...

While some much-needed rain did come this past week it seems that the drier areas continue to miss out or get minimal rainfall and the wetter parts of the state keep getting wetter. The rain also brought some hail, which caused some pretty significant damage not just to crops but property as...

I’ve had a lot of questions about soybean gall midge over the winter and in the last few weeks. Most fields have plants with 4-7 trifoliates and I’ve even seen some flowers! If you are connected with the Soybean Gall Midge Alert Network, you know...