Think about Stored Grain Pests Before Harvest
Cleaning and sanitizing grain bins is the most important integrated pest management practice for storing and protecting grain against grain pests.
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Cleaning and sanitizing grain bins is the most important integrated pest management practice for storing and protecting grain against grain pests.
NOTE: a link to the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory mycotoxin testing was added to this article on Aug. 31.
By Rich Pope, Department of Plant Pathology
After three weeks of near-normal temperatures, Iowa weather wrapped up August with a return to colder-than-normal. For the week of Aug. 24 - 31, we gained on average 50 degree days fewer than normal. So where does that put us?
By Susan Brown, College of Agriculture
Water quality protection is the focus of two webcasts being made available by the Heartland Regional Water Coordination Initiative partners (Iowa State University, Kansas State University, University of Missouri, and University of Nebraska — Lincoln, the USDA and US EPA Region 7). Crop producers, resource managers and agency professionals can learn more about improving their practices to protect water quality by participating in the two 2-hour discussions, or later viewing the archived tapings of the sessions.
By Rich Pope, Department of Plant Pathology and Elwynn Taylor, Department of Agronomy
Degree days are a critical driver of crop development, and 2009 certainly illustrates that point.
Wet soils and cool early season temperatures delayed some plantings and also delayed the development of crops that were planted on time. The early vegetative stages were slowed by cooler-than-normal temperatures, then July arrived with a remarkably un-summerlike chill that lasted the whole month.
By Doug Cooper, Extension Communications
Iowa State University Extension climatologist Elwynn Taylor, integrated pest management specialist Rich Pope, and soybean agronomist Palle Pedersen are the Aug. 24 weekly crop and weather report guests.
Taylor says the ocean's temperature is reported to be the warmest since 1909 and that could lead to an increase in tropical storms. These are storms that could impact Midwest weather patterns.
Pope repeats his recent message - late season crop diseases are being reported and scouting is still recommended.
By Rich Pope, Department of Plant Pathology
Another week of cool but not too cold weather has positioned the Iowa grain crop well for the final run to harvest. During the week of August 17 we lost a net 50 to 60 degree days to average, but favorable night temperatures allowed for crop condition to improve slightly. The August 24 USDA crop condition report assesses Iowa corn and soybean both at 79 percent good to excellent. Another two or three weeks of good weather and we will begin the final dry-down push to harvest.
Manure applicators can use this ten-item checklist to prepare for fall applications.
By Rich Pope, Department of Plant Pathology
Another August week down and it was again a favorable week with nearly normal temperatures. What we need most now is to avoid extremes in temperatures throughout the next month, with periodic rainfall. Last week was actually the first in nearly two months that was, albeit slightly, above normal in heat accumulation.