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Erin Hodgson, ISU Extension entomologist, is monitoring the rapid aphid infestation in Iowa corn fields. During the weekly crop minute, she tells where the aphids have been found and what justifies treatment at this point in the growing season.
Corn fields should be scouted for ear rot and associated mycotoxin contamination. Corn damaged by hail is at risk of ear rots, as is corn that has experienced hot, dry weather with occasional rain - conditions that favor Aspergillus and Fusarium ear rot development.
Understanding some characteristics of the bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis that causes Goss's wilt are useful as producers make management decisions.
It seems aphids are colonizing corn later in the summer and are building up to striking levels. They can be found at the base of the stalk, around the ear and sometimes building up colonies above the ear leaf.
Alison Robertson, ISU Extension plant pathology, is monitoring the development of Goss's wilt in Iowa corn fields. During the weekly crop minute, she talks about the steady increase, no known rescue treatment and how to identify Goss's wilt.
To help make treatment decisions easier for first and second generation bean leaf beetles, a dynamic Excel spreadsheet has been created.
Roger Elmore and Elwynn Taylor, Department of Agronomy
USDA released the first corn yield forecast for 2011 on Aug. 11. Forecast U.S. yields of 153 bushels per acre are similar to last years' and six bushels below the 30-year trend line (Figure 1). This is not surprising.
By John Lundvall, Iowa Learning Farms
Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) are hosting a tour of a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) wetland near Nashua in southeast Floyd County on Wednesday, Aug. 24, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Shallow kernels, missing kernels, and tip back are common in field corn this year. A few days of temperatures exceeding 93 F are "bad" for corn production, but consecutive days of the high temperatures are especially bad. When the heat comes as silking gets underway the negative aspect is increased.
By John Lundvall, Iowa Learning Farm
Iowa Learning Farms (ILF), Iowa State University (ISU) Research and Demonstration Farms and ISU Extension are hosting a field day at the ISU Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Farm, near Ames, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The field day will feature strip-tillage and precision agriculture technology.
