Agronomists’ Notebook
Whatever it takes means our work doesn’t stop once your seed is in the ground. Check back here regularly for helpful articles and advice from our expert on-staff agronomists. They understand local soil conditions, climate and pest pressures and can help answer your questions or deal with issues.
Corn Ear Molds Showing Up
We have seen numerous ear rots, or molds in various locations. The most prevalent one seems to be diplodia. We've seen some gibberella and some of what we believe to be penicillium molds (not positively identified). Corn ear molds can develop ...
Arrested Ear Syndrome
Well, it has shown up again - perhaps the worst we've seen in at least several years. I'm talking about arrested ear syndrome (also called blunt ear or beer can ear). I prefer the term arrested ear syndrome because I think ...
THE BIG QUESTION?
Many growers are asking the million dollar question: "Should we apply fungicides on our corn and soybeans this year?" Last year the majority of growers did not get an economic return from applying fungicides. There are several reasons for the ...
Time to Scout for Aphids
The last couple of years we have had relatively low soybean aphid numbers. Some predictions are for high to very high numbers this year. Based on those predictions, what should you do? Here's my suggestion: Forget about the predictions and get ...
Evaluating Corn Stands
Once again mother nature has given us a challenging spring. Any crops planted May 11 or 12 have struggled to get out of the ground. Other planting dates and conditions may have also presented some problems. Some replant decisions have ...
Pest Alert
Trapping reports for armyworm and black cutworm are indicating the potential for crop losses from these pests in our area. Armyworms are most likely laying eggs in wheat, rye or grassy fields. Armyworm can become a problem in corn fields ...
Is it Late Yet
Well, it sure feels like it is late to begin planting. Only a few growers have been able to get any seed in the ground. So, agronomically speaking, is it time to panic? Toss in the towel for the year? In general, ...
Planting Depth
Corn planting depth should be at least 1½ - 2" to provide frost protection, allow for adequate root development and reduce exposure to certain herbicides which may injure sensitive seedlings. If planting early in cool moist soil, seed should not ...
Fine-Tuning Corn Populations
There has been a lot of noise recently in the ag press about planting higher corn populations, including up to 36, 38, or even 40,000 per acre. I have two comments: Read carefully who is writing or being quoted, and where ...
Evaluating wheat stands
Evaluating wheat stands along with tiller count is important in determining N rates at green-up and whether or not the stands are good enough to keep. One of the easiest methods to determine wheat population is to use this equation: (# ...