15
Nov
2021
Has Tar Spot spread to your area? What are the impacts of this disease on corn in the Midwest? Steve Gauck, Beck’s Hybrids Eastern Team Regional Agronomy Manager, hosts a panel of Eastern Agronomy Team Field Sales Agronomists to discuss the latest corn disease to hit the Midwest – Tar Spot. Steve receives answers from agronomists Mike Hannewald, Aaron Brooker, and Travis Burnett on Tar Spot ranging from its history, key identification tips, and management practices to lessen its impact on yield and plant health.
Categories: Agronomy, Agronomy Talk
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8
May
2019
When a corn kernel is planted into warm, moist soil, water is absorbed through the seed coat and the kernel begins to swell. The critical soil moisture required for corn to germinate is 30%, and a corn seed will absorb 1.5 to 2 times its weight in water during the germination process.
Tags: corn, GDUS, corn development, corn growth stages, GDDs, corn growth
During rainy springs, fields may flood or even stay saturated for long periods of time. Flooded fields have two forms: saturated or waterlogged (where only the roots are flooded) or submerged (where the entire plant is under water). Saturated or waterlogged soils are more common than completely submerged plants, but they can both be damaging to yield.
Tags: corn, soybeans, nodulation, early-season flooding, seed damage, fallow syndrome
9
Apr
Cold weather prevents wheat plants from breaking dormancy, so in cold springs, wheat crops may be slow to greenup. Delayed greenup is less concerning than cold damage to the wheat crop.
Chilling injury is only one part of the evaluation of winter wheat in the spring. If the fall was wet and challenging, there could be stand establishment concerns. In some low areas, the seed may have rotted in the fall. If the plant has fewer than three developed leaves going into the winter, it is more prone to injury as the crown is underdeveloped.
Tags: Wheat, wheat injury, chilling injury, wheat damage, spring freeze damage
25
Mar
So, you’ve planted your crops… now, how long do you need to wait for them to emerge?
A corn crop requires moisture to emerge, about 30 percent soil moisture at minimum. It also needs about 120 Growing Degree Days (GDD) accumulated.
Tags: corn, planting, Emergence, growing degree days, GDD, soybeans. agronomy, stand counts
7
Feb
Winter wheat breaks dormancy if there is a two-week period with an average temperature of at least 41°F. As soon as the plants resume growth, you need to get back out in the field so that you can make critical decisions about nitrogen, insecticide, and fungicide, and most importantly, preserving yield potential.
Categories: Agronomy Talk
1
2018
We have received a lot of phone calls about down corn throughout the season. Early on, this issue was primarily caused by saturated soils and heavy winds that pushed the corn over at the root system.
Tags: corn, Agronomy, Steve Gauck, late-season corn damage, crown rot, down corn, becks agronomy
12
Oct
We are having a particularly wet harvest in many areas. Keep an eye out for deteriorating grain quality. Here’s a good reference guide from Steve Gauck on ear molds in corn.
Tags: Steve Gauck, Agronomy Talk, ear molds, trichoderma, penicillum, gibberella, fusarium, diplodia, aspergillus
13
Jul
It's pollination time in Southern Indiana and this agronomy update is all about checking how well your corn is pollinating.
Categories: Agronomy, S Indiana, Agronomy Talk
Tags: Agronomy Talk, Ag Talk, agronomy blog, ag blog, corn pollination
Now is the time that many of you will be making some decisions regarding fungicide and insecticide applications on your soybeans.
Categories: Agronomy, S Indiana
29
Jun
High heat and humidity, especially like we have experienced this summer, creates a perfect breeding ground for diseases such as gray leaf spot. Because of this, you may find that your corn fields are in need of a fungicide application.
21
Do you know the difference between Phytophthora Root Rot and Fusarium Wilt in soybeans?
Check out this quick Agronomy Update video from Beck's agronomist, Steve Gauck to learn more about the signs and symptoms of both diseases, and how to tell the difference in the field.
Tags: Beck's Blog, Agronomy Update, Steve Gauck, indiana agronomy, Phytophthora root rot, Fusarium Wilt
Planters have continued to roll across fields in the Midwest over the last few weeks and soybeans have finally started to emerge. Now is a great time to evaluate your stands and see if there are any issues that need to be addressed.
Categories: S Indiana
Tags: soybeans, Agronomy, Steve Gauck, indiana agronomy, ILeVO, Halo Effect
16
Aug
2017
In 2016, many parts of southern Indiana experienced a bad outbreak of Southern Rust that caused yield loss in a lot of areas. Many farmers have seen an influx of this disease present in their fields again this year. However, there has also been a large presence of Common Rust in corn fields this year as well. Check out this latest video to learn more about the visual differences between the two diseases and what you can expect in terms of long term effects and yield loss.
Tags: Beck's Blog, Beck's Agronomy, Steve Gauck, indiana agronomy, southern rust, Common Rust
23
Late last week I evaluated a soybean field that was suffering from slight stunting that was caused by a herbicide application.
28
Scouting your wheat now is critical to preventing Fusarium head scab in your fields. Get to know and understand the wheat growth stages and timing and be prepared to apply fungicide when necessary.
Tags: Agronomy, Agronomy Update, Scouting, Steve Gauck, Wheat, Head Scab, Fusarium Head Scab
5
Over the past few weeks, many farmers have called me jokily asking, “is it too early to plant?”
My answers always seem to be long, with a lot of details and factors, as I try to help them determine if it is or isn’t too early. With that said, let’s look at our ideal planting dates and things you need to consider before planting.
Tags: planting, Practical Farm Research, Agronomy Update, Steve Gauck, indiana agronomy, PFR, Early Planting, Planting Dates, Seed Treatments
It is the dawn of a new season and new opportunity! Before heading to the fields this spring, be sure to have your corn meters calibrated to the seed size you are planting to maximize seed placement. Take time the first day of planting to go over the planter, check its depth, and look at plant spacing, fertilizer rates, closing wheels, talc, and graphite. Mistakes made with the planter will haunt you all season, so don’t worry about how many acres you plant the first day, just get the planter set right! If you are looking at some of our PFR Proven™ products and practices, leave some check strips, as we all want to know what works to increase profits this year.
We have been experiencing warmer than usual temperatures this winter in Southern Indiana. In terms of wheat, this warm weather has not concerned me as it is what happens in early spring that affects yield the most. The two factors that have the biggest impact on our quest to achieving high-yielding wheat are scouting and nitrogen (N) management. As you begin to evaluate your wheat stand, one of the most important things to remember is to perform stand checks. This can be done with a 1 x 1 ft. square, as shown below. Be sure to take counts at multiple locations that represent different landscape positions in your fields.
Tags: Agronomy, Steve Gauck, Wheat, indiana agronomy, nitrogen management, Ag Chat, stand checks. tiller, Feekes growth stages, burnt leaf stages, split nitrogen applications