Take a walk with Field Agronomist and Herbicide Specialist, Austin Scott, through a Tennessee corn field and learn more about increased black cutworm pressure.
 

There are many reasons a corn crop may fail. In some years it’s a late frost and in others, soil surface crusting. Regardless of the reason the stand fails, it is important to destroy the original crop before replanting. Yield losses can occur if just 5,000 of the original corn plants remain to compete with the new stand. Therefore, it is imperative to successfully eradicate as much of the existing stand as possible.

Can you pick a palmer from a redroot? 

Weeds are off to the races this season and the first, and most important step to controlling broadleaf weeds is correct identification.

 

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.

It’s that time of year again. It's the time of year for our wheat to start flowering, so fungicide applications should be top of mind. With the kind of spring we are experiencing throughout much of the Midwest, many factors favor Fusarium head blight (head scab) onset.

Typically, purple corn leaves are automatically diagnosed as a phosphorus deficiency early in the spring. Although purple corn leaves are a symptom of phosphorus deficiency, this does not always mean there is a soil phosphorus deficiency per se. It could be that the plants are unable to access soil phosphorus due to problems with the root system, excess soil moisture, or cool temperatures.

In the past, plant nutrition management was largely focused on nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, since these nutrients are needed in the greatest quantity. Reports and field observations of early-season “striped corn” have become more common across the Midwest over the past decade.

A soybean seed has two distinct parts: the cotyledons and the embryo. The two cotyledons are the main food storage structure, which supply food during emergence and for the seven to ten days after emergence through the V1 growth stage.

Often, farmers find themselves pressed for time in the spring and are forced into tight windows of operation. One operation that many farmers need to carefully consider is the spring application of anhydrous ammonia. Although it’s possible to apply anhydrous before planting, there are strategies to reduce the risk of injury. Keep in mind that there are many ways to apply nitrogen to a crop in-season, so planting should always take precedence to nitrogen applications. Even if you have pre-paid for your anhydrous, you can still sidedress anhydrous with great success.

Weed competition at planting can reduce yields. As temperatures start to increase, weeds will flourish, and you will be faced with a short timeline to complete field operations. While it may be tempting to begin planting as soon as possible, it is important to make sure weeds are managed prior to planting. Attempting to control weeds after planting can interfere with your planting operations and create competition with the emerging crop for sunlight, moisture, and nutrients, reducing yields. As weeds continue to grow, they become more difficult to control.