South Dakota
Bill Eichacker reports that corn conditions for the most part of the state are looking better than last year. Abundant rains throughout the season have filled out the ears and are silking with no problems. Soybeans seem shorter and have not completely canopied, leaving some added weed pressure. Aphids have been scouted in some areas. August has been noted as the month to set yield in soybeans, so far it has been favorable weather, excluding hail in some areas. The third cutting of alfalfa is underway this week and looks to be very good if the rains let up.
West Central Iowa
Travis Slusher says much of his area saw around an inch of rain this past week with spotty hail and strong winds. Fortunately, the hail and wind didn’t cause serious damage. The rainfall was needed as it was getting really dry. Aphids have reached levels that require spraying. The largest aphid populations seem to be in no-till beans in sod, followed by no-till beans in cornstalks and then fields with minimum and conventional tillage. We have seen more brown spot in beans and nitrogen deficiency in corn over the past week. In general, the crops in his area look excellent at this point.
Eastern Iowa
Brad Beatty reports that people continue to scout for aphids and aphid pressure remains very spotty. A few growers are spraying for Japanese beetle. Common Rust is showing up in corn. Overall, the crops look good as his territory has adequate moisture at this point.
East Central Iowa
Wayde McNeil reports things are looking really good. Aphids are increasing, so many farmers will start spraying next week. Sudden Death and White Mold are in spots but light. Most beans are at the R5 stage. Corn is starting to show some Nitrogen deficiency, but corn establishments for bushels are from 189 to 275 in the same field.
Wisconsin
Steve Baile says that northeastern Wisconsin is in a drought situation. Lack of moisture has caused many of the bean plants to be short, and some beans have aborted pods do to the dry environment. Corn in the northeast has had issues with pollination do to the lack of moisture.
Southwest Wisconsin has received anywhere from 1.5 to 4 inches of rain. The last few days have also been hotter, which is helping catch up on the GDU. Moisture and heat has helped finish pollination in the corn and with pod fill in the bean fields. Many farmers were able to get their third crop alfalfa up before the rain.
Many growers in the La Crosse area have had to apply insecticides, due to aphid populations.
North Central and Northeast Iowa
Tom Larson reports that soybean aphids continue to be a pest to deal with, as sprayers both on the ground and in the air assault the pesky critters. Initially, it was thought that they would leave the fields around Aug. 15 and head to the woods for a more favorable environment, but we’re expecting them to hang around for a while longer. The fields and plots that have missed the extreme weather look great.
Tom is especially looking forward to harvesting all of the Roundup Ready 2 YieldTM products and the LibertyLink® soybeans, so we can get yield information on these exciting new technologies.
Corn aphids have caused quite a commotion this week. Some have claimed significant yield reductions when not sprayed. All the research he has looked at concludes that scouting for corn aphid must occur 2-3 weeks before pollination with applications to follow. After pollination, the aphids move deep into the whorl of the leaf, and application is not be effective. As with beans, Latham® corn looks amazing and our 2010 product lineup is second to none as we have SmartStaxTM, Agrisure® 3000GT, and a complete offering of Roundup® Ready and Liberty platforms to choose from.
Northwest Iowa
Bruce Anderson says this past week the sky was full of planes and helicopters, killing off the soybean aphids as populations exploded. Some farmers, who sprayed three weeks ago, put on another treatment this week. Some farmers are spraying with highboys because of the long waiting list for airplanes.
Bruce is also seeing some eye spot and gray leaf spot in the corn. He hasn’t heard much about corn leaf aphids causing a lot of damage in this part of the state, but it bears watching. More information on corn leaf aphids is available at http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/1998/8-10-1998/cornaphids.html.
Central Iowa
Bob Collins reports that his area fortunately missed the hail and wind again. I drove to Eldora and couldn’t believe the damage. Central Iowa received over 2 inches of rain, which will benefit both the corn and the beans. Now, we just need to hope for a late frost. The local spray pilot had 1,000 acres of beans to spray for aphids as of noon Friday, so it’s a good idea to check your bean fields. There was also a small amount of Headline sprayed on the corn here lately.
Minnesota
Jason Obermeyer reports that it’s aphids, aphids and more aphids. Pretty much everywhere you look, you’ll find a row crop sprayer or a plane flying on insecticides for soybean aphids. Most growers are well accustomed to the damage they can inflict on yield and won’t hesitate when it comes to treatment, after all, the name of the game is yield and not “getting by”.
We could really use a widespread rainfall across the state. There has been some hit and miss showers over the last week, but nothing widespread. By the Plainview area, they were fortunate enough to pick up anywhere from 2.5 to 3.1 inches over the last week while in the western areas of the state received none. It will take a keen eye when we start to look at yield reports this fall and to determine the following. Who got rainfall, when did they get it, and how much. A plot winner may have caught enough rainfall and yet the very same hybrid 50 miles away with half the moisture may only be average.
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