The Ag PhD Crop Scouting Reports are supplied by contributors to Hefty Seed Co., based in Baltic, South Dakota. Find more online at www.agphd.com and www.heftyseed.com.
ARKANSAS
Augusta, AR
As flood waters go down slowly, it is day to day on the rice coming out from underneath the water. It is stretched pretty badly, but overall I’m a little more optimistic that we may save more than I thought. Obviously there are some fields that will be a total loss. We have to get herbicide on the ridges of the fields we think we can save to check the grass up. One day at a time. — Joey York
Soybeans planted last week need a shower to get through the crust. Be sure and get your residual down on soybeans being planted this week. Apply paraquat with a residual product if planting on stale beds. Pigweeds are up and thriving! — Joey York
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
Along with our recent cool and wet weather, insect pressure may cause early season stress to plants. Corn nematodes and slugs will cause early season corn damage. Watch for wilted plants, stunted growth, yellowing, and slime trails that indicate the presence of these pests. — Evan Zimmerman
Princeton, IL
I spoke with a couple of farmers today who were considering skipping their pre-emerge application to get their beans planted. This can become an ugly situation if the weeds grow too big, too quickly. Post-emerge options can be limited and/or expensive on some weeds species. Stay the course with your soybean pre-emerge. You will be much happier with the results. — Mike Denton
2 oz/acre of Fierce plus 2 oz/acre of Fierce XLT is a great waterhemp program. This combination gets you 2.33 oz of Valor, 1.75 oz of Zidua and 0.5 oz of Classic. — John Becker
IOWA
Sheldon, IA
After a farmer gets done spraying a dry product like Valor or Authority, be sure to take out all of your screens and carefully clean them. Some of the product may not be dissolved and will bleed into the spray solution, causing injury to your crops later. — Adam Sauer
With the recent heavy rains, some fields may have had some washouts occur. Usually after planting, the row is the lowest point for the water to run. A light shower usually will leave the plant alone, but a large amount of rain in a short amount of time may cause the row to start to erode. If it erodes enough, the seed could be left exposed or even washed away entirely. This will cause reduced stands and may warrant some replanting. Another place to watch is where did all the water go? If you have a lower spot in the field, all the sediment might pile up and bury other spots in the field, smothering out what has already exposed. — Nathan Kloft
MINNESOTA
Breckenridge, MN
There were a number of conventional corn acres planted in the area and growers are scouting fields now and determining what to spray. Without the help of the Roundup, the herbicides will need to have their full effect so as to not take any chances for escapes. Follow label guidelines and use full rates and often times 15 gallons of water per acre. — Tia Johnson
Fairmont, MN
With the cold weather we had the last week in April, most were unsure of how it was going to impact their crop stand. With a lot of corn emerging, now is critical time to scout and find out if your stand is where it should be. Chilling or cold temperature injury can cause delayed plant growth, kernels that didn’t germinate, and leafing out underground. — Sam Geistfeld
Hancock, MN
In many areas there are Liberty Link, Roundup Ready, and Xtend soybeans being grown. In order to make it clear what beans you have planted in your fields, I would recommend putting colored flags in field approaches. Green flags indicate Liberty Link soybeans, and checkered flags indicate Xtend soybeans. This will help you and your neighbors when spraying herbicides. — Nathan DuHoux
If you planted Liberty beans this year, remember that Liberty has specific requirements for it to work well. Liberty is a contact herbicide, so ideally you should use 15-20 gallons of water/acre. Use 2 lbs/acre of AMS with Liberty as well. Next, it’s important to use good pressure when applying this product (60 lbs/acre). Flat fan nozzles will give you the best coverage. Do all of these things on a warm day, and you should get good results from Liberty. — Aaron Giese
Some beans planted in the last 10 days have some emerged plants and some beans laying in loose, dry top soil or in open seed furrows. You may see missing plants in the next week or so as we start to “row” beans. With recent rains early this week, most of these seeds will germinate and fill in the stand, and everything will be just fine. Do some digging in different places over the next week to confirm there are no other problems in the field. — Adam Gibson
Janesville, MN
A majority of the crop is in with the nice weather the past 7-10 days. However, some growers didn’t get a pre on their beans, and now with the rainy weather the beans will likely emerge before they can get into the field. In this scenario we have fewer options to choose from when trying to decide what to spray once the field conditions are fit to go again. — Josh Bruns
LeRoy, MN
Have you experienced heavy rain and washing after planting? There have been some circumstances where growers have gotten such heavy rain they will need to replant some areas due to washouts. The worry was that since they had their pre-emerge applied, they wouldn’t be able to replant those areas, but that is not the case. You can plant soybeans following applications of all pre-emerge herbicides like Valor, Authority, or Sharpen products. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
There are some farmers in the area looking for an inexpensive option to spray their pastures this spring. A popular new product that has less volatility than your typical 2,4-D is called Freelexx. It’s a new formulation of 2,4-D designed to be used on many non-cropland areas, including pastures, rangeland and Conservation Reserve Program acres. Use this product at 1 qt/acre. — Jeff Gladis
Some farmers in the area did not get a pre-emerge treatment on their corn fields before the corn came up. With the huge price drop in HPPD herbicides versus last year, the popular choice appears to be Resicore (which contains active ingredients found in Surpass, Callisto, and Stinger). Some are using Resicore along with Atrazine and Roundup on their first post-emerge spray in corn. It’s working very well on emerged weeds and should give a good deal of soil residual control as well. — Jeremy Jensen
If you chose Roundup Ready Xtend soybeans this year for your soybean varieties, there are quite a few new tankmix additions added to the list that require the use of an additional adjuvant. If tankmixing any products with Xtendimax, be sure to check out www.xtendimaxapplicationrequirements.com. This site tells you all the products that can be added with Xtendimax and what adjuvant you need to pick up for your tankmix. — Dave Timmerman
Soybeans will start to emerge after 130-155 growing degree units (GDU) accumulation. With the warm weather last weekend and early this week, soybeans are starting to break the surface. Be mindful of herbicide selection as some can be harmful to emerged soybeans. — Mike Homandberg
Olivia, MN
For added ragweed and broadleaf control in sugar beets, many growers add in 4 fl oz/acre of Stinger. Remember to target small weeds for best control. — John Scheibel
Pennycress and Russian thistle are two weeds I have seen in the fields this year that I do not normally see. Luckily, Engenia or Xtendimax will be pretty good on these weeds in your Roundup Ready Xtend Soybeans. — Aaron Spronk
With more rain in the forecast, now would be a great time to look at your herbicide program. Here are a few things to keep in mind. HPPDs have really come down in price and are a cheap yet effective option in corn. If you are unable to get a pre on, make sure to use a residual product post. Finally, make sure you are using multiple modes of action to prevent resistance. — Tony Hagen
If you did not get your pre-emerge on your soybeans before the rain, there are still options with residual to use. The group 15 products (Warrant, Dual, Outlook, Zidua, Anthem) can be applied after the soybeans have cracked and will provide you with residual to help hold back the weed pressure. — John Scheibel
Thief River Falls, MN
With a lot of the wheat popping up in our area, take extra caution when applying a pre-emerge bordering a wheat field – make sure the wind is blowing away from that sensitive crop. Adding a drift and deposition agent like Latch at 4 oz/acre will help reduce the drift of your pre-emerge. — Jordan Swanson
Cold temperatures will hinder growth over the next 7-10 days. The seed treatments that have been applied will greatly help the germination process to fight the cool soil temperatures. With that being said, do not spray your pre-emerges at these temperatures especially if you need burndown activity of emerged weeds. You might have to wait and apply an early shot of glyphosate (if resistance is not an issue) and a post-emerge tankmix to control weeds when they are emerging at the same time as your soybeans. — Alex Yaggie
Winthrop, MN
If you’re like many growers in the area, you have some soybeans in the ground that have not yet been sprayed with a pre-emerge herbicide. Typically you need to get the pre-emerge on within 3 days after planting. Have no worries, there are other products that can be used if the beans start to emerge. Look at products like Outlook, Dual II Magnum (or a generic version), Warrant, etc. — Tyler Gasow
As this rain gives you a break from the field, plan out what you will need to finish out early-season applications when things get rolling again. Having a plan and getting everything picked up will help you finish up faster when we are able to get back out there. — Matt Vogel
I have had a few calls on soybean maturity and planting dates. In our area we can still plant a 2.0 maturity up to the end of May. After recent rains, it may be a few days before planting resumes. If you feel it might get later, contact your seed dealer and make plans to change varieties so seed can be available. — Dean Christiansen
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
Many farmers will be using XtendiMAX or Engenia on their dicamba tolerant soybeans soon in our area. Something to remember is to use recommended rates, recommended spray nozzles, and be aware of sensitive crops down wind. Also watch your speed and boom height as they can help control any off target movement of herbicides. — Albert Duenne
Several farmers in our area are planting their soybeans right now. Even though it feels a little late in the season, they are sticking with a good seed treatment to protect the seed and young seedling. Based off previous results a number of them are also adding QuickRoots to help get the root development needed to bring in more nutrients and produce additional yield. — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
With rain in the forecast, today and tomorrow may be the last days for most farmers to plant cotton. Many fields are still too wet from the last rain. — Danny Stevens
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
I talked to a couple growers who have had foaming issues with PowerMAX. Make sure you have some defoamer/anti-foam on hand to avoid any issues. — Chester Hill
NEBRASKA
Laurel, NE
Now is the time to be thinking about pasture spraying. Farmers and ranchers in this area have had good luck with some of the newer pasture herbicides like GrazonNext and Chaparral. — Kody Urwiler
West Point, NE
Be sure to scout your fields and check for good stands at this time. We’re seeing some issues here and there. — Jared Steffensmeier
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
Early planted corn is up! Take the time to get out and check your stands and emergence. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
Be scouting your spring wheat fields as they will need to be sprayed soon. Some farmers are finding they have both grasses and broadleaves emerging. Where they are trying to kill both with one pass, Huskie Complete at 13.7 oz/acre is the predominant choice. — Spencer Schultz
Mohall, ND
I’ve been getting questions about burndown on wild buckwheat, dandelions, and kochia ahead of soybeans. All of these problem weeds can be solved with virtually no downside risk by using Xtendimax or Engenia as a burndown if you plant Xtend soybeans. At full rates of either of these two products, you will have clean fields, relatively quick burndown, and a little bit of residual as well. — Ron Hefta
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
If you are looking to control buckbrush in your CRP or pastures, a popular option is 3 oz/acre of Chaparral. This would also work well on Canadian thistle and wormwood sage. — Tanner Johnson
Baltic, SD
Rain is creating some problems in fields here. The forecast is for more rain over the next few days, which will keep the soil saturated for some time. This is a recipe of nitrogen loss. I strongly suggest that you consider a pre-sidedress nitrate test when the corn gets to V6 so that we can add N if needed. — Rob Fritz
There are going to be plenty of soybean acres planted back into last year’s bean ground. Keep in mind that if you sprayed Flexstar last year, you cannot spray it again this year. The Flexstar label for our area allows 1 pt/acre every other year. — Tyler Koenig
Centerville, SD
Due to the timing of rain, there are some corn pre herbicides that have not been put down yet. There are options that can be sprayed early post on corn. Examples include Resicore, TripleFLEX, and Acuron, and can be applied up to 11-inch corn. Acuron Flexi is another option and can be applied up to 30-inch corn. — Tim Brouwer
I have been seeing a lot of leafy spurge popping up in pastures in the area. To control this troublesome weed, I recommend Tordon 22K at 1 qt/acre. If you like to use a combination product, use Graslan L, which is 2,4-D choline plus Tordon, at 1.5 pts/acre. Graslan L is a much safer and less volatile form of Grazon P+D. — Travis Petty
Freeman, SD
I have heard of some grass problems in fields going to soybeans. Remember to spike in Roundup with your pre-emerge herbicide. Even if your pre has activity on grass, adding Roundup will virtually guarantee control and is quite cheap. — Lee Dockendorf
With the heavy rains down here, soybeans will be starting to come up before producers can get back out in the field. Growers who did not get their pre-emerge on before the rain can use Anthem Max at 4 oz/acre or Anthem at 8 oz/acre. Zidua and Cadet are the components. These products can be used up to the 3rd trifoliate. — Matt Zilverberg
Gettysburg, SD
A few guys say they have been seeing thistles and wormwood growing in pastures. Apply GrazonNext at 24 oz/acre plus 1 pt/100 of NIS. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
I received a phone call today about destroying a poor stand of corn and then replanting back to corn right away. They wondered what to spray to remove the corn. Options are very limited. Corn killers used in soybeans (Assure, Fusilade, Select) are not labeled to plant back to corn soon enough. Gramoxone does not seem to work that well on corn, especially if it is small and the growing point isn’t out of the ground. The best option is Liberty. Just make sure the corn doesn’t contain the Liberty gene. The only other option is tillage. — Garritt Dykstra
When spraying metribuzin on your soybean fields this spring, make sure you know what the pH of your soil is. If your pH is 7.4 or higher, it would be wise to reduce the rate. Applying too much metribuzin in a high pH soil will cause crop injury. When pH is high, metribuzin becomes much more active in the soil. By cutting your rate, you will not dampen your weed control. — Kyle Wiese
Kimball, SD
Soybeans are popping out of the ground in our area. Most pre herbicides cannot be sprayed over emerged soybeans. Growers with beans out of the ground will need to change their program. Warrant and Outlook are both decent choices for post-emergence residual. — Mike Erickson
New Underwood, SD
While walking through alfalfa fields, I noticed a lot of yellowing leaves and unhealthy looking plants. I would use Headline at a 9 oz/acre rate to get control of the yellowing. Remember the harvest interval is 14 days after application. — Tyler Price
Watertown, SD
Due to the cool conditions, wait until next week to spray your wheat acres. You will have better weed control and less crop injury. — Russ Werning
I have been hearing there are a lot of weeds coming through on the wheat acres. If broadleaves are the only problem, farmers are using products like Huskie and WideMatch. If grasses are also in the mix, Huskie Complete, Wolverine Advanced, or GoldSky are the products they’re using to get the fields cleaned up. — Beau Wensing
Keep in mind that if you are spraying in adverse wind conditions, you could add a product such as Latch at 4 oz/acre with 5 to 20 gal/acre of water. — Jack Beutler
WASHINGTON
Quincy, WA
When starting up irrigation on hard, compact soils, injecting a calcium product can really improve water infiltration and soil structure. — Ty Whitaker
