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
We will be planting thousands of acres of soybeans behind flood waters here in Arkansas in the coming weeks. Just want to remind everyone of the University of Arkansas research concerning the use of soybean seed inoculants. They recommend using inoculants any time after May 15th but the real story here is a 6 bushel yield increase planting in mid-June and an 11 bushel yield bump planting in mid-July. I’m not trying to sell inoculants, I believe they sell themselves. — Joey York
Many of the earlier soybeans have been cleaned up with post-emerge herbicides. The pre-emerge residuals did a good job. Most post-emerge programs are including another residual such as Zidua for extended Palmer pigweed control. You can never let your guard down with any Palmer pressure. — Perry Galloway
Wednesday – More rice is being sprayed today. The grass has gotten to be pretty big and some may get missed. Clincher or Rebel Ex are options to use in the future. We’re finally taking some of the early April planted rice to the flood on Wednesday before the next rain event, probably pushing it a bit but got to start somewhere. — Joey York
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
Tuesday- For growers who still have a large number of corn acres to get put in the ground or replant, consider contacting your seed dealer for earlier maturity hybrids. Hybrids with better disease resistance and late-season plant health or standability characteristics will do a better job than the later hybrids at this time in the season. Seeding rate can also be adjusted 5% lower as more seed will germinate compared to early planted corn. One risk of later planted corn is the soil can dry out quicker, so be mindful of your seed depth. — Evan Zimmerman
Princeton, IL
Some farmers are spraying burndown for soybeans now. Fields have become pretty weedy and some weeds are getting very large. Remember that 2,4-D requires 5-7 days of waiting before planting soybeans. An alternative to 2,4-D would be adding 1 oz/acre of Sharpen with your Roundup or glyphosate. There is no waiting to plant behind Sharpen at this rate. This is preferred to just increased glyphosate rates. — Mike Denton
There is no reason not to spray road sides and fence lines if you have weeds in them. There are new low volatility 2,4-D formulations (Freelexx) on the market now for very little extra cost – well worth it! — Kyle Bickett
One of these days, it will warm up! When temperatures go abruptly from cold to warm, plant growth accelerates. New leaves may not unfurl, causing the plant to bend and twist. There is generally no yield reduction. — John Becker
IOWA
Rockwell, IA
Many growers want to use either Xtendimax or Engenia for their burndown. Make sure you go to xtendimaxapplicationrequirements.com or engeniatankmix.com for the latest approved tankmix partners. — Tim Nuehring
Sheldon, IA
Corn is coming up nicely in most areas. With that happening, farmers are nervous about getting their residual herbicides on. Products like Harness and Resicore can be applied up to 11-inch corn. Harness will not have post-emerge activity on weeds, so other products like glyphosate will need to be added for knock down. — Adam Sauer
Farmers in this area are carefully watching the crop as spring storms roll through this week. Early season high winds and hail can be detrimental to the crop. The hypocotyl is exposed in soybeans as the plant starts to pop out of the ground. In a hailstorm, this area could be badly bruised or even broken off, which could lead to the plant being stunted or even killed. In corn, however, this is not as severe of a concern because the growing point is below the surface until V5. Any damage sustained would reduce leaf surface area needed for photosynthesis. The shredded leaves would still absorb sunlight and would grow out of it, but might look rough for a week or so. — Nathan Kloft
Coming up short on boron levels for soil test results in certain fields going to corn? Consider adding 4-5 lbs of 21% boron or Solubor with your preplant spray program or 2×2 at planting. Another viable option for feeding Boron would be 1-2 qts of Borosol post sprayed over your corn crop or soil direct through Y-drop. Adequate boron levels will begin to provide an enhanced ear fill, improved stalk stability, maximum tassel count, and higher test weight on corn if N, P, and K have already been addressed. — Connor Majerus
MINNESOTA
Breckenridge, MN
We’ve seen a few fields with thistles in them. There are a select group of products that do a decent job on thistles. One of these options a lot of farmers use in crop is Basagran. Basagran works best on hot, humid days at 1.5 to 2 pints/acre with 1.5 to 2 pints/acre of crop oil and flat fan or Guardian Air Twin nozzles to get great coverage. — Tia Johnson
Fairmont, MN
Black cutworm presence is sporadic and often field specific. The best way to know is to get out there and scout your fields for damage. Fields with early weed pressure are more apt to attract the egg laying moths. If damage is detected, an early rescue insecticide treatment can be used to limit the damage. — Hans Hinrichsen
Hancock, MN
With scattered rain sweeping through the area, we have had a few phone calls wondering rainfast times on specific herbicides. It’s important to check things like this before spraying to get the maximum effectiveness out of your herbicide program. — Aaron Giese
LeRoy, MN
Are you using Valor, Authority, or Sharpen products on soybeans this year? These are great products to use for soybean pre-emerge and will offer excellent control of certain weed species. The downside to these herbicides is the window of application. They need to be applied by 3 days after planting according to the label. Some guys have pushed that out further by scouting and making sure there are no soybeans starting to crack the soil surface. Spend a little extra time scouting the field before loading up the sprayer to make sure everything is ok. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
A lot of planted corn fields in the area are starting to emerge. TripleFLEX or other corn pre-emerges can be applied up to 11-inch tall corn. Be sure to time manage properly to ensure that your soybean pre’s take priority if the fields have been planted. — Dave Timmerman
Many of the farmers in our area are just switching over from corn to soybeans. Keep in mind that you need to clean out your spray tank when switching from your corn pre-emerge to your soybean pre-emerge or you may cause crop injury. One tank cleaner a lot of growers use is called Erase. — Jeff Gladis
If the weather has turned against you and you are unable to get your normal soybean pre-emerge chemistry on, you can still apply a Dual or Outlook type product once the soybeans have emerged. Certain Dual products have a label through V5 on soybeans. Outlook is also labeled through V5. — Mike Homandberg
Olivia, MN
Is your pre-emerge evaporating in this heat and wind? The answer is not if you are using newer technology. If you are using the old technology such are Sonalan, Treflan, and Eptam with high vapor pressure, your pre-emerge could evaporate much quicker. — John Scheibel
Corn is now emerging and guys are trying to get their soybeans in as we are expecting rain this week. Make sure to get a soybean pre on since there are not many options post and you do not want to abuse the Xtend or Liberty chemistries. Soybean pre’s need to be sprayed before the beans crack the ground – usually within 3 days after planting. — Tony Hagen
Thief River Falls, MN
Whether you’re planting with an air seeder or row planter, soybean planting depth is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. 1 inch to 1.5 inches is where you want to plant to get your soybean off to a great start. — Jordan Swanson
Winthrop, MN
Make sure as you are planning your 2017 herbicide program to look ahead to next season’s crop plans and consider rotational restrictions. Crops such as field peas, sweet corn, and sugar beets are very sensitive and have certain label restrictions. — Dean Christiansen
One soybean pre-emerge herbicide that’s been working well in the area but you may not have considered yet is Boundary 6.5. It is a combination of Dual II Magnum and metribuzin. Just be careful if you have any soil pH above a 7.4. You may need to cut the rate of Boundary 6.5 and spike in a little more Dual II Magnum. — Tyler Gasow
A few farmers this year are switching some corn-on-corn ground to soybeans. If this is the case, one of the best investments you can make is to inoculate the beans. Since it is a cheap investment, some guys will even double inoculate their beans. This will improve nitrogen production for the soybeans to help increase your yields. — Matt Vogel
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
I was walking through a corn field the other day and noticed some small broadleaves and grass emerging. The corn stage was about V5-V6. A product like Capreno at 3 oz/acre and 0.5 lb/acre of Atrazine for better control of the target weeds should work. Crop oil and AMS are recommended also to complete the mix. — Albert Duenne
Wednesday – Wondering how XtendiMax is working? I just visited with a local farmer who had some broadleaf and grass pressure in his Xtend soybeans that are from emergence to V1. He decided to use Xtendimax at 22 oz/acre, PowerMAX at 32 oz/acre with 3 pt/acre of Warrant for residual and 2 qts/100 of Intact for his drift reducing adjuvant (DRA). Great weed control! — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
If you are expecting to see pressure of small seeded annual weeds in your field and your soybeans have yet to reach unifoliate stage, a 16 oz/acre shot of Outlook will control the problem. You will need some rainfall to activate the Outlook so plan your application accordingly. Add something to the Outlook for any weeds that have already emerged. — Barry Gilmore
Cotton is being planted but not much is up at this time. Rice is emerged and mainly 1 leaf. Corn is mainly V3 to V4 with fertilizer and herbicide applications going out. — Danny Stevens
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
Soybean farmers are seeing good control using three modes of action in their pre-emergence herbicide program. Common programs are to add metribuzin to Fierce (Zidua and Valor) or to add Valor to Boundary. This can be done for about the cost of 2 bushels of soybeans and often adds 5 bushels of yield or more in the fall. — Chester Hill
NEBRASKA
Laurel, NE
If you are planning on spraying one of the new dicamba products on your Xtend soybeans this year, be sure to check out their websites to know what can be tankmixed with each as those labels are being updated all the time. — Kody Urwiler
West Point, NE
Farmers are switching from one crop to the next and one herbicide to another as well right now. Many just grab a jug of tank cleaner each time they pick up a different herbicide so they don’t forget. Erase appears to be the product of choice, and farmers report it’s working well with a variety of herbicides. — Jared Steffensmeier
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
There are a lot of dandelions out there! Generally field control is pretty good, but I’ve seen a lot in pastures and hay land. Hit them this spring in pastures with something like Chaparral. Chaparral at 3 oz/acre will also control a wide spectrum of other broadleaves, and even buckbrush if timed correctly. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
With the nighttime temperature dipping down to 40 or so over the next 5-6 days, your burndown herbicides are not going to work very well. You may need to increase the rate if the label allows and add MSO or an HSOC to heat up the mix. Otherwise, waiting until the nighttime temperatures climb back up may be the other option. Just keep an eye on the weeds to ensure they don’t get too big and even harder to control. — Spencer Schultz
Mohall, ND
If you’re a faba bean grower or just a faba bean fan, Varisto herbicide has a full federal label for faba beans. — Ron Hefta
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
With quite of bit of corn up in the area, farmers are checking fields before heading out to spray. If some of the corn is up, they may need to switch herbicides if they were using something like Verdict pre-emerge as it can damage crop that’s emerged. The most popular products farmers are using right now appear to be Armezon Pro, Resicore, and TripleFLEX which can all be sprayed either pre-emerge or early post-emerge. — Tanner Johnson
With rain in the forecast for the next few days, be sure you follow label instructions on products with rainfast times. With the pre-emerge and soil residual products farmers are using, however, it’s fine for the soil residual activity if rain comes right away. It’s only the burndown on the emerged weeds that will suffer. — Kalen Kjellsen
Baltic, SD
With the great planting conditions we had last week, I am starting to hear some reports of soybean pre-emerge products not getting applied. The rule of thumb is you have 3 days after the field was planted to get the pre on. If it has been longer than that, make sure you are out scouting your field to see how close the beans are to cracking the surface. As long as the beans are not cracking through the surface, you will be ok to spray. — Tyler Koenig
Centerville, SD
Farmers are still picking up pre-emerge herbicides, and many will also pick up tank cleaner, defoamer, drift control products, and compatibility agents at the same time. Don’t let the smallest of details keep you from getting your work done! If you don’t have these things in stock at home, pick them up now so you’re ready when conditions improve. — Ryan Kusser
Freeman, SD
I have been talking to a lot of guys about Xtendimax and Engenia recently. A couple things to remember:
1. Make sure you have the correct spray nozzles, only certain ones are labeled.
2. Do not use AMS as it will increase volatility drastically. Many tank mix options are labeled now as well. — Lee Dockendorf
Gettysburg, SD
Farmers in the area are finding that straight Roundup isn’t getting kochia. Most growers are now assuming the kochia is Roundup resistant. As long as the crop isn’t up, we’re seeing quite a few guys apply Aim at 1 oz per acre plus MSO at 1 gal/100. They’re having the best luck if they use 10 gallons of water per acre or more. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
With soybeans going in the ground, guys have been busy putting pre-emerge herbicides down. Some growers I’ve talked to like using Spartan Charge at 6.25 oz/acre partnered with metribuzin for a quick burndown with great residual. — Kyle Wiese
I was recently asked how late I would spray dicamba in corn. I personally tend to stay away from high rates of dicamba after 2 leaf corn. At this stage you should consider going with an HPPD such as Laudis, Impact, or Bellum. They have come down in price and are much safer for your crop. — Garritt Dykstra
Kimball, SD
Flag leaves are starting to emerge in winter wheat fields. This is a critical stage for applying fungicide. One of the most common products being used right now is Stratego (which contains a strobilurin and a triazole). You could also make your own 2 mode treatment by combining Equation and a generic Tilt. — Mike Erickson
Watertown, SD
Remember when tankmixing with any glyphosate that is already loaded with surfactant, there is only enough surfactant for the glyphosate, so you should add 1 qt of non-ionic surfactant for every 100 gallons of water. — Jack Beutler
A lot of bugs have been hitting the windshield already. Farmers are expecting a flush of insects in the area soon. One of the first things they’re doing is to use a soybean seed treatment with insecticide to help with the first flush of bean leaf beetles. — Russ Werning
WASHINGTON
Farmington, WA
Prickly lettuce seems to be everywhere this year and is getting bigger. Bronate is generally weak on prickly lettuce by itself, but has good control if it is tankmixed with Supremacy, Starane Flex, and/or with a group 2, i.e. Affinity, Express, Peak, etc. Huskie and Talinor also have control on prickly lettuce by itself but would like to see some Starane or Starane Flex tankmixed to get 3-4 modes of action for good control. Just watch plant back restrictions if going back into legumes. — Jamie Rovey
Quincy, WA
A lot of corn is out of the ground and guys are starting to pull sprayers in the field. Some growers are adding MegaGro to their PowerMAX spray to help keep their young corn healthy and growing. — Ty Whitaker
