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
With all the rain we have had this spring, it seems like we have more than our share of yellow nutsedge to deal with in the soybeans. In sulfonylurea tolerant soybeans (STS), we can use 0.75 oz/acre of Permit Plus, but in non STS, 0.33 oz/acre Classic with Liberty twice will need to be considered since the canopy most likely won’t close quickly enough. — Joey York
IDAHO
Buhl, ID
Corn tissue tests are revealing less than desirable levels of several nutrients. P, Mg, and B are primarily taken up through the root system. The shallow root systems due to excessive moisture, cooler temperatures, and decreasing microbial activity may be contributing to these results. Some foliar nutritional applications have been made with results unknown at this time. — Perry Galloway
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
As planting season comes to an end, it may be a good idea to check a few things on the planter before you put it in the back of the shed. Pull seed plates, clean seed out of meters and hoppers, drain water from air tanks on planters equipped with them, remove drive chains, and do anything else recommended in the manual. — Tyler Smith
Princeton, IL
Sunshine the past day few days has really brought corn, beans, and weeds along. Most fields I’ve scouted recently have intense weed pressure along fence rows but pre’s are holding nicely in the rest of the field. I would suggest making a Roundup pass along border rows (if there are no resistant weeds) to allow you time to catch up on planting or getting bean pre’s sprayed. Be safe. — Mike Denton
IOWA
Sheldon, IA
Additives like ammonium sulfate (AMS), non-ionic surfactant (NIS), methylated seed oil (MSO), and crop oil concentrate (COC) can help make weed chemicals work better. Using the wrong product or too much can harm your crop and hurt your yield, while not using enough can decrease weed control. Make sure you read and follow the label for the chemical so you know which one and how much to use. If you have any questions, talk to your agronomist. — Adam Sauer
Walking fields, I’ve noticed that some have not gotten a soybean pre on, the beans are starting to crack through the surface, and weeds are starting to sprout as well. One option farmers are using right now in our area is Warrant Ultra. With this product, you are getting a residual product (Warrant) and fomesafen (Flexstar) for burndown. If you want to save the fomesafen for later, Anthem would be another good choice to use now that has Zidua (similar to Warrant) and Cadet. — Nathan Kloft
MINNESOTA
Hancock, MN
If you’re applying Treflan pre on your soybeans, remember that it has to be incorporated. The label reads that you have 24 hours to incorporate, but if you can get to it right away, the faster it gets done, the better. — Aaron Giese
Janesville, MN
In the past few days, some calls have come in regarding PPO injury in soybeans. In most cases, the injury is caused by splashing of herbicide due to rain at the time of emergence. Most of the time the herbicide was applied after the soybeans were planted and a rain occurred within a couple days of emergence. Although it looks bad, soybeans have great ability to recover with little to no impact on yield. The best thing to do is be patient, and reassess the situation once the field and weather conditions improve. — Josh Bruns
LeRoy, MN
Many of the high yield farmers like to have all their herbicides applied by V3 to V4. This ensures that the corn plant is not stressed or trying to metabolize any chemical when that plant is determining the rows around the ear, which happens around V5. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
I was out in three separate soybean fields today that were planted before the rain. None of these beans were even close to emerging. Do not give up on your pre-emerge herbicide too early without checking the soybeans first. You want to get your pre-emerge herbicide applied if the soybeans have not started to crack through the soil surface. There are plenty of other options if you can’t spray, just check your soybeans first. — Dave Timmerman
With approximately 10% of the soybean acres still to be planted in southwest Minnesota, we can still use a program of Authority First or Sonic as our pre-emerge choice. On the acres that were planted prior to the rain, soybeans are starting to poke through the soil surface and we will have to switch to a Dual, Outlook, or Warrant residual product mixed with the corresponding product to whichever soybean trait you planted as the small weeds are starting to emerge also. — Mike Homandberg
Olivia, MN
If you need a burndown in front of your soybeans, there are a few options available. Gramoxone, Glyphosate, Liberty, or dicamba (if you have Xtend beans) are good options. — John Scheibel
I am seeing some uneven emergence in corn fields. Possibly some frost damage as well. Some corn took a while to emerge this year. — Aaron Spronk
Metribuzin is effective chemistry for killing weeds in soybeans. Farmers in this area are seeing good results even at lower rates in high pH soil. Typically farmers are using 1/6# per acre rather than the 1/3# rate used in lower soil pH’s. — Tony Hagen
There are a lot of reports of lambsquarters emerging in fields this spring. In some cases they are in soybean fields that are yet to be planted. Farmers are often adding glyphosate, AMS, and NIS to their pre-emerge herbicides and wiping them out. — John Scheibel
Thief River Falls, MN
Some of the early planted spring wheat is ready to spray in our area. If you are lucky enough not to have wild oats, have a fairly clean field, and are only spraying Huskie at the 11-15 oz/acre rate, adding AMS at 0.5 lb/acre will help optimize herbicidal activity. — Jordan Swanson
Winthrop, MN
For any growers who are planting Xtend beans and plan on spraying the beans with Xtendimax or Engenia, one big thing to know is DO NOT add in AMS into the spray mixture. AMS will disrupt the chemical formula and make the chemical more volatile. — Tyler Gasow
Again the weather has turned cooler than normal and nighttime temperatures are under 50 degrees. If you are planning to spray your herbicides, waiting a few days may be in order. Post-emerge herbicides work better with air temperatures over 60 degrees. — Dean Christiansen
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
Farmers are looking for herbicidces with multiple modes of action as a weed resistance tool. One that many are using for soybeans is Trivence which has three modes of action. Field sprayed at 8 oz/acre pre-emerge are still clean. — Albert Duenne
It’s often a good idea to use fungicides in this area as disease pressure is generally pretty high. Farmers often look for a product like Stratego YLD which can be used in multiple crops which makes management a little easier. They like to run with a rate of 3 oz/acre which can be tankmixed with many post herbicides early. Fungicide can help with overall plant health, resulting in increased yield and a greater ROI. — Albert Duenne
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
I am receiving reports on cutworms in pulse crop fields and Spartan Charge injury to field peas. Please be out scouting fields for damage and injury. Insecticides are available for cutworm injury. Chemical injury needs to be reported so you can figure out what was the exact problem that lead to the injury and steps can be taken in the future to avoid it from happening again. — Chester Hill
I have been out scouting wheat fields and have come across bacterial wilt and powdery mildew. There is not much we can do for control on bacteria wilt. Some fungicides are able to slow down powdery mildew. — Chester Hill
As growers are getting ready to spray the Roundup Ready crops, a number of them will be adding MegaGro. MegaGro is a patented safener for glyphosate at the 2 oz/acre rate. Farmers have also commented that it stimulates root development and increases foliage. — Chester Hill
NEBRASKA
Laurel, NE
Over the next week, try to take a look at your cornfields for what weeds are present. Post-emerge applications will start in the next couple of weeks. — Kody Urwiler
The corn is greening up and starting to grow again. It will be time to spray your post-emerge herbicides shortly, so do some scouting and get a plan made. — Rusty Reifenrath
West Point, NE
If you find yourself with beans coming up and no pre on, here are some options. Extreme – You will more likely have to do some tankmixes to achieve best results.
Anthem Maxx / PowerMAX – This will be geared more towards the waterhemp control. FirstRate – If you have marestail or giant ragweed and don’t have Xtend or Liberty Beans. — Jacob Gubbels
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
Buckbrush has greened up and now is the time to go spray it. Buckbrush leaves will form a waxy outer layer as the summer goes on. Get them now with Chaparral while it’s easier to kill. — Emily Kline
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
I’ve had many growers ask about spraying Engenia or Xtendimax on corn, and if it would hurt it. The answer is it will absolutely not hurt it. These products would actually be preferred over the old Banvel and Clarity formulations because they are much less volatile. Past V2, however, a safened dicamba such as DiFlexx or Status is preferred. — Tanner Johnson
Baltic, SD
I’ve been fielding a lot of calls about using 2,4-D ahead of soybeans. Instead of 2,4-D, I suggest considering dicamba tolerant soybeans. This time of year we don’t have a week to wait to get your soybeans planted. They need to be in the ground now. Waiting a week after using 8 oz/acre of a 2,4-D ester versus applying 22 oz/acre of Xtendimax right away is a no-brainer. — Tyler Koenig
Centerville, SD
While you are out spraying your Roundup, keep in mind that MegaGro is a patented safener for glyphosate applications. A 2 oz/acre rate of MegaGro helps herbicide move within the plants, giving you a better kill on weeds while providing added crop safety for an increased ROI. — Ryan Kusser
Freeman, SD
I have seen some alfalfa fields being cut. Remember to check for bugs after the hay is put up. An indicator you might have insects is if the field does not green up as quickly as it should. A generic Warrior product at 3.84 oz/acre will take care of most insects and give you a little residual. — Lee Dockendorf
Gettysburg, SD
If you are seeing spiders around the house, consider using Tempo for control. You will need to retreat about once per month to keep bugs out all summer. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
I was recently asked about the best way to control thistles post-emerge in corn. There are a couple different ways to approach this. The first option is a high dose of Roundup. You are limited by the label and will likely not have enough rate to kill all the roots. The second is WideMatch. WideMatch contains Stinger, which is excellent on thistles. It is only labeled on corn up to V5, but works best when applied at V4 or earlier for crop safety reasons. — Kyle Wiese
After checking winter wheat stages and looking at the weather forecast, I think mid-week may be the opportune time to spray for head scab with Prosaro or generic Folicur. The wheat was almost completely headed out but no pollen anthers were present. With some warm temperatures coming, I’m expecting pollination to begin in the next day or two and progressing through the week. Tuesday through Thursday could be the best time to spray. Make sure to check your fields early in the week and plan for your fungicide application. — Garritt Dykstra
Watertown, SD
With stripe rust in the area and the potential of head scab, farmers are beginning to spray fungicide in their winter wheat fields. Prosaro is a popular option for this application timing because if protects against head scab, stripe rust, and powdery mildew. Use at the 6.5 oz/acre rate. — Russ Werning
WASHINGTON
Quincy, WA
Morningglory continues to be a problem in our area in dryland wheat. One reason is it gets away from growers while it’s in-crop. One way to get around this is to mark it with GPS. Then you can spray those areas with 2,4-D amine, essentially burning it back and enabling you to do post-harvest sprays without the fear of it going to seed. Morningglory comes up later than herbicide timing, thus missing it. 2,4-D amine can be sprayed in most cases from after jointing to the boot stage. — Dave Dye
