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
Early rice is in early to late boot stage. Some growers have found some blast in the corner of a field of RoyJ so keep your eyes peeled. A lot of corn is in late stages of R3. There is still low incidence of Southern rust in the fields I’m scouting, but I have gotten reports of it starting to take off in other areas. I still say for the guys that have to let the corn dry down in the field, fungicide is a very wise investment. — Joey York
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
If you have Xtend soybeans, remember Engenia and Xtendimax are labeled through R1. Scout your fields before spraying because it might be too late to spray, depending on variety. — Tyler Smith
Many of the early planted soybeans are either at R3 or getting very close to R3. A fungicide application at this growth stage can have very good returns. Speak with an agronomist to discuss all of your options. — Tyler Smith
Princeton, IL
The current warm weather conditions and lack of consistent moisture have caused weeds to harden off and put on thicker cuticles, making it more difficult for herbicides to penetrate the leaf surface. In a situation of denser weed populations or larger sized plants, consider using a higher rate of PowerMax – 32 oz or higher. We also recommend you use AMS at at least 17 lbs/100 gal water to make sure we are not having any hard water tie up. — Matt Denton
IOWA
Sheldon, IA
Soybeans are beginning to flower in the area. If you have weeds that you need to control, you will want to consider how it may affect the soybeans. Spraying flowering soybeans may have a negative impact on yield now. — Adam Sauer
MINNESOTA
Fairmont, MN
I have been in many Liberty Link soybean fields, and have noticed regrowth on weeds like waterhemp and lambsquarters. If you had any thick patches of these weeds in your fields, scouting them would be a great option. The Liberty respray program time is running out, and qualifying would be very beneficial. — Sam Geistfeld
Hancock, MN
It is time to scout and spray Liberty Link soybeans. Hot temperatures are predicted the next few days so the Liberty will work fast. Those using 20 gallons of water and high pressure are roasting large 12-inch lambsquarters. Many soybeans are V4 to V6 so this is the last week of spraying before flowering gets too heavy. Don’t be afraid to bump the water carrier to about 24 gallons for those fields that have large, dense weeds. If this is done, bump the Liberty rate to about 40 oz/acre so the spray solution doesn’t get too diluted. Evaluate the field about 4 days after treatment to make sure there are no new leaves growing out of the brown and roasted weed stems. — Adam Gibson
Sugar beet growers in the area are starting their first application of beet fungicides. The first recommended pass is 8 oz/acre of liquid Super Tin and 20 oz/acre of liquid Topsin or T-methyl. — Nathan DuHoux
LeRoy, MN
Remember if you are using Liberty on your soybeans, it has an R1 (first bloom) cut-off date. — Grant Lunning
Marshall, MN
I have been seeing some aphids in soybean fields around the Marshall area already this week. These areas are smaller in numbers, but scouting them numerous times per week should be a routine throughout the summer months. Outside edges of fields, trees, ditches, and hailed off soybeans seem to be holding the most aphids currently. — Jeremy Jensen
With 5 days of looking at crops in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, the crop is highly variable in growth stage and in general overall health. Most areas are 5-7 days behind what would be considered normal with a few counties in north central Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin right on track for crop stage. The stand-out areas were Mclean County, Illinois and Rock County, Wisconsin. The corn plants were far enough along in both areas we were able to see the corn ear development with most ears being 16-18 around and most of the soybeans in the same areas were knee high and in full flower. — Mike Homandberg
Olivia, MN
Use of dicamba for weed control is a new thing this year and growers are having many concerns. Remember to use a minimum of 15 gallons of water and a labeled surfactant such for best control. We have also seen the best results when spraying at the higher range of the spray tip pressure – closer to 50 PSI. — John Scheibel
We are finally seeing some consistent hot and humid weather, which is great. Keep in mind, though, that if you are spraying, you may need to cut your adjuvant rate in half to avoid heating things up too much. — Tony Hagen
Thief River Falls, MN
Stripe rust is showing up in a few spring wheat fields around our area. Since this disease can take so much yield away, I’d recommend a fungicide application to protect your fields. Fungicides work best as preventatives, so scouting your fields for most things like weeds and insects is great, but you’ll be too late applying a foliar fungicide to maximize yield potential if there is already stripe rust in the field. — Jordan Swanson
After scouting some soybean fields this morning, I am starting to see some leaf blight and septoria brown spot in spotty areas in a few fields. Soybeans are just starting to flower, so we are approaching the R1 stage. Now would be a great time to apply a fungicide to stop or prevent the spread of any more disease. — Jordan Swanson
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
To fungicide or not to fungicide, that is the question I have for you. Fungicides pay off more often than not according to university studies. The keys are to spray before a disease takes hold in a field and to get great coverage with medium sized droplets. Most farmers I work with tell me if the control disease they see increased yields versus untreated areas. — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
While watching your crops grow, make a note of unexpected differences in crop progress. Many conditions can create these differences, and an imbalanced soil can exacerbate them. Start thinking now about fall soil analysis, and use your in-crop observations to help hone in on your trouble spots. For immediate crop analysis, tissue samples can be pulled and sent off, with results typically in 24-48 hours. Talk to an agronomist to help you identify, sample, analyze, and interpret. — Danny Stevens
MONTANA
Sidney, MT
I have been getting a few questions on chem-fallow. With our extreme dry conditions, 32 oz/acre of 5.5 lb glyphosate, 17 lbs of AMS per 100 gal of water or the use of liquid nitrogen, plus adding something like Banvel and/or 2,4-D will be very beneficial in cleaning up fields. Traveling around last week, I saw many fields with marestail and narrowleaf hawksbeard in them that was not being controlled by herbicide. Using a fall program like 2 oz of Sharpen will also be beneficial. — Chet Hill
NORTH DAKOTA
Hillsboro, ND
With the severe weather that moved through our area the last couple of nights, it would be highly recommended to put a fungicide such as Priaxor, Fortix, Preemptor, or Stratego YLD on any labeled row crops that had some hail damage. It is imperative to do this within the first 48 hours to help the plant as much as possible. — Ryan Pierce
Webster, ND
As canola reaches 20% to 30% bloom, an application of 1 oz Quash and 10 oz Topsin is a great option for sclerotinia (white mold). It is also the most cost-effective. If in doubt on the timing, err on the early side rather than later. — Joe Ramer
SOUTH DAKOTA
Baltic, SD
Be out checking your soybean fields. I was in quite a few this morning and we are starting to see a new flush of waterhemp coming. The sooner we can address this problem, the better. Once we get to near-canopy it is going to be more difficult to tackle these weeds. — Tyler Koenig
Huron, SD
Many soybean fields are rapidly approaching R1, first flower on the stem. The label on both Engenia and XtendiMax list this timing as the cutoff for application. — Alan Williams
Kimball, SD
Check your soybean fields for grasshoppers. With hay leaving fields and the lack of grass in general, they are pushing into crop ground. Generic Warrior at 3.84 oz/acre does a great job and will give decent residual. — Mike Erickson
Watertown, SD
I looked at some plots yesterday and the pre-herbicides looked a lot better than the post applied herbicides. For next year, I would take a good look at putting down a pre-herbicide if you didn’t this year. — Russ Werning
You may need to spray your alfalfa after cutting for bugs as we are seeing heavy pressure in our area. You can use Kendo at 3.2 – 3.84 oz/acre for good control. — Jack Beutler
WASHINGTON
Quincy, WA
Bill bugs and grubs are showing effects in lawns. It will look like you’re getting dry spots all over the place when there is actually adequate moisture. Spraying Lorsban then watering it in with your sprinkler system has great control on these pests. — Danny Hopkins
