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.
ILLINOIS
Georgetown, IL
After the weekend rain event, corn is really starting to take off. Now is the time I would recommend going to drop nozzles instead of nozzles over the top if you still have any corn to spray. This will prevent you from spraying chemical into the whorl of the plant and help avoid crop injury. — Tyler Smith
Princeton, IL
When making a post pass foliar feeding or using y-drop on corn and soybeans, we have found that using a sugar source is a good idea. Corn and soybeans respond differently to foliar feeding, that being said I would recommend sugar on both. Not only does it help with the intake of nutrients, it also works as a good “sticker” to help keep the nutrients on the plant. Running sugar in y-drops is also a good idea as it helps the microbes and the roots metabolize the nutrients. — Nate Ihnen
I have had a couple calls this week on spray compatibility issues with some generic post products. Many times, these problems can be avoided with the proper mixing order. Precision Labs has a neat app for your smart phone to help with this. Search for “Mix Tank” in the app store. This app also has the ability to integrate weather into it, capture use rates, and maintain spray logs for easy record keeping. Be safe! — Mike Denton
IOWA
Rockwell, IA
I have had a few recent conversations on how to eliminate pesky and persistent volunteer corn from last fall. Use Fusilade DX at 6 ounces. It has a short rainfast of 1 hour. For later season, R1 growth or later applications, do not apply greater than 6 oz per acre. — Paul Helland
KANSAS
Garden City, KS
Due to a dry spring and some late freezes, there are many wheat fields in our area that are in need of some burn down as a harvest aid. There are very few options. My recommendation is 2 oz of AIM EC, 2.0% v/v of MSO (12.8 oz per acre at a 5 GPA rate), and 4.0% v/v of UAN. — Chris Lobmeyer
MINNESOTA
Breckenridge, MN
The way Liberty SL is now formulated, AMS is the only additive/adjuvant needed. Adding additional surfactant or oil may cause weeds to burn really fast. So fast, that in some cases, the chemical misses the growing point of the weed. Liberty is soapy enough that all it needs is AMS. — Conor Swenson
Fairmont, MN
When finishing up corn spraying, be sure to check with the product label to make sure you have yet to reach a height or crop stage restriction. If so, you may need to switch products or application methods (i.e. drop nozzles). — Evan Oberdieck
Hancock, MN
The corn in the area is growing really fast and most of the corn pre-emerge herbicides worked really well. With the recent big rain and heat, now there will be more flushes of weeds because the pre-emerge effectiveness is wearing out. Make sure you get some sort of a clean-up weed control plan done in your corn. Much of the corn is 20 to 36” tall and 6 to 8 leaves, which is the maximum crop stage and height for most post corn products. Be sure to stage your corn correctly. — Adam Gibson
There are a few growers this year tankmixing different herbicides with Liberty. If you want to spike something in to get even better control, you certainly can, but talk to your agronomist first. Products such as Volta, Cadet, and generic Dual will add to weed control for a cheap price but may also heat up the tankmix and burn the beans in the process. — Aaron Giese
LeRoy, MN
On the right, waterhemp was sprayed with 32 oz glyphosate. On the left, waterhemp was sprayed with 12.8 oz Engenia + Glyphosate. This was sprayed 6 days ago. Sometimes it takes waterhemp a while to die, even though it shows symptoms of herbicide almost immediately. If you are concerned on whether or not the weed will die, look at the stem at about ground level. If it is dying, there will be lesions. You can also open up the stem and it should be brown. — Grant Lunning
Olivia, MN
Using a layering residual program in all crops is important and is showing its dividends again this year. Growers who used a good soybean pre-emerge program are reporting significantly less weed pressure and are going to layer another residual with their post application to help control weeds until canopy. Outlook, Warrant, and Dual are all good options for post-emerge residual control of weeds. — John Scheibel
I was in a garden and noticed some beetles in the potatoes. Check your garden for bugs and spray if you need to. Asana XL at 3-5 oz is a good option. — Tony Hagen
It is time to start thinking about carryover from herbicides. I am seeing some carryover from Flexstar in some high pH areas of the field. Herbicides such as Flexstar will take longer to breakdown in the high pH. Make sure you check the label for rotational restrictions and allow some extra time in high pH soils. — Brandon Howard
Thief River Falls, MN
Perennial rye is starting to head out and it’s about time to apply growth regulators. Palisade at 8-20 oz is a great option to apply at 5-20% headed out. This will help shorten nodes to decrease lodging and increase yield. — Jordan Swanson
Winthrop, MN
Volunteer corn is one of the biggest yield robbers in soybeans, and a lot of it has shown up while farmers have been out of the field. Once we are able to get back in, a couple of good options are to use either Fusilade at 4 oz/acre or a generic Clethodim at 6 oz/acre to get it back under control. — Matt Vogel
Remember when you’re spraying Flexstar or a generic version, there is a 10-month rotational restriction to corn. If you’re going to be spraying it, I would suggest on getting it sprayed sooner rather than later. — Tyler Gasow
If you have drowned out soybean acres, you can still replant into July. Make sure to contact your seed dealer to make sure they have a maturity and variety that will work on your farm. We hope to dry up enough to replant next week in our area. — Dean Christiansen
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
For a post application in wheat field Liberty Link soybeans, farmers are looking to add a residual product to the mix. A popular mix will apply Liberty at 32 oz/acre tankmixed with Anthem Maxx at 3 oz/acre. Anthem Maxx contains Cadet and Zidua. — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
If you’re still spraying rice pre-flood, I have noticed some yellowing occurring. To help with this, try adding MicroVite to your tank mix at 32 oz/acre. MicroVite is packed with different micronutrients that rice crops need. Adding it will help the rice recover from herbicide applications faster as well. — Ryan Wilson
MONTANA
Great Falls, MT
I’ve had several phone calls over the past week about chlorothalonil (Bravo, Echo) for ascocyhta on chickpeas. It’s a good option if you’re starting early preventative sprays, but understand that it is a contact fungicide only and has no systemic activity, so coverage is crucial. Bravo will give you 7-14 days of residual, and then you will need to switch to a different mode of action like Priaxor or Delaro as plant canopy increases. — Cory Ballard
Sidney, MT
I was driving and scouting fields in the Grenora/Plentywood area on Monday. Early field pea fields are in at least the 10th node stage. Flowering will begin near the 13th node stage, so the application of the grass herbicide needs to be done ASAP. We don’t want crop injury like a couple years ago. There are a lot of narrowleaf hawksbeard plants popping up in pulse crops. There is not much we can do now, but the pre’s in the fall will be a great control factor. I also found hairy nightshade near the Grenora yesterday. Keep scouting for new weeds and diseases. — Chet Hill
NEBRASKA
Seward, NE
Now is the time to be scouting your fields for rootworm larvae. They have hatched so you want to be digging up your roots and looking for any injury. The best way to find the larvae is to take your roots and put them in water. The larvae will float to the top and that will tell you what you have. This will give you a good idea of the rootworm beetle pressure you will have later in the year and allow you to plan your treatment. — Devin Prochaska
West Point, NE
If you haven’t gotten your beans sprayed yet and are planning to use Flexstar or Marvel, it’s time to get these products on. Remember there is a 10-month rotation to corn. — Jared Steffensmeier
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
I’ve had a few questions on tissue sampling corn this week. If the corn is less than 12” tall, cut the plant just above the soil surface and submit the entire plant. If the corn is taller, submit the newest developed leaf under the whorl. Cut it at the collar and submit at least 10 of those, depending on lab instructions. Keep dirt out of your tissues samples and keep them cool and dry while waiting to ship them. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
If you are planning on using Flexstar this year on fields that were also soybeans last year, remember that this product is not allowed to be applied 2 years in a row on the same ground. — Spencer Schultz
Mohall, ND
In no-till soybeans, there have been reports of severe infestations of cutworms. This can be an easy fix to get them in check. Warrior or similar generic pyrethroids at 3.8 oz per acre can be mixed with Roundup. This will give you a clean slate on the cutworms and give you about a week of residual control. — Ron Hefta
SOUTH DAKOTA
Baltic, SD
“Do you think my volunteer corn is dead?” I get this question all the time. If you pull out the center whorl and it is brownish and mushy, then your volunteer corn is dead. The leaves will still be pretty green at this point, but it will die. If that center whorl is still yellow and white, it is either too early to tell or is still alive and healthy. — Tyler Koenig
Freeman, SD
With broadleaves coming on hard in corn, post spraying is picking up. A very price effective option is generic Callisto at 2-3 oz. If your corn is less than 12’’ tall, spiking in atrazine is a great tank mix option because it adds a synergistic effect with Callisto. — Matt Zilverberg
Gettysburg, SD
We have been having really good luck running GrazonNext HL at 28oz/A with 1Q/100 NIS in pastures where thistles, wormwood, and annual broadleaf weeds are present. GrazonNext HL is a mixture of 2,4-D and Milestone giving you a great burndown and residual product. — Eric Butz
Huron, SD
One way to boost weed control when spraying an HPPD chemistry on corn is to add atrazine. These products work great together when sprayed with COC and AMS. — Kyle Wiese
Kimball, SD
For kochia in non-Xtend soybeans, try Cadet at 0.9 oz/acre with your Roundup, AMS, and 1 gal/100 crop oil. — Mike Erickson
Watertown, SD
If you have hard-to-kill weeds like velvetleaf, lambsquarters, and redroot pigweed in your corn or soybeans and don’t want to clean out your tank, Resource is a product that can be used in both crops as a broadleaf helper. Most farmers use it at a rate of 4 oz/acre, but it can be mixed stronger for taller weeds. — Russ Werning
If you are raising any alfalfa and seeing some harmful bugs present, it would be a good idea to spray it with an insecticide such as Silencer at a rate of 3.2 oz/acre. This will control potato leaf hopper and other insects that will slow regrowth after a cutting. — 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
