PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA, NE PERMIT NO. 36
Section
A
Volume VIII, Issue 6
JUNE 2014
Scouting report
Field agronomists urge farmers to watch for early season pests by Gordon Wolf Iowa State University Extension field agronomists surveyed by the Iowa Farm & Ranch encouraged farmers to keep an eye out for early season pests. Clarke McGrath, ISU Extension field agronomist in west central Iowa, said farmers should keep an eye on their fields on roughly a weekly basis from planting throughout the growing season to scout for pests. “Right now we are keeping an eye out for early season insect pests like black cutworms in corn and bean leaf beetles in soybeans,” he said. “We haven’t seen much of either.” He continued that farmers should also watch for weed issues so they can get them under control earlier rather than later. “A lot of post emergent herbicides will go on in the next month or so,” McGrath said “Corn will be the focus the next couple weeks, and then we’ll quickly transition to soybean spraying.” Joel DeJong, ISU Extension field agronomist serving northwest Iowa, said farmers should watch for black cutworms on small corn and if over-thresholdlevels of plants cut, insecticidal treatment might be warranted. “Stalk borers are beginning to migrate out of ditches and field borders into outside rows of corn,” he added. “Scout for their movement, and consider treating outside rows if you don’t have hybrids out there that have resistance
traits for this pest in them. Keep scouting for weeds and treat when still small,” DeJong added. Paul Kassel, ISU Extension field agronomist stationed in northern Iowa, also encouraged farmers to check for black cutworm and to check soybean stands and populations. In his June 2 Integrated Agronomics bulletin, Mark Johnson, ISU Extension field agronomist serving portions of northern and central Iowa, said he had noticed waterhemp and other weeds emerging in several fields he has been in. “It is best to spray for that soon as it is much easier to control while it is not yet four inches tall,” Johnson wrote. “Also, the later you spray many herbicides, for instance, Flexstar, the more chance of carryover problems next year.” He continued that with later soybean planting this year, farmers should keep in mind the 10-month rotation interval for next year’s corn. Johnson also wrote that potential for interactions between post herbicides and soil insecticides exist, and encouraged farmers to check both labels. “The biggest concern is with Counter insecticide - the same plant enzyme used to metabolize the insecticide is used to metabolize some herbicides, in this case ALS herbicides,” he said. Johnson stated, “Using both pesticides in the same crop year can overload the plant metabolic processes.”
The fresh crop of corn has popped up throughout western Iowa. These rows turn the corner to miss the big barn. by Bruce A. Binning
Photo