The Ag PhD Crop Scouting Reports are supplied by Hefty Seed Co., based in Baltic, South Dakota. Find more online at www.agphd.com and www.heftyseed.com.
IDAHO
Buhl, ID
Keep monitoring tissue tests on your crops. It’s not too late to influence yield. — Tyson Goossen
ILLIONOIS
Georgetown, IL
Crops are currently looking very good as fungicide applications have come to an end in our area. There have been a few escapes in some bean fields and customers are already looking at what options they have going to go to into next season. Talk to your local agronomist about Liberty and Xtend beans or overlapping residuals as an option for better control next season. — Evan Zimmerman
Princeton, IL
I realize harvest is not very far away, especially with above normal heat units this summer, but it’s too soon to quit scouting your fields. There’s still time for insects to get in beans and hurt yield. — Kyle Bickett
Manual extraction may be your best waterhemp control program this late in the season. Hand pulling will work with great effectiveness. Very thick patches may require mowing and following up with a spray application to kill the small ones underneath. Any extra effort now helps you next year. — John Becker
Corn plants have been progressing through pollination nicely throughout the region. Now is the time to start evaluating corn hybrids on how they are progressing and taking note of any disease/insect pressure to take care of. — Matt Denton
IOWA
Rockwell, IA
A lot of large crabgrass is in the lawns this year. You can use Acclaim Extra at 39 oz per acre or you can use Drive XLR8 at 64 oz per acre. — Lynn Weier
Sheldon, IA
There’s several yield factors beyond a farmer’s control, but insect pressure can usually be managed. Soybean fields are getting to their reproductive stage and yields hang in the balance. Scout every field now to see the amount and type of pressure there is; keep a close eye to see if conditions warrant treatment. — Ed Najera
MINNESOTA
Breckenridge, MN
When spraying fungicide on your sugar beets, remember to make sure you aren’t waiting too long to make the next application. Products like Tin and Topsin can hold for 7 – 10 days, whereas Inspire or Priaxor/Headline can hold for 14 to 21 days. Also, checking the online Minn-Dak sugarbeet cercospora rating will help make the decisions of when to spray depending on the severity of the disease due to weather conditions. — Tia Haugrud
Fairmont, MN
There is bug activity with mostly aphids increasing in our area. Expect things to ramp up fast with aerial spraying. Consider adding a fungicide or foliar product to the mix as it will pay to invest in your plants health. Hot weather is ahead. — Steve Draper
Hancock, MN
Aphids are spotty in our area. There are some hot spots that have been sprayed already, and there are also many places where no aphids have been seen. There are many cheap options that growers can use to kill aphids. For around $2/acre for a generic pyrethroid you can gain control of these pests. Keep in mind that spraying insecticides when there are no aphids around, just because it is cheap, is not a good idea. You will kill the beneficial insects present in the field and that could do more harm than good. — Aaron Giese
Soybean aphid hot spots have been sprayed in the last 10 days or so. Soybean aphids are reaching economic thresholds in areas in northern and eastern Pope County. The reports are showing that the aphid numbers are doubling population every few days. Aphid counts in the 10 -20 per plant range 10 days ago are now 300-600 (as of July 21st). Many areas in west central Minnesota are just about a week or so behind in aphid counts. Keep scouting some new areas to find the pest, then monitor those areas to find out when the best timing for treatment should be done. — Adam Gibson
Janesville, MN
Scouting fields continues to be an important thing to be doing. We are starting to see aphids showing up in the non-treated soybeans around field edges in small numbers. Aphid counts can grow rapidly under the right conditions. Now is a good time to be talking with your agronomist to be making plan for if/when they arrive in your field. — Cody Dobberstein
LeRoy, MN
When you are out scouting your soybean fields for aphids, something else to be on the lookout for is the sclerotia associated with white mold. So far we haven’t seen a lot of white mold, but have seen an abundance of sclerotia. If you do unfortunately have a white mold issue this year there isn’t anything you can do now except for learn how to manage fields in the future. If a field has very high pressure, consider a fall application of Contans, rotating to a non-susceptible crop, variety selection, or utilizing foliar fungicides. — Katie Ristau
Marshall, MN
Soybean aphid levels in the area are on the rise but can greatly vary from field to field. Scouting each field is essential to determine whether or not you need to start control measures. — John Wiese
In the past week we have been seeing more aphids in the fields. Many guys in our area have been using a combination product such as Cobalt Advanced at 13 to 16 ounces per acre. There is still time to put on a fungicide, such as Equation, depending on the growth stage of your soybeans. Be sure to be scouting your fields daily. — Jeff Gladis
Olivia, MN
Aphids are starting to show up in the area in small numbers. Be sure to be scouting your fields. — John Scheibel
Soybean aphids started showing up last week around Renville County. The aphid population has increased this week. Many farmers are looking to spray later this week or sometime next week. — Aaron Spronk
Ulen, MN
Keep in mind we are not out of the woods yet on bugs. With aphid numbers down there has been less spraying so far, but keep your eye open for the next couple of weeks yet. Also there are areas that have not had a lot of rain so spider mites may still be a factor; watch the light ground and sandy spots first. There is a large number of hoppers in hay and grass fields that have been cut for harvest, you may want to spray those and keep watch for where they go. Have a great August! — Greg Peterson
Winthrop, MN
We are now getting reports of higher aphid numbers in our area. Products such as Kendo (generic Warrior) are only about $2.00 per acre, so clean up these acres before they can cause yield loss. — Dean Christiansen
Looks like the aphids numbers are slowly on the rise, Kendo at 3.84 oz/acre will do a good job controlling them. If you’re looking for a product with 2 different modes of action, I like Cobalt Advanced at 16 oz/acre. — Tyler Gasow
MISSOURI
Bertrand, MO
Now would be a good time to consider applying a fungicide and an insecticide to your soybeans. Something to consider would be Equation at 3 oz/acre and Mustang Maxx at 3 oz/acre combined for a cost of around $5.00/acre. — Albert Duenne
Some area farmers are applying fungicide and if necessary insecticides now. For about $5-$6/acre, you are only talking about the cost of a half bushel of soybeans. If you increase yields by 5 bu/acre, that’s a great return on investment. — Albert Duenne
Hayti, MO
Zinc and boron applications can give you a big yield increase on you cotton acres. It can be easily added to your insecticide or PGR application. — Danny Stevens
Diamond insecticide has been a good product for control of plant bugs in cotton. Using diamond at 6 oz with your bidrin or acephate will kill the eggs, nymphs, and adult plant bugs getting some farmers 2 weeks of control. — Eric Luye
MONTANA
Great Falls, MT
As we get on our way with harvest, keep in mind how important it is to protect our crop in the bin from insects. A good product would be Dusta-cide Max Kill 6 at a use rate of 10 lb/1,000 bushels. This product is used as an insecticide as well as a miticide. — Shawnea Ramer
Glyphosate has been reported to inhibit manganese (Mn) uptake in plants from soil. Glyphosate is a strong nutrient chelator and can immobilize micronutrients through enzyme inhibition and reduce micronutrient efficiency. These responses have only been seen in micronutrient deficient soils and can be managed by applying micronutrients as warranted by soil test analysis and fertilizer recommendation. — Emery Giskaas
Adding Vida at 1 oz to your fallow ground or pre-plant burndown ahead of winter wheat will help with hard to control weeds. It has good activity on bedstraw, bindweed, buckwheat and prickly lettuce along with numerous other weed species. There are no plant-back restrictions for wheat and only 1 day for most crops. Vida can also be applied up to flag leaf stage in wheat. — Joe Ramer
Sidney, MT
Pulse crop harvest is under way. Desiccants can be important in speeding up the harvest process. Make sure to use plenty of water, surfactant, and maybe an AMS. — Chet Hill
NEBRASKA
Laurel, NE
I’m starting to see some aphids showing up in the soybeans. There is also getting to be a fair amount of grasshoppers working around the outsides the fields with a few bean leaf beetles around as well. There are several insecticides to choose from starting at $2.00/acre so make sure you’re scouting your fields. — Rusty Reifenrath
Now is the time to spray fungicide on soybeans. Many local fields are now in R3 with some even reaching R4. With the recent rains in the area it looks like it will again be a good year to spray. Last year we had reports of up to 13 bushel increase in soybean yield. — Kody Urwiler
West Point, NE
Be scouting your soybean fields at this time. A combination of a fungicide/ insecticide application is usually a very good return on investment. — Jared Steffensmeier
NORTH DAKOTA
Hurdsfield, ND
With harvest started, it is time to think about soil testing. Soil testing right behind the combine will give you great results, you know it gets done, and you’ll have information to start planning for next year. Do not wait until after some of the low spots or entire fields have been tilled. This can result in inaccurate test results. Fertilizer is a big investment; a soil sample is well worth the cost when deciding on how to make that investment. — Emily Kline
Lisbon, ND
Soybean aphids are beginning to show up in relatively low numbers (5-20 per plant). For less than $2/acre you can take care of them so keep an eye on them to see if you should be spraying. — Spencer Schultz
There is still time to foliar feed most soybeans. I recommend Sure-K at 2 to 3 gallons per acre. — Brian Weight
Mohall, ND
A good mixture for cover crops is either turnips, radishes, or sugar beets mixed in with a crop like barley. Note that if you have sprayed a product that contained Imazamox as an active ingredient you cannot plant turnips, radishes, or sugar beets in that field for 18 months. — Wyatt Thompson and Madison Southam
Webster, ND
It is time for pre-harvest application of glyphosate to wheat. Make applications at the hard dough stage. Shell out some heads and dent the kernel with a fingernail. If it stays dented it’s hard dough. The use rate can be anywhere from 22-32 oz per acre, depending on the form of glyphosate you are using. You can also spike in 2,4-D or Banvel to help kill large broadleaf escapes from earlier applications. Add 8.5 pounds of ammonium sulfate per 100 gallons of water. Do not apply on wheat or barley grown for seed because reduced germination and seedling vigor can occur. — Jim Sitar
Wilton, ND
Since harvest season has started in our area, we should be scouting for grasshoppers moving out of harvested or dried down wheat and into crops that are still growing. They usually begin to feed in the field edges first and as they become more mobile can move further into the crop. The economic threshold for adult grasshoppers is 8-14 per square yard in field and 21-40 per square yard in field margins. If grasshoppers become an issue for your crops, there are many insecticides labeled for use on them. — Jamie Schonert
SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen, SD
We haven’t been seeing much for soybean aphids in our area, but grasshoppers are out in full force. It only takes about 1 grasshopper/square foot to justify spraying a cheap pyrethroid like Silencer for $2/acre. — Tanner Johnson
Baltic, SD
We did find some white mold in our soybeans the other day. If you are out spraying for aphids, make sure to scout for diseases so a fungicide can be added if needed. Domark would be a good choice if white mold is present. — Lee Fischer
Centerville, SD
We have had a few reports of fall armyworms and aphids moving in the area. Use 3.8 oz of Silencer to take care of these pests. — Travis Petty
Freeman, SD
You should be scouting your soybean fields. Soybean aphids can cause a lot of damage. Generic Warrior at 3.84 oz per acre will take care of them and give you a little residual. — Lee Dockendorf
There is a lot of prevent plant acres or low areas that never got planted and are now getting dry enough to spray around the Freeman, SD area. Using a generic gramoxone such as Parashot or Parazone at the 2 pint per acre rate could be an option. Always remember to use AMS at 2.5 lbs per acre, MSO at 1 gal per 100 gals water, and always use at least 20 gallons of spray coverage per acre. — Josh Horstman
Gettysburg, SD
If you have some late thistles in your pastures, apply GrazonNext at 24 oz/acre with 1 qt/100 NIS. — Kyle Hawkinson
Huron, SD
With soybeans reaching the R3 growth stage now would be the time to apply a fungicide to prevent disease from infecting the plant and help to obtain a better yield, for the cost of about $3 per acre. For fungicide it would a good ROI to consider this. — Norland Hofer
Kimball, SD
Scout your soybean fields for grasshoppers. Our area is seeing many fields being defoliated. A generic Warrior, like Kendo, at 3.84 oz/acre does a good job and will give you some residual. — Mike Erickson
Some growers in the area are making one last pass across the bean fields. Whether it is fungicides, insecticides, or herbicide, if spraying Roundup with any of these, throw in 2 oz of MegaGro to help it perform better. — Jeremy Nedved
New Underwood, SD
Sunflowers are still looking good out here. I have been seeing some bug action in the later planted sunflowers so make sure you’re out scouting to get the bugs before too much damage is done. — Tyler Price
Roscoe, SD
Don’t let insects ruin your crops this year. Insect numbers are pretty low in our area as a whole as we have found very few soybean aphids. There are a few bean leaf beetles in our area but we have sighted more further to the east of us. Grasshoppers have been the only major insect in our area with our heaviest spots in the headlands and field boarders. You can get great grasshopper control using a full rate of Silencer costing about $2/acre. — Eric Butz
Watertown, SD
The soybeans in the Watertown area are approaching the R3 – R4 stage. It would be a good time to apply Domark fungicide at a rate of 5oz/acre to protect against white mold. — Russ Werning
WASHINGTON
Farmington, WA
Please consult with your seed marketing dealer if you are considering a burndown product on lentils (and other pulse crops) such as Sharpen. It is labeled in the US but the EU has not approved a MRL (Maximum Residue Level) for lentils. Your seed dealer should have a MRL table and should know what is allowed. — Jamie Rovey
Quincy, WA
With a lot of dry beans reaching the R1-R3 stage and the weather taking a drop in temperature with rain in the forecast, disease prevention should be at the top of our to do list. Endura at 8-11 oz/acre with an NIS will have great protection. — Danny Hopkins
