FUNDED BY THE ILLINOIS SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION CHECKOFF PROGRAM.

August 2018

Take Your Seeds Off Before Entering

Common manners suggest that you remove your shoes before entering someone’s home as a guest. Does this etiquette apply to entering a farmer’s field? During a recent scouting day, I encountered an area of Palmer amaranth next to a field I was exiting. If you don’t already know it, Palmer is our next big weed challenge. And if you thought controlling waterhemp was tough—Palmer is even tougher. As I observed the population of weeds in the soybean field, I decided to get a closer look and walk along the ditch to see if it was truly Palmer amaranth. A [...]

By |August 30, 2018|

How to improve continuous soybean rotations

This past season farmers planted 10.9 million acres of soybeans in llinois, up 3% from the previous year, according to the latest USDA NASS survey. A portion of these acres were the result of soybeans following soybeans in the crop rotation. What are some of the considerations we should have when planning a monoculture crop rotation such as beans after beans, and what are some practices that we can adopt to minimize the environmental impacts? Fragile Residue We know that soybean residue is very fragile and even with a minimum amount of disturbance of the soil from tillage it [...]

By |August 28, 2018|

There is an app for that…

Over the course of the 2018 growing season, I was challenged to review a few different soybean-scouting apps that are available on both iOS and Android platforms. And, after sampling several options that are currently available, I found some were informative but rather difficult to maneuver, or just too plain clumsy and complicated to make them of use in my opinion. However, I did find one app that suited my taste and impressed me in several respects. The Soybean Field Scout for Android and iOS – 2017 edition, created by the Purdue Crop Diagnostic Training and Research & Purdue [...]

By |August 22, 2018|

WEBINAR: Nitrogen Management Systems in Tile Drained Fields: Optimizing Yields and Minimizing Losses

Lowell Gentry will demonstrate annual nutrient losses from tile drained agricultural watersheds in east central Illinois and will focus on a replicated tile drainage study under a corn/soybean rotation. Our research group monitors 36 tile lines on one farm which accommodates 6 nitrogen treatments with 3 replicates and both crops. Treatments range from fall nitrogen application to split applications (spring and side-dress) with a cover crop. The major objective of the study is to evaluate the yield response and the tile nitrate losses associated with each of the N management systems. Additionally, this study will determine when and how [...]

By |August 21, 2018|

Estimating Soybean Yield

It has been a pretty good year for corn and soybeans across the Corn Belt and many of you may be wondering about your potential crop yields. For corn, the yield component method is a pretty good indicator of yield and if you do enough subsamples in a field you will get a pretty good idea. However, soybean yield is notoriously difficult to predict even though the math seems fairly simple: plants per acre x pods per plant x seeds per pod x weight per seed and then convert that value to bushels. If it works for corn it [...]

By |August 21, 2018|

Soybeans, White Mold and SDS – Oh My!

It’s early August in Northern Illinois and it’s time to start wrapping up the 2018 soybean crop. Granted, August rains can add some yield, but for the most part the soybeans are made, though not in the bin. Now is the time we must evaluate whether sudden death syndrome (SDS) and white mold, which may have infected the crop in earlier development stages, continued to grow and will ultimately cause yield loss by harvest. In May and June, I tried out a new mobile app that will help predict the need to treat soybeans for the infection of white [...]

By |August 18, 2018|

Fungicide-Herbicide Compatibility

Fungicide applications can be viewed as a “free trip” for some herbicides, but make sure you are spraying on-label. If not, it could be costing you more than just bushels. As we are approaching the tail end of the growing season, many growers and ag retailers are wrapping up soybean fungicide applications this week. August is a make-or-break month for soybean growers across Illinois. And while there are areas affected with drought throughout the state, most of the soybean acres look fantastic. I am betting that we’ll see some of the biggest soybean yields coming out of the 2018 [...]

By |August 16, 2018|

PODCAST: Flying High with Aerial Imagery

Kris Ehler, sales agronomist with Ehler Brothers Co. in Thomoasboro, IL and 2018 CCA Soy Envoy, has recently had the opportunity to check out some AKER and IntelinAir aerial imagery products and is excited to share his feedback and experience with our listeners. Listen to the podcast here:

By |August 15, 2018|

Top 5 Tips for Pushing Pod Fill

Over the past 5 years, soybean yields have increased to a new standard. These gains can be directly correlated to the success of modern breeding practices, in combination with the implementation of modern and better agronomic practices. To produce higher and more consistent yields, it’s all about bloom and pod retention. A soybean plant has been known to abort up to 70% of its blooms and/or pods, to create an equilibrium the plant feels it can support. This abortion dynamic is influenced by nutrient availability, the amount of stress and the duration of the stress during the reproductive stages. [...]

By |August 13, 2018|

Now’s an Opportune Time to Scout for SCN

Originally posted via University of Nebraska-Lincoln CROPWATCH July through August is a good time to check soybean fields for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), the most devastating pest for soybean growers in Nebraska and across the United States. Yield losses of 25 – 30% have been documented in fields with no visible injury on the soybean plants. That is why detection of SCN is so important. You need to know if it is present in your field, so you can start managing it if it is there. SCN cysts develop on soybean roots about a month after soybeans emerge and [...]

By |August 10, 2018|
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