The 2015 growing season was rather wet in parts of east-central and south-east Iowa. Most of the above normal precipitation fell in the last half of May and June in east-central Iowa, whereas the wettest two months in south-east Iowa tended to be June and July (Table 1). Regardless of when the rain fell, this…
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The 2015 growing season at the Walcott research farm was wetter and cooler than normal. June and July were particularly wet, with about 14.5 inches of precipitation falling in these two months alone. The wet weather caused periodic ponding and nitrogen loss which was noticeable in the corn, particularly in the lowest laying parts of…
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It seems like a funny time of year to debate the agronomic differences between ortho- and poly-phosphates in liquid starter fertilizers. I have been asked this question before, but the question has arisen again. So what are the differences, and, from a practical perspective, does it matter? Article Summary Liquid starters that contain 80-to-100% phosphorus (P)…
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The Liqui-Grow locations and surrounding vicinity in east-central and southeast IA—as well as those in northwest IL—have experienced above normal precipitation in the 2015 growing season. Precipitation ranged from about 19-to-28 inches for the period from May 1 through August 25, with most of this precipitation falling in June and July. This excess precipitation has caused…
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In my first agronomy update regarding fungicides for corn in 2015, we found that when some foliar diseases are present, foliar fungicides tend to increase yields more than when there are no diseases present. In addition to this not so surprising finding, we also discovered that environments most at-risk for foliar disease development tended to…
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Last week, we determined foliar pesticide applications to soybean in 2015 will likely be a profitable business decision. In fact, we discovered that insurance based applications would have, on average, been profitable over the last several years. So for corn, will insurance-based foliar fungicide applications pay in 2015? If not, can we target or “predict”…
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With soybean prices falling from historical highs—and more than a decade of research evaluating “protective” (just in case) applications of foliar fungicides and insecticides—what have we learned? Does this practice pay? Article Summary The more than 500 trials I’ve summarized from across the Central and Northern Corn-Belt suggests fungicide alone, or fungicide+insecticide applied as a…
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I leave you with the following comments and reflections in this, my final blog. Ag Life Our crop at the Agronology 10 Research Center was planted later than normal and experienced some rather significant weather events. At growth stage V5 to V6, a straight line wind flattened the entire corn crop. Then, at V10 to V12 the crop…
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Today through March 31, 2015, the farmer has the vitally important opportunity to reallocate their farm’s base acres and/or update yields to reflect current practices. Additionally, the farm can also make the decision for the five year period, 2014 through 2018, for Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). Learn more For further…
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Dr. Fred Below and others at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that rootworm traited corn requires more potassium than non-rootworm traited corn. Dr. Below reported that a 200 bu/a corn crop will take up 274 lbs. K20 per acre or approximately 1.4 lbs. K20 per bushel produced. In his study, he utilized six different hybrid…
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