May 31, 2019

CropWatch May 31, 2019

Corn and Soybean Production

Figure 1. The degree of damage from standing water in this field will depend on several factors and likely will lead to direct yield losses or indirect losses from increased disease pressure.
Figure 1. The degree of damage from standing water in this field will depend on several factors and likely will lead to direct yield losses or indirect losses from increased disease pressure.

Response of Germinating and Early Season Soybeans to Flooding

Injury to germinating and seedling soybean from flooding depends on several factors, including soybean growth stage, flood duration, and air and soil temperature and varies the varieties. Pythium and Phytophthora are two diseases to scout for after flooding.
Part of a row of corn struggling to survive
These plants, in a Clay County corn field, are in deep water and deep trouble! The bright vibrant greens of typical V2 to V3 seedlings are replaced with sickly yellows, indicating plummeting chlorophyll readings and photosynthesis. Roots of these oxygen-starved plants are no longer growing and are likely dying. The soil to which they are anchored has changed dramatically and full plant recovery is likely not possible. (Photos by Roger Elmore)

Corn Establishment and Growth in Saturated Soils: A Brief Review of New Research

How long can seedling corn survive under flooded conditions? A review of current scientific literature offers new understandings of when and how plant injury occurs and what factors affect it.
Planting plots in the 2019 UNL-TAPS program
Figure 1. Planting plots in the 2019 UNL-TAPS program at the West Central Research and Education Center near North Platte. (Photos by Krystle Rhoades)

Hybrid Selection Sets TAPS Contests Up for a Unique Year

Competitors in the three divisions of this year's UNL-TAPS contest have selected their seed and seeding rate. Additional research was added this year to look at production functions such as seed selection.

Wheat Production

Figure 1. Stripe rust in a grower’s field in Perkins County on May 30.
Figure 1. Stripe rust in a grower’s field in Perkins County on May 30. (Photos by Stephen Wegulo)

Stripe Rust Confirmed in Nebraska Wheat

Stripe rust was confirmed this week in a wheat field in Perkins County. During a two-day survey of fields in south central and southwest Nebraska, Septoria tritici blotch, tan spot, powdery mildew, and fungal leaf spots were also found at low levels.

Weather

GFS forecast for early June
GFS forecast for early June

Warmer, Drier Conditions Forecast for June

After extended rains and cool temperatures, Climatologist Al Dutcher reports that a considerably drier forecast may be unfolding as the calendar turns to June.

Pest Management

Marestail

Control of Glyphosate-Resistant Marestail with Post-Emergence Herbicides in Corn and Soybean

Several post-emergence herbicides are available for control of marestail where spring weather may have interfered with application or efficacy of early spring burndown and/or pre-emergence herbicide applications.
ECB adult female

Light Trap Data Available Online

UNL Extension Entomology is monitoring crop insect pests (primarily moths) using black light traps at university facilities at North Platte, Clay Center, Mead and Concord.

On-Farm Research

Farmers at On-Farm Research Network meeting
Figure 1. Growers surveyed about why they conduct on-farm research said that, among other benefits, they appreciated getting to share their results and talk with other growers about their research at winter meetings.

Study Highlights Motivations and Impact of Participating in an On-Farm Research Network

Forty Nebraska growers participating in the On-Farm Research Network recently shared why they conduct on-farm research and what it's meant to be part of a group of researchers. The results, published in the Agronomy Journal, illustrate a range of benefits, including cost savings and economic gains.

Farm Management

Tax Consequences of Weather-Related Sales

How do tax laws apply to crop and livestock losses due to flooding and should they be applied this year? Consider the effects for 2019, 2020 and afterward from using some of these options.

Alfalfa Production

Raise Cutting Height With Delayed First Alfalfa Cutting

When alfalfa harvest is delayed, check for the height of new shoots that will become your second cutting and adjust your cutting height if needed.

IANR & Extension

Andrew Little

Meet Andrew Little, Extension Wildlife Specialist

Working at the confluence of sometimes competing interests – wildlife conservation and agricultural production – Andrew Little helps identify problems and develop solutions.

What Can be Salvaged from Flood-Damaged Gardens?

If your gardens were affected by recent flooding, can you use the fruits (and vegetables) of your labors or are they contaminated? Extension Educator John Porter addresses this issue in a recent article in GRO Big Red: Food Safety in Flooded Vegetable Gardens.

Crop Report

Planting Still Lagging with Corn at 81%, Soybean, 56%

With cool, rainy conditions, planting progress was slow last week and remains behind normal, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service report for Nebraska. There were just 2.2 days suitable for fieldwork.