Research Updates

Test plots showing sorghum (center) and other crops double-cropped after field peas in Saunders County in eastern Nebraska.

Double Cropping Pulses with Short-Season Crops, Forages, and Cover Crops in Eastern Nebraska

September 6, 2018
A research project in eastern Nebraska is evaluating a double crop production system as a potential alternative to the traditional corn/soybean rotation. Following an early season crop of yellow field peas, short-season crops (corn, soybean, grain sorghum, millet and sunflower) and annual forages (forage sorghum and sorghum-Sudangrass) were planted.

Read more

Comparison of two wheat research plots near Scottsbluff. On the left is an untreated control plot with a heavy infestation of downy brome and feral rye. On the right the same population of grassy weeds was treated with Aggressor herbicide, part of the CoAXium Wheat Production System.
Figure 1. Comparison of two wheat research plots near Scottsbluff. On the left is an untreated control plot with a heavy infestation of downy brome and feral rye. On the right the same population of grassy weeds was treated with Aggressor herbicide, part of the CoAXium Wheat Production System.

CoAXium™ Wheat Production System and Aggressor™ Herbicide for Controlling Grassy Weeds

August 30, 2018
A new herbicide-tolerant wheat production system was officially unveiled in 2018 and offers growers a new means to control grassy annual weeds in wheat.

Read more

Each year more than 100 research trials are conducted at the South Central Agriculture Laboratory near Harvard. The Aug. 29 SCAL Field Day invites the public to view and learn about the most recent research from UNL and USDA scientists.
Figure 1. Each year more than 100 research trials are conducted at the South Central Agriculture Laboratory near Harvard. The Aug. 29 SCAL Field Day invites the public to view and learn about the most recent research from UNL and USDA scientists.

View Latest Crop and Pest Research at South Central Ag Lab Aug. 29

August 17, 2018
Tour field trials focused on irrigation and water management, soil fertility, entomology, weed science, cropping systems, and disease management at this year's South Central Ag Lab Field Day Aug. 29.

Read more

Figure 1. A view of all four treatments of a corn residue and cover crop experiment at the South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center. Top left is cereal rye with 60% corn residue removal; top right is cereal with corn residue. Bottom left is no cereal rye with 60% corn residue removal; bottom right is corn residue and no cover crop (control).
Figure 1. A view of all four treatments from a corn residue and cover crop experiment at the South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center. Top left is cereal rye with 60% corn residue removal; top right is cereal with corn residue. Bottom left is no cereal rye with 60% corn residue removal; bottom right is corn residue and no cover crop (control).

Cover Crop and Crop Residue Management: How Does it Affect Soil Water in the Short and Long Term?

August 13, 2018
How you manage your soil today impacts its productivity tomorrow. This article focuses on how plant residue management and cover crop use affect water infiltration and plant available water.

Read more

Field of wheat

UNL to Study Possible Link Between Wheat Protein Levels and Fertilizer

August 9, 2018
University researchers will be conducting a two-year study to see how grain quality, yield, and field stands are affected by nitrogen fertilizer rates and application timing. The trials will be conducted across the state and with variations in the amount of precipitation received.

Read more

Weed control research in dry bean plots
A review of multiple studies conducted on weed management in dry beans in the US and Canada indicated that without weed control, yield losses could be as much as $720 million per year. (Photo by Nevin Lawrence)

What Would Happen if We Stopped Controlling Weeds?

July 19, 2018
A recent study of 10 years of research in key dry bean production areas of the US and Canada showed the value of weed management. Without weed control losses were estimated at $720 million.

Read more

Rezaul Mahmood (left), co-leader of the GRAINEX project, talks with a student and co-leader Eric Rappin (right) of Western Kentucky University.
Rezaul Mahmood (left), co-leader of the GRAINEX project, talks with a student and co-leader Eric Rappin (right) of Western Kentucky University.

Husker-led Research Team to Examine Irrigation's Role in Precipitation

July 16, 2018
A national team led by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is studying potential links among irrigation, cloud formation and rainfall from a 3,600-square-mile region in southeastern Nebraska.

Read more