Upcoming Plot Tours
Soybean Plots -- Fosston --
July 30
Corn Fertility Plot -- Moorhead -- July 31
Soybean, Corn, and Fertility Plots -- Crookston --
July 31
Corn Fertility Plots -- Ogema -- August 1
Single-Generation European Corn Borer
Emergence, Egg laying, and Hatch Delayed
Even with the widespread usage of
Bt
corn for corn borer management, the European corn borer (ECB) is
still the region’s number one insect pest of corn. The
Bt
corn has helped take much of the guesswork out of management. Yet,
we still have our refuge acres that are required under the
resistance management program requirements. These acres should still
be monitored for the presence of economic populations of borers to
prevent losses at these sites.
Corn
Growing Degree Days (GDD) Behind
This probably isn’t earth shattering news. If degree days are behind
for the insects, then the crops are behind, too. Currently, we are
running 100 to 160 GDD behind from a May 2, 2008 start date compared
to the 5-year average.
Brown Root
Rot of Alfalfa:
A subtle threat to forage production in Minnesota
Brown root rot (BRR) of alfalfa has been identified in several
states in the U.S. since 1996, but it has been known as a damaging
disease of alfalfa, sweet clover, and grass crops in Canada since
the 1920s. During 2003,
Phoma
sclerotioides, the pathogen
responsible for the disease, was recovered from roots of diseased
alfalfa plants in northwest Minnesota.
Soybean Aphid Speed Scouting:
An Overview
It is that time again to
focus on soybean aphid scouting. It is also the time I like to
promote the scouting procedure called
“Speed Scouting” by the
researchers who developed it. The method speeds up making decisions
on whether to treat or not.
Access the Research Presented at the First
Organic Research Symposium
The first Organic Research Symposium was co-hosted by the Organic
Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) and Midwest Organic & Sustainable
Education Service (MOSES) February 21-23, in conjunction with The
Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference.
