Minnesota Crop News

The Becker Irrigation and Nutrient Management Field Day will take place on Wednesday, August 21st at the Becker Sand Plain Research Farm. Register online by August 15th at z.umn.edu/BeckerFieldDay2019.

On the day of the event, registration begins at 4:30pm, with the tour and presentations starting at 5pm. Dinner is served at 6:35pm.

Speakers and research topics include:
Assistant Extension professor-irrigation specialist Vasu Sharma: Irrigation management for corn production and water qualityExtension soil fertility specialist Fabian Fernandez: Nitrogen management for irrigated corn and water quality Soil scientist Jeff Vetsch: Potassium fertilization of corn and soybean on irrigated sandsPost-doctoral associate Emerson de Souza: Urea applied with nitrification and urease inhibitors and microbial enhancers to corn and potato crops  Directions to the Becker Sand Plain Research Farm: From the intersection of Highway 10 and Minnesota County Road 11, proceed south to 157th Street SE an…

This will likely be the last small grains disease & pest update for the 2019 cropping season.  If you have not already done so, I encourage you to really evaluate the extent of the FHB infections in your fields (Photo 1)
This is an important first step to not just become aware of the extent of the damages but also to start developing a plan of attack to minimize the impact of these FHB infections on the grain and possibly the straw you will market.

Your first step is to maintain quality and avoid the potential discounts due to low test weight, fusarium damaged kernels and the presence of DON is to segregate the worst affected fields or areas of fields and not co-mingle the grain.  Your second step is to increase the fan speed during harvest to reduce the number of fusarium damaged kernels in the grain tank. Unfortunately, you will also increase your harvest losses as you increase your fan speed as smaller but otherwise sound kernels will also be left in the field.  Often these sma…

In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension Educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Liz Stahl, Crops Extension Educator, to discuss the extensive prevented plant acres in Southwestern MN. It seems “prevent plant” has gone from a rarely used term to a regular part of our lexicon in Minnesota. We discuss the extent of 2019 prevent plant acreage, weed control options, cover crop strategies, and benefits from cover cropping in prevent plant situations. Enjoy!
Listen to the podcastThe Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes.

For a chance to read about various crop management topics, please see our
Minnesota Crop News blog:https://z.umn.edu/cropnewsSign up to receive Minnesota Crop News: https://z.umn.edu/CropNewsSignupFor more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production at http://z.umn.edu/crops.

There are two methods of pre-harvest management that can speed up the small grain harvest: Swathing or applying glyphosate. Because modern varieties allow for it, most wheat and barley is now straight-cut instead of swathed.  Oats are still commonly swathed. A pre-harvest application of glyphosate is only labeled in wheat.

The advantages and disadvantages of the different preharvest management tactics can be found here: https://extension.umn.edu/small-grains-harvest-and-storage/managing-wheat-harvest

If you suspect you have a moderate to high infestation of wheat stem sawfly, swathing may be a good choice to avoid harvest losses. Because wheat stem sawfly migrated into this year wheat crop from adjacent wheat stubble, there is generally a very strong edge effect. To determine if you need to swath edges of fields, sample the wheat crop and determine the percent of plants infested by wheat stem sawflies before harvest. Simply split the stems longitudinally and look for the S-shaped larv…

In this special episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, Extension educator Greg Klinger facilitates a discussion about the Root River Field to Stream Partnership in southeast Minnesota. He's joined by Kevin Kuehner, from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and Ron Meiners, retired Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Manager.
In Part One, they explore the question: How do you build a soil and water conservation project that brings everyone to the table? The podcast tackles the ideas of critical source areas, the needed density and intensity of soil conservation practices, sediment conveyor belts, and all the other things you learn when you walk over 8,000 acres of fields for conservation practices.

Part Two examines what you can learn when you install equipment that collects all the runoff water from a field. What nutrients are being lost in surface runoff? Critical times for runoff, the difference between high-runoff soils and high-erosion soils, what can be d…

If you started evaluating your wheat crop to access the havoc FHB may have caused, you will encounter partially or completely bleached wheat heads.  Not all bleached heads are the result of an FHB infection.  The following key will help you decipher the most likely cause of these white heads.


Is the whole plant white or light green, or is just the head/upper portion of the stem white or lighter green?  If you answer is just the upper portion of the stem, please go to Step 2. Otherwise, go to Step 8. Pull on the white head and see whether the head and uppermost internode, also known as the peduncle, pulls away from the lower portion of the plant.  If you can pull the head and uppermost internode out, go to Step 3, otherwise go to Step 6.Inspect the bottom portion of the peduncle or whole stem that you pulled out.  Does the bottom look like it was cut-off with a sharp instrument, leaving a clean, precise cut?  If yes, go to Step 4, otherwise, go to Step 5.The likely culprit is wheat stem…

Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist

Tassels are visible in some corn fields in Minnesota and will emerge in the remaining fields in the coming days. Tassel emergence occurs shortly after the upper leaves are pointing upward. Tassels and silks emerge at about the same time and indicate the start of pollination. 
The critical period for yield determination in corn begins two weeks before tasseling and lasts until two weeks after tasseling, with the most important time being the week after tasseling. Stress to corn during this period due to dry soil, especially when accompanied by high air temperature, decreases yield by reducing the number of kernels per plant.

Although high air temperatures occurred in much of Minnesota on a few days last week, it is unlikely that they negatively affected corn in most fields. Heat stress has less of an impact on corn during pollination than drought stress, and typically does not occur until air temperature exceeds 86°F with dry soil or 92°F with ad…

By Lizabeth Stahl, Extension Educator in Crops

While cover crops have the potential to provide many benefits, they are planted on a limited number
of acres in Minnesota each year. The program “Cover Crops: Setting up for  Success”, August 20 at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton, will highlight U of MN research that provides management tips and considerations to help farmers and ag professionals successfully incorporate cover crops into Minnesota cropping systems. Registration starts at 8:30 AM, and the program will run 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM.

Welcome to the Fourth IPM Podcast for Field Crops – 2019

Welcome to the fourth IPM Podcast for Field Crops, 2019– this Podcast is sponsored by the UMN Extension Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program. In this week’s podcast, we feature Dr. Robert Koch, Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist for soybean at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Koch provides an overview of summer insect pests to be on the look-out for in July and August, primarily soybean aphid and new Minnesota pest, soybean gall midge.

Dr. Koch discusses the population growth of soybean aphid so far this year and the continued use of the 250-aphid treatment threshold to prevent aphid populations from reaching economically levels. Ongoing insecticide resistance issues and new insecticide options are also reviewed.

Soybean gall midge (SGM) is a new soybean pest in MN, and has been causing significant damage in Rock County in southwestern MN in 2018, and now in 2019. Koch describes what to look for when determining …

Since the Fourth of July holiday temperatures and dew points have been unpleasantly high for small grains. Needless to say, the risk models for FHB have been high for all of Minnesota as the Northern Red River Valley has also received some much-needed rain since my last report two weeks ago.

I have been busy with field days and plot tours across the northern half of the state and scoring diseases in the rye and winter wheat trials in the southern locations.  It wasn't difficult to find FHB in the southern trials and even in some of the northern trials the first few FHB infections could be found.

The first symptoms of FHB take about 7 to 10 days to develop. This week, therefore, is a good time to start accessing how much damage FHB may inflict this year as a lot the spring wheat across the state headed between the 4th and 10th of July.

These early FHB infections have the most impact on grain yield. First, the affected florets and spikelet will produce the tell-tale, chalky-white to…

by Robert Koch (Extension Entomologist) and Bruce Potter (IPM Specialist)

Soybean aphids can now be found in some soybean fields, particularly in fields where soybeans were planted early. Generally, both the percent of plants infested and the average number of aphids per plant remain low. It is too early to know what will come of these soybean aphid infestations for 2019. However, if fields reach treatable levels this year, there are now two additional insecticides available for soybean aphid management. A new insecticide, afidopyropen (Group 9D) (Sefina from BASF) received registration for use in soybean last fall. In addition, sulfoxaflor (Group 4C) (Transform from Corteva) recently regained registration for use in soybean (EPA decision). These products are a welcome addition to the list of insecticides available for soybean aphid management (see table below). Both afidopyropen and sulfoxaflor have proven effective against soybean aphid in our research trials. Unlike the pyrethroids …

By: Dan Kaiser, Extension soil fertility specialist

Low commodity prices prompt ever-increasing questions about what crop inputs are necessary.

Fertilizer represents a major cost in cropping systems, and over-application of nutrients can lead to decreased profitability.

In 2018, the 20% most profitable farms made $24 per acre more than the 20% least profitable farms on rented land, and $21 more on own-ground, according to FINBIN data.

While the use of commercial fertilizers has been vital for increasing and maintaining high productivity, there are a few things to consider that can help to trim fertilizer costs and maintain profitability.

1. Soil tests give you the likelihood that a crop will respond to a nutrient. Soil test results for phosphorus and potassium are indexes of nutrient availability for crops. This index represents the probability that a nutrient is needed. The soil test classification indicates how likely the soil can supply all nutrients the crop needs. A high soil tes…

In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension Educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Seth Naeve, Soybean agronomist, to reflect on 2019 soybean planting. We talk about trend-line yields, later planting dates, soybean maturities, and realistic yield expectations. In addition, we discuss season specific observations: widespread IDC in West Central and Northern Minnesota, soybeans growing in wet/flooded soils, a lack of 2018 fall tillage that lead to more no-till and drilled soybeans, fungicides, and late season management decisions. Enjoy!Listen to the podcastThe Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes.

For a chance to read about various crop management topics, please see our
Minnesota Crop News blog:https://z.umn.edu/cropnewsSign up to receive Minnesota Crop News: https://z.umn.edu/CropNewsSignupFor more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production at http://z.umn.edu/crops.

Jochum Wiersma and Albert Sims

The rather lengthy post that is following below is a partial reprint from a Minnesota Crop News article written in 2006. The purpose of the reprint is to refresh everyone's memory how the current practice of late-season foliar application of nitrogen to improve grain protein came about and what the expected results and pitfalls are.
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The interest to improve grain protein in hard red spring wheat (HRSW) with an in-season application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer usually peaks following years with large grain protein discounts/premiums. With the price outlook of N fertilizer and the desire to reduce overall fertilizer input costs, the practice of in-season applications of nitrogen warrants some review.

The objective of split applications of N is to supply N when the crops needs it and improve the overall N use efficiency and consequently allow maximum grain yield and/or grain protein to …

Jochum Wiersma, Extension small grains specialist

In the past week, I have had several calls about wheat fields that showed severe ‘disease’ on the flag leaf. The symptoms were always described as a dying back of the flag leaf from the tip of the leaf downwards (Photo 1 and 2).


This is not a disease but these symptoms are either caused by hot, dry and windy weather (Photo 1), a physiological phenomenon called leaf tip necrosis (Photo 2), or the combination of both. Some may mistakenly identify this symptomology for barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). Both physiological injuries distinguish themselves from BYDV in the absence of the corn yellow color of the flag leaf but rather show true necrosis in which the leaf tissue has died off.

The weather injury is caused when the tender flag leaf just emerges and is exacerbated with drought stress. The whole tip of the flag leaf tends to be necrotic and will often fold over. Leaf tip necrosis progresses from the margins of the flag leaf tip and…

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, we discuss considerations for fall fertilizer applications. Given the conditions this spring, if fertilizer was applied to a field which didn't end up getting planted, does fertilizer still need to be applied this fall for the 2020 crop? Is there anything new related to nitrogen which growers should be considering for fall application considering our recent wet growing seasons? What about P and K? And micronutrients? Thank you to the Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC) for their support of this podcast.

Jared Goplen and Liz Stahl, Extension educators

A large quantity of forage will likely be harvested from prevented plant acres in Minnesota this year, given the 2019 changes to USDA RMA’s prevented planting rules. Changing the date when cover crops may be hayed or grazed from November 1 to September 1 has opened up a window for livestock producers to produce high quality forage.

There are numerous factors, however, to consider in order to be successful. The University of Minnesota Extension has some great resources to help make these decisions and several are included below. Before making decisions, it is paramount to check with your crop insurance agent to ensure prevented planting payments are not forfeited by utilizing unapproved species or practices.

Cover crop and forage options for prevented plant acres:
https://extension.umn.edu/forage-variety-selection/prevented-plant-cover-crop-and-forage-options
Species Selection Although seed availability can be a challenge this year giv…

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, University of Minnesota researchers meet in Crookston at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center to discuss their ongoing research across the state.

Listen to the podcast

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View the podcast transcript

Support for the Nutrient Management Podcast was provided in part by the Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council (AFREC).

Small Grains Disease & Insect Update 07/08/2019

The risk assessment models for FHB continues to show a near continuous high risk for FHB in all of Minnesota but the northern half of Polk County and the counties of Marshall and Kittson and the eastern beach ridge of the Red River Valley between Thief River Falls and Fergus Falls.  Like last week's update - much of the difference in risk can be explained by overall drier conditions in those areas. 

Aphids, meanwhile, have reached the Canadian border. Scout later seeded spring wheat for aphids and treat fields if the threshold of 80% of the stems having one or more aphids is exceeded prior to heading.

Because of the aforementioned drier conditions in Polk, Marshall, and Kittson counties, grasshopper counts are also on the rise. The threshold to treat field margins is 30 nymphs or 20 adults per square yard. Check not just the field perimeter if the wheat was no-till seeded into standing soybean stubble.  A threshold of 8 to 14 ad…

Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist

Advanced agronomic strategies to increase the profitability of corn production will be the focus of the Advanced Corn Agronomy Summit on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at the University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca.

This new program, developed for ag professionals and crop producers, will address key issues such as hybrid relative maturity and traits, fertilizer use efficiency, innovations in weed control, intensive management strategies, and managing variability across growing environments. Speakers will include Jeff Coulter, Jeff Vetsch, and Tom Hoverstad.

Registration begins at the door at 8:30 AM, with the first session starting at 9:00 AM. The program will be indoors until 12:40 PM and outdoors from 12:40 to 2:00 PM.

CEUs are available for Certified Crop Advisors. The $35 registration fee includes handout materials, refreshments, and lunch. Cash or check only.

More details are on the program webpage: Advanced Co…

The risk assessment model for FHB is, as was expected, trending higher in the first part of this week, with many parts of the state showing a near continuous high risk for FHB. The only exception being the northern half of Polk County and the counties of Marshall and Kittson. I'm sure the lack of any measurable precipitation since the middle of May is the cause of this lower risk for that part of the State 

The hot, humid weather is pushing the development of the wheat crop. I suspect that many of you will be spending the coming days, including tomorrow's holiday, either scouting fields to determine when to spray or in a tractor making an application at Feekes 10.51.

Consult NDSU's Extension bulletin 'Ground Application of Fungicides for Suppression of Fusarium Head Blight in Small Grains' to set up your sprayer correctly and get the most benefit of your fungicide application. 

Prosaro, Caramba, or Miravis Ace applied at Feekes 10.51 (beginning of anthesis) will pr…

Bruce Potter, IPM specialist

The soybean gall midge is new soybean insect pest in Minnesota. At this time, it has been identified in relatively few Minnesota fields but the potential for damage to Minnesota soybeans is significant.

The early season damage caused by this insect is easy to miss but it is also easy to identify once you have seen it.
Attend a scouting clinic We have scheduled two scouting clinics on Thursday, July 11 (10:30 - 11:30 AM and 1:30-2:30 PM). The clinics will be located in Rock County, SW of Luverne, MN.

The objective of these clinics is to provide:
Hands on scouting experienceA brief overview of the current knowledge of this insect and research questions currently being studied in MN and nearby states. It is a very busy time of year but this may be worth your time. If you would like to attend, please sign up for a time at:
Soybean gall midge scouting clinic registration Watch a video Here is a quick video on what to look for if you want to get started before the…

Part Two of this special episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast examines what you can learn when you install equipment that collects all the runoff water from a field. What nutrients are being lost in surface runoff? Critical times for runoff, the difference between high-runoff soils and high-erosion soils, what can be done to limit nutrient losses when the ground is frozen, and Olympic-size swimming pools of runoff are all discussed.

Extension educator Greg Klinger talks about the Root River Field-to-Stream Partnership in southeast Minnesota with Kevin Kuehner, from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and Ron Meiners, retired Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Manager.

Thank you to the Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC) for their support of this podcast.

In this installment of the Gopher Coffee Shop podcast, Extension Educators Ryan Miller and Brad Carlson sit down with Lisa Behnken, Crops Extension Educator, to discuss the abnormal growing season. We relate observations from a challenging growing season to past experiences with weed and nutrient management, and spend a little time talking about our weed management research in Rochester, MN.
Listen to the podcastThe Gopher Coffee Shop Podcast is available on Stitcher and iTunes.

For a chance to read about various crop management topics, please see our
Minnesota Crop News blog:https://z.umn.edu/cropnewsSign up to receive Minnesota Crop News: https://z.umn.edu/CropNewsSignupFor more information, visit University of Minnesota Extension Crop Production at http://z.umn.edu/crops. 


 Enjoy!

In Part One of this special episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, Extension educator Greg Klinger facilitates a discussion about the Root River Field-to-Stream Partnership in southeast Minnesota.

He's joined by Kevin Kuehner, from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and Ron Meiners, retired Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Manager. 
The episode explores the question: How do you build a soil and water conservation project that brings everyone to the table? The podcast tackles the ideas of critical source areas, the needed density and intensity of soil conservation practices, sediment conveyor belts, and all the other things you learn when you walk over 8,000 acres of fields for conservation practices. 
Thank you to the Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC) for their support of this podcast.

University of Minnesota Extension is offering four on-farm Small Grain Summer Plot Tours in Northern MN in July to address small grain production issues, variety performance, and insect and disease pests.

These programs are designed to provide farmers and crop consultants the tools needed to make small grains a successful crop in their operation. This includes information on production agronomics, variety selection, disease identification, fungicide use, fertility, and economics. These programs are interactive and discussion based, featuring a tour of current research plots and discussion of on-farm experiences.
Dates, Locations, and TimesTuesday, July 9, 2019 – Fergus Falls, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Coffee and rolls served at plot tour
John Walkup Farm (GPS: 46.094802, -96.174936)Wednesday, July 10, 2019 – Oklee, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Coffee and rolls served at plot tour
Swenson Seed Farm (GPS: 47.776605, -95.858971)Thursday, July 11, 2019 – Humboldt, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Coffee a…

Micronutrients are “small but mighty” elements required by plants to complete their life cycles. Plants take up less than one pound of micronutrients per acre, with only a few ounces required for optimal crop production. While micronutrients are needed for optimal plant growth, they may not need to be applied.

Essential micronutrients include boron, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. For some plants, molybdenum, chloride, or nickel may be important. Elements like cobalt sodium, silicon, and selenium are also considered beneficial, as they may not impact plants directly but can affect processes in the soil that have an impact on plant growth and development.

Since plant requirements for micronutrients are small, most soils supply adequate amounts. Many micronutrients are metals, and their availability can be impacted by soil pH. Solubility and availability of some micronutrients decreases as pH increases. However, high pH soil does not necessarily mean that micronutrients need to be …