Minnesota Crop News

Dan Kaiser, University of Minnesota Extension nutrient management specialist, recently updated the publication Fertilizer Guidelines for Agronomic Crops in Minnesota for the first time since 2011. Here are some common questions he gets about the guidelines for corn and his answers. How should growers use the fertilizer rate guidelines? We know there can be variability from field to field, and even within a field, in terms of fertility requirements. What our fertilizer rate guidelines provide is a starting point for growers and advisors, backed up by real world data. One of the main focuses of our Nitrogen Smart program is to start with the university-suggested rate and adjust a little bit up or down based on what you know about your field. For example, this year , following a dry 2021 growing season, would have been a good year to take a pre-plant  nitrate test (PPNT)  to see if there’s some carryover nitrogen (N) left in the soil that you could credit for this year’s crop. Then, you

While the title is a not-so-subtle reference to Charles Dicken's novel, there is a lot less intrigue in this case.  The results of the very dry seedbed combined with a lack of meaningful precipitation in the week or weeks following seeding have become very visible in wheat, barley, and oat fields in the last week or so (Photo 1). At first glance, this may look like a mix of two different varieties of wheat. A closer inspection makes you realize that this is the same variety at completely different growth stages rather than two different varieties.   Photo 1 - A field of spring wheat near Crookston with two crops that are more than a week apart in their growth and development The challenge ahead is how to harvest these two crops without either an increase in dockage, a loss of quality, or both. The published data on the effect of swathing grain prior to physiological maturity (the point in the development of the crop where the maximum dry weight has been accumulated in the kernel an

by Robert Koch, Extension entomologist, and Bruce Potter, Extension IPM specialist Revised from a July 27, 2022 MN Crop News Article Scouting of soybean for soybean aphids (SBA) and twospotted spider mites (TSSM) should be underway. However, do not just assume you have significant infestations of either or both pests. This year, infestations of these pests are variable across the state, due to variable plant development and weather conditions. In addition, populations of both pests can rapidly change (increase or decrease). This is why scouting is particularly important. Below, we provide an overview of scouting and thresholds for these pests in soybean and a table listing the insecticides/miticides available for the management of these pests, along with notes to help determine which products to use for each pest alone or in combination. Soybean aphids Predators and parasites have been keeping soybean aphid populations in check in many fields; while in others, populations are approachi

Angie Peltier, UMN Extension educator, Fei Yang, UMN Extension corn entomologist and Bruce Potter, UMN Extension IPM specialist The following information was provided during a 2023 Strategic Farming: Field Notes session. Read further to learn more about this free program that takes place each Wednesday morning throughout the growing season. Corn rootworm milestones At this time of the year, rootworm management should be focused on how to manage rootworms in the next corn crop. Beetles are currently mating and laying eggs and the eggs must go through a period of rest (also known as a diapause) over the winter. Larvae hatch next year in early June, feed for a few weeks and then pupate. Beetles emerge in mid-July. Both egg hatch and beetle emergence happen over an extended period of time. Two corn rootworm species differ in ability to resist management strategies Two species of corn rootworm occur in Minnesota – western and northern (Figure 1). While both feed on corn roots, they have evo

In this episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast, we’re talking about measuring and building soil carbon, and some challenges and solutions for farmers and researchers. Why is carbon in the soil being considered as a credit in the global carbon cycle? What practices change soil carbon? What makes soil carbon complicated to measure? What do you think is the ideal or is there an ideal carbon measurement scheme and what would it look like? What new research exists to address some of these challenges? Is Minnesota uniquely positioned in any way to contribute to solving these issues? Transcript Guests: Anna Cates, Extension soil health specialist (St. Paul) Jessica Gutknecht, faculty, U of M Department of Soil, Water, and Climate (St. Paul) Gregg Sanford, research scientist, U of Wisc Department of Plant and Agra Ecosystem Sciences (Madison) Additional resources: Contact information for Anna Cates: catesa@umn.edu Contact information for Gregg Sanford: gsanford@wisc.edu SOCNET MN Farmers

Dr. Kevin Smith is best known for leading the U of MN's barley breeding program. He has been forced to react to changes in plant diseases, economic challenges from other crops, and evolving demands of the brewing industry, but has new varieties that will be in your beer soon. In this episode, he talks with David and Seth about the opportunities to develop varieties for a changing beer industry in the US. Kevin also leads the breeding efforts for another traditional Minnesota crop, oat. He talks about oat’s unique challenges and the opportunity to compete with Canadian production. Finally, Dr. Smith is working to domesticate a crop for tomorrow, Silphium ( Silphium integrifolium),   a native perennial plant in the sunflower family. Kevin speaks briefly of the challenges in crop domestication.  Listen to the podcast What is Minnesota CropCast? Hosts David Nicolai and Seth Naeve discuss the progress and challenges of Minnesota's agronomic crops in this new podcast. They are joi

Dr. Fei Yang, Extension corn entomologist, and Bruce Potter, Extension IPM specialist A new old problem Northern corn rootworm beetle. In southern Minnesota, western corn rootworm (WCR) tends to be the dominant species in continuous corn. Likely due to greater cold tolerance of overwintering eggs, the northern corn rootworm (NCR) increasingly becomes the dominant species as one moves north within the state.  While significant Minnesota WCR populations have been limited to continuous corn, a portion of NCR has adapted to short corn rotations with an extended diapause genetic trait. Most recently, rotation-resistant NCR issues have arisen in the early to mid-1980s, early-2000s. These past events have been geographically limited in scope, rising and falling with overall NCR population densities. Minnesota’s NCR populations have been generally low since 2005. In recent years, most corn rootworm management has focused on WCR in continuous corn in the southern part of Minnesota. Meanwhil

Phyllis Bongard, Educational content development and communications specialist Iron deficiency chlorosis. Photo: Angie Peltier The drought is affecting not only crop conditions but the potential for disease development. Drs. Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist, and Dean Malvick, Extension plant pathologist, addressed how soybeans are faring in the state and disease concerns during the July 19 Field Notes session. They were joined by moderator Liz Stahl, Extension crops educator, for the wide-ranging discussion. Soybean update Naeve travelled around Minnesota these past two weeks assessing the soybean crop. Despite the drought, soybeans are looking reasonably good. However, we are living “paycheck to paycheck” in terms of soil moisture and need timely rain for the crop to develop and yield. After an early, dry spring in southern Minnesota, excessive rain at planting was followed by an early shut down of rain. These conditions have resulted in a perfect storm of challenges. The pr

By: Vasudha Sharma, Extension irrigation specialist, and Taylor Herbert, Extension educator A recent on-farm study conducted in the Central Sands region of Minnesota shows that variable rate irrigation technology could help save farmers water and reduce irrigation-induced nutrient loss to the environment without impacting farm profitability. Minnesota’s Central Sands region More than 25% of groundwater in Minnesota is pumped for irrigating crops. This makes irrigation the second-largest user of groundwater in the state. Minnesota has over 600,000 acres of irrigated cropland, and many of these irrigated acres are in the state’s Central Sands region. The coarse textured or sandy nature of the region’s soils means that they do not hold large quantities of water and have a rapid drainage rate to groundwater compared to high clay soils. These soils present challenges in agricultural irrigation and nutrient management. It takes less precipitation to saturate these soils, and they hold less p

Dr. Jake Jungers is one of the newest and brightest faculty in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. He is passionate about taking on some of today’s toughest challenges in agriculture: improving the quality of the state’s water and soil resources. He sees a future landscape less reliant on annual row-crops like corn and soybean, and is focused on the perennial, intermediate wheatgrass or Kernza. Dr. Jungers talks with David and Seth about the challenges of making a new crop profitable for Minnesota farmers and how they are starting to utilize it today. Listen to the podcast What is Minnesota CropCast? Hosts David Nicolai and Seth Naeve discuss the progress and challenges of Minnesota's agronomic crops in this new podcast. They are joined by a diversity of specialists representing all crops and agronomic disciplines to discuss their research and its impact on future Minnesota crops. Dave Nicolai is a crops Extension educator and Seth Naeve

Craig Sheaffer, Extension forage agronomist Tall fescue regrowth in a horse pasture following early  June grazing. It's surrounded by Kentucky bluegrass, a  non-drought tolerant grass. The backbone of Minnesota forage production systems are cool season legumes and grasses. These plants, including alfalfa, red clover, orchardgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and tall fescue, grow best at air temperatures of 60-80 F and with adequate rainfall.  Cool season forages have less heat and drought tolerance than warm season plants, like sudangrass and corn, that grow best at temperatures of 80-95 F. Therefore cool-season forages typically undergo a “summer slump” while warm season forages produce best in summer. Typical growth pattern of forage legumes and cool-season and warm season grasses.  Drought effects on forages However, when weather patterns create high air temperatures and drought, yields of cool season legumes and grasses suffer. Cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass that have v