Have you seen lightning bugs?
What surprised me was seeing lighting bugs out so early in the year. There were not very many, but they were out and flying.
It’s Time to Evaluate Stands
Stand establishment of corn and soybeans is the combined result of several things such as seed quality, planting standards, soil conditions at planting, and weather patterns 24-48 hours after planting. Evaluating stands involves determining two things: stand quantity (population) and stand quality (number of full ears at harvest compared to planting population).
Is your corn purple?
As I have been out looking recently, I have seen some purpling of corn plants in the fields. Did you know some of this is natural and good? Some hybrids have a normal purpling to the leaves due to genetics, and as researchers, we take notes on this. We feel it is a good trait to see as some of the better hybrids genetically do this and the purpling disappears quickly with no damage to the plants.
How to Manage Increasing Corn Rootworm Pressure
Managing corn rootworm beetles can be done several different ways. Crop rotation is one way to interfere with the corn rootworm life cycle by using a corn/soybean rotation.
From the field: 2022 Planting Observations
As I have been out looking at fields recently, I have seen a few things that you should keep top of mind this time of year.