Looking in the corn yield test plot booklet and selecting the top yielding corn hybrid for the last year is not the best way to select corn seed for planting this coming year. There should be lots of planning that goes into making this decision between the farmer, the corn seed dealer and the agronomist [...]
Late season plant health can determine whether a corn crop will maximize grain fill, and reward farmers with those extra bushels, or if there will be standability issues and yield loss at harvest due to diseases in the stalk and the ear. In many areas, there has been standing water in fields this year due [...]
Many of us are looking forward to pulling into that first corn field with a combine this fall and see the results of all our hard work, and finally find out how Mother Nature treated us this year. We get asked a lot about estimating corn yield well before the combine gets to the field. [...]
Prior to the introduction of the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene in corn, it was common to treat the vast majority of corn acres in this country for European and/or Southwestern Corn Borer each summer. In many areas, there are two, possibly three flights of the corn borer moth each year. The second flight is usually [...]
Western Bean Cutworm can be a serious pest in field corn, significantly reducing yield and quality if not properly managed. In the past, Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) could be found concentrated to smaller hotspots in Eastern Colorado, Western Kansas and other areas of the High Plains. Farming practices such as Strip Till has led to [...]
Spider mites can be a major pest across the Crop Quest trade area. Although we worry about spider mite management mostly in corn, they can be very damaging in sorghum, wheat and soybeans as well. This is a tough pest to kill. In fact, when it comes to spider mites, the objective is not necessarily [...]
Drought conditions continue to persist across much of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and Eastern Colorado. The US drought monitor reports that most of these areas are experiencing either extreme or exceptional drought, which are the two highest levels of drought that are reported. Most long range weather forecasts are expecting drought conditions to [...]
