The one-stop-shop to hearing everything you need to know about what is happening in your fields this week.
This week’s featured agronomists are:
Tim Malterer – Le Sueur
Casey Carlson – Goodhue
Joe Dee – Morristown
Tye Anderson – Lewiston
Brady Kinneman – Ellsworth
Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist.
WEST
Belle Plaine – Le Center – Le Sueur
Tim Malterer
EAST
Pine Island – Cannon Falls – Goodhue – Lake City
Casey Carlson
With the prevalent dry areas north of Goodhue we are starting to find spider mites in soybean fields. Some fields will likely require treatment if the dry and hot weather pattern continues. The pictures below are a field in Dakota county. This field has levels high enough to warrant treatment. The large, damaged area in the picture is unlikely to recover but an application will stop the spider mites in the rest of the field before they get this severe.
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CENTRAL
Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon
Joe Dee
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
Tye Anderson
As the countryside talks a lot about the dreaded tar spot, I want to give a little information about how important it is to keep a healthy plant through the rest of the growing season. There is no question that tar spot is in the area, but how will it affect the corn when it comes in this early? Early onset leads to reduced photosynthesis of the corn plant during the critical grain fill period. This can result in poor grain fill, reduced kernel weight, and kernel abortion. Tar spot can also reduce stalk strength and lead to lodging later in the season. If the situation arises where we see total plant death at full dent, the estimated yield loss is 40%. That percentage point will rise if the plant dies earlier. 60-70 degree weather, leaf wetness, and humid conditions are fuel for tar spot pressure. Looking at the 10 day forecast, that fits right in with our nightly lows. Fungicide is our best stress mitigator for the plant to handle tar spot, drought stress, etc. Through AYS we are running fungicide trials at VT and R3 to see if there is a higher response. Don’t be afraid if the fungicide application is a little behind as it will give you later season protection. The crop looks good! Let’s keep it that way!
WWAS
Ellsworth
Brady Kinneman
AYS Management Zone Purpose
I did the rain dance last night and at 1 am we received .5 – 1 inches of rain in Western Wisconsin’s most hard-hit area with drought. We are on the brink of a severe yield reduction in our crops if we do not continue to get weekly rainfall.
Currently, our corn crop is using between 2-3 tenths of rain per day during pollination and into the R1 stage. Temperatures in the mid to high 90’s the last few days have made it difficult for the corn pollination process and areas of fields that have little water holding capacity are starting to predominantly show.
Advance Yield Systems helps us manage these areas when mother nature takes over. Creating variable rate prescriptions for fertilizer and seed improve input cost efficiency. It allows you to apply the crop needs in different zones in your fields for maximum profits. In the example below we show the drought stress in a field (drone pic) that coincides with the planting map from this spring. In these areas we planted 35% less population to help plants in these areas have less competition for nutrients and water. In the past we have found this practice when implanted correctly can increase yield for the potential of the zone and have financial benefits to the grower.
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| Pictured Below: Shows lower corn leaves firing from Potassium and Nitrogen deficiencies due to no soil mineralization of nutrients from drought stress. Currently, we have 1,063 fields in AYS in Wisconsin and are showing an average rainfall of -6.8 inches from our 10-year average. | |
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