As flowering continues in soybeans, products like Amass and AC-97 are being frequently added to fungicide and/or insecticide applications. These will help the plant continue the offensive push! In a 50-bushel yield environment, just one additional 3-bean pod on every plant is worth roughly a 2.2 bushel yield gain. Every flower that pollinates is a potential pod, so farmers are working to keep every one of them they can!

-Matt Thompson

Crop scouting report unavailable.

Aphids have been spotted in fields with hybrids that are known attractors. Unlike last year where aphid issues were a major concern, this year the overall density of aphids is lower, and population of natural predators is high. In this case, the grower opted to let nature keep the aphids in check. If aphid control is desired, Transform insecticide will be gentle on natural predators while controlling aphid populations.

-Nicholas Paulsmeyer

Crops in the area are looking very good. With reports of diseases coming up from the south, farmers are making applications to maintain plant health. Products like Veltyma and Delaro Complete are popular choices being applied this week as they will provide great protection against diseases like southern rust and tar spot.

-Adam Sauer

Crop scouting report unavailable.

My team has been helping farmers with scouting in corn and soybeans for diseases and insects and will continue to do so in the coming weeks as needed. We are starting to get reports about both tar spot and soybean aphids around the area. Since tar spot has a 2–3-week time period inside the plant before symptoms show on the leaves, it’s a good idea to treat with a fungicide now. Veltyma, Delaro Complete, and others are good choices. As aphid populations begin to rise, Ridgeback has been a key choice as it controls even the pyrethroid-resistant aphids.

-Mike Bates

Fungicide applications are going on many corn fields in the area. Make sure before you spray, to scout your fields and see if there any corn rootworm beetles that have emerged and are feeding on the silks. For less than $2 an acre you can add some Warrior that does a great job on the beetles.

-Aaron Erdahl

Crop scouting report unavailable.

Crop scouting report unavailable.

If you’re applying a fungicide in corn or soybeans this year, try adding Nutex EDA at 6 to 8 ounces per acre. Nutex supports uptake efficiency, improves stress tolerance and ultimately helps transport liquids into the plants faster when the weather is rather unstable.

-Jeremy Jensen

With the constant dews and rainfall, the crops are staying damp most of the day. This leads to higher chances of disease issues. Fungicides work well at preventing disease infections allowing longer kernel and bean fill.

In sugar beets, the disease index from SMBSC is high. This means growers in our area will consider shortening the cercospora leaf spot spray intervals to 7-10 days vs the normal 10-14 days.

-John Scheibel

If you are spraying fungicide on your soybeans, make sure you are adding Nutex EDA with it at 6 ounces per acre. Nutex EDA helps the plants opening and closing of the stomata, improves nutrient uptake, and helps with the transportation of nutrients throughout the plant.

-Ross Hanson

When you spray a fungicide on corn before brown silk, using a surfactant with a deposition aid in it will help the fungicide get into the canopy for better coverage. Be sure to use an NPE/APE free adjuvant as this will eliminate the risk of getting arrested ear syndrome. I like using Precisive at 1 pint per 100 gallons of water.

-Tyler Gasow

Soybeans in our area are at the R3/R4 growth stage. If you’re considering applying a fungicide, now is the time to do it. Even if you don’t see disease, there are proven advantages from fungicides providing plant health benefits that will help retain bushels through the rest of the growing season.

-Dylan Codr

Recently, we have seen our first share of southern rust in Nebraska. Also, as we continue to be wet and humid, tar spot continues to gain momentum along with gray leaf spot and other diseases. It’s also good to remember that when we have tar spot plus another disease, it will make the original much worse, since it’s a multiplier. Western bean cutworms and corn rootworms have also been on the rise recently. Therefore, be sure to be out and have a planned attack against these pests and diseases. It’s important to not only protect what we have but add bushels as well with current commodity prices.

-Casey Doernemann

Cases of southern rust and tar spot have been confirmed in areas as close as Hamilton and Polk counties. We have personally found southern rust in Hall county. Fungicides are far more effective at being proactive on diseases such as southern rust and tar spot. I would strongly recommend applying fungicide sooner rather than later and you will be far happier with your results.

-Blake Beiber

Army worms are becoming heavily populated in small grains and in forage crops. Generally, the threshold is 4 per square foot. Scout your wheat fields as soon as possible to look for head clipping. If you have armyworms, they will need to be treated right away. Chlorpyrifos has been working well to control the pest. Late afternoon into early evening is the optimum time to control them as they come out to feed at night.

-Spencer Schultz

Crop scouting report unavailable.

Pintos are filling in rows nicely and getting full canopy. They are right at the R2 crop stage. Farmers are heading to the fields to apply their Endura fungicide applications.

-Matt Elder

Crop scouting report unavailable.

If you are planning on doing a fungicide pass, be sure to scout your fields ahead of time for insects. We are starting to see soybean aphids in the beans and spider mites in both corn and soybeans. Numbers are mostly low as of now with some exceptions, but depending on the weather both can become a bigger issue.

-Joe Schieffer

Be out scouting your fields for disease and insects! Spider mites, aphids, grasshoppers, tar spot, and other insects and diseases have been found in our area!

-Emma McInerney

Rootworm beetles are active. One of the pheromone traps placed in a corn-on-corn field captured 36 western corn rootworm beetles and 1 northern last week. Continue monitoring fields closely, and apply insecticide if thresholds are met. I also recommend digging up roots, washing them off, and checking for signs of feeding injury.

-Matthew Petersen

As the weed control applications wind down, one thing that is top of mind in our area is soybean aphids. We all hope they don’t show up but if they do we need to be ready. After seeing pyrethroid resistance last year, my recommendation would be to go straight for an aphid specific product like Transform at 1 ounce per acre or Ridgeback (Transform + a pyrethroid) at 10.3 ounces per acre. The 250 aphid/plant threshold is too high in most farmers opinions that I visit with. Even at 100 aphids/plant most of them will begin spraying.

-Hayden Houdek

When spraying fungicide, here are a few things to consider to make your application more effective:

1. Use a product like Water-Rite to tie up hard water ions and drop the pH of your water source
2. Spray in the morning when it is cooler and the plant stomata are fully open
3. Use a fulvic acid such as Nutex EDA to help get the fungicide into the plant more efficiently.

-Blayne Martinez

Be on the lookout for grasshoppers moving out of ditches and pastures into crop ground. We are seeing good control with Bifenthrin at 6.4 ounces.

-Conner Edelman

While scouting your corn fields as ears begin to mature, counting the rows of kernels can give you an idea of yield potential. A good fact to remember is that the number of rows will always be an even number. Be sure to keep an eye out for insects this time of year, as a flight of insects can appear out of nowhere.

-Carter Hawkins

Crop scouting report unavailable.

We have some damaged leaves from hail this past week which could invite diseases into plants. An application of fungicide plus Nutex EDA is a good investment for protecting the yield potential of your crop.

-Shay Johnson

With corn tasseling and soybeans flowering, now is a good time to think about applying a fungicide if you are wanting to try to boost yields.

-Micah Hanson

A lot of soybean acres in this area are in the R3 stage, meaning the plant has a 3/16″pod on one of the four uppermost nodes on the stem (where the trifoliate leaves connect to the main stem). At this stage it is still beneficial for fungicide applications but keep staging your soybeans so you don’t miss the window of application.

-Preston Barragan