Insects
Experts say you don’t need to worry about the bright yellow, blue, black and red Joro spider — it’s one of the few creatures that preys on a bug that attacks Southern crops.
The northern corn rootworm lays eggs that can sit in soils between two and five years before hatching. That complicates control measures.
Scientists expect corn hybrids containing the technology will help farmers regain the upper hand over a variety of above-ground and below-ground pests that current technology is struggling to contain.
Yield losses of 5 percent are par for the course in second-year soybeans. Pest problems can boost those losses to 50 percent or more.
Fields wiped out in a matter of hours. Pests marching from grasses and into farm fields and pastures. It’s an armyworm infestation so intense it’s unlike anything farmers and entomologists in Ohio have ever seen.
Heat and drought aren’t the only issue farmers in drought-stricken areas are dealing with. Grasshoppers are also destroying pastures and crops. Producers say it’s finishing off what’s left of an already dire crop.
Disease pressure is building in parts of Illinois. Also, check out the agenda and register for Farm Journal Corn & Soybean College, set for Aug. 3-4.
Southern farmers are battling an infestation of fall armyworms. From hay fields to soybeans and rice, armyworms are causing severe damage. And now, Arkansas farmers have one more option to control the pest in rice.
In soybeans, look for white mold issues this week. Initial symptoms generally develop in the R3 to R6 production stages.
Corteva Agriscience has a robust number of products it expects to introduce to U.S. farmers between now and 2023 for use in more than 10 crops.