2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 3

Crop Conditions - Eastern Iowa

- Michael Fosdick

Corn

• While planting corn the first week of May was later than we had preferred, rapid accumulation of heat units enabled quick and even corn stands with full populations to emerge.es.
  
• Overall pest pressures have been fairly low during the 2022 growing season due to hotter dryer conditions.
• Incorporation of CRW best management practices in long term corn on corn fields has shown great results in 2022.
• Tar spot and grey leaf spot have been observed; however, pressure has been relatively low due to dryer conditions, hybrid tolerance and proactive fungicide applications.
• Highly variability in moisture, coupled with heat stress in some parts of southeast Iowa created challenges with pollination or kernel abortion due to lack of resources.
• Significant variability in moisture has some areas showing drought stress more than others. Even in the moisture stressed areas, the corn crop has had good plant health considering the amount of stress it has underwent thus far.
• Rainfall has been well below normal in areas near Highway 92 and to the south. These areas were beginning to show moisture stress as of August 11th.

Soybeans

• Burndown/pre-emerge residual products did not get applied until the first two weeks of May in many cases and did not receive any activating rains for up to 2 weeks following applications. This made for much taller weed heights to control out in the field- coupled with hot and in many cases dry conditions.
• Pioneer^® brand Enlist E3^® soybeans showed the value and flexibility in spray applications once again this year in order to control the toughest weeds while delivering excellent yield potential.
• Japanese beetles causing low levels of defoliation were observed in early July in areas to the south and east.
• Spider mite populations in early August have been observed in the drier areas that have been lacking rain and will need to continue to be monitored.
• Overall disease pressure has been relatively low with typical Septoria brown spot presence and some scattered frog eye being observed.

Weather Challenges

• Cool temperatures and precipitation early in the season pushed most planting into May.
• Rapid GDU accumulation early in May led to rapid emergence and full stands.
• GDU’s since planting have been trending higher than normal to help get us closer to normal harvest timeline; 130+ GDU’s above normal.
• Large variability in moisture throughout the area will lead to yield variability across southeast Iowa.

Corn Observations

• Incorporation of best management practices for CRW management in long term corn on corn fields has shown great results in 2022
• Pioneer^® brand Qrome products continue to shine in our ear observations
• Japanese beetle silk feeding observed further south and east ool temperatures and precipitation early in the season pushed most planting into May.

Disease Pressure - Corn

• Tar spot and gray leaf spot have been identified within southeast Iowa; however, pressures have been slow to develop.
• Hybrid disease tolerance, dryer conditions and proactive fungicide applications have assisted in lower disease tolerance.
• Disease should continue to be monitored as the grain fill period progresses.

Soybean Observations

• Overall disease pressure has been relatively low with Septoria brown spot and some scattered frog eye being observed.
• Japanese beetles causing relatively low levels of defoliation could be found in early July.
• Spider mite populations in early August have been observed in the drier areas that have been lacking rain. Populations should continue to be monitored in these dry environments.

Crop Conditions - Northwest Iowa

- Ben Hinners

Weather Challenges

• The year started off extremely dry, cold, and windy!!!
• June was a scorcher again with a lack of precipitation and warm weather
• Sustained winds of 70-80 mph throughout NW Iowa after the Fourth of July
• Late July- Early August we had more extreme temperatures during R1-R2 and used up a majority of remaining water
• 6.5 inches of rain to 15+ inches across NW IA since January 1st.

Planting

• Started off with dry soil conditions but extremely cold subsoil temperatures.
• First planting window was last week in April which was shut down by a cold rain.
• Remainder of planting started the second week in May.
• Overall emergence from Pioneer^® brand corn was exceptional with a few cases of imbibitional chilling that lead to 1-3k stand loss.

Corn

• Variability is extreme in northwest Iowa with average precipitation along the Highway 9 corridor to below average precipitation on the Western side of the state.
• Extreme heat and lack of moisture influenced the reproductive stages of corn leading to some pollination challenges.
• Growers on the western side in the extreme drought are beginning to chop corn silage.
• Corn rootworm feeding has been observed throughout most of Iowa. Populations have been on the rise the last couple of years with extremely high numbers of beetles last year.
• Best management practices such as traited corn on rotated acres and adult management have been utilized to keep population in check.

Soybeans

• Insect and pest pressure has also been low for most of the area. We are finding aphids in the area, but the population has remained under the threshold. Grasshoppers can be found on field edges and are causing defoliation of soybeans.
• Pioneer^® brand A-Series/Enlist E3^® soybeans stood out with the challenging, warm and dry, post application weather we had during the late spring and early summer.
• A-Series/Enlist E3 soybeans had the flexibility to spray up to R2 which elongated the window for weed control and allowed for flexibility of the application.

Corn - NW Iowa

• Disease pressure in corn has been relatively low due to hot dry weather that has minimized favorable pathogen conditions.
• Variability is extreme in northwest Iowa with average precipitation along the Highway 9 corridor to below average precipitation on the western side of the state.
• Corn is starting to be chopped for silage on the western side of the state,

Corn Rootworm

• Populations have been on the rise over the last couple of years.
• Utilize Pioneer^® brand Qrome technology and beetle management to help control populations for years to come.
• Switching more acres to soybeans to break the cycle of long-term corn-on-corn rotations.
• Keeping soybeans fields clean of waterhemp and volunteer corn to minimize attracting CRW beetles.

Soybeans - NW Iowa

• Foliar disease pressure in soybeans has been low this year, but issues such as Phytophthora and Fusarium root rots showed up after mid-July rains.
• Insect and pest pressure has also been low.
• Starting to find aphids in the area, but the population has remained under the threshold.
• Grasshoppers can be found on field edges and are causing defoliation.