Soybean aphid colonization has been slow to start this year, however, we are beginning to get reports of soybean aphids in southwest Minnesota and a few other states.

As you travel over your field with your herbicide this season, you may be considering adding a fungicide to that pass. If so, there are a few things to think about. In general, early fungicide applications on corn (V5-V7) have not been shown to provide much yield benefit over no treatment (average is +1 bushel per acre). In repeated trials across the country, we see the best opportunity for yield response with a treatment at tassel (average: +8 bushels per acre). However, there are some situations in which an early treatment may be more economical.

We recorded our first western bean cutworm moth capture in Nebraska at Concord on July 7, and a western bean cutworm egg mass was reported in Adams County the same day.

Over the last 3 days my phone, email and twitter account has been blowing up with questions surrounding poorly nodulated soybeans and my thoughts regarding applying foliar nitrogen to alleviate those symptoms. I have been reluctant to write this article for two reasons:

DuPont Pioneer is launching its new Encirca„  Yield services platform and enrolling growers today to help them improve timing, placement and management of critical inputs to enhance the overall productivity and profitability of every acre.

Scientists working with data from NASA's Aquarius instrument have released worldwide maps of soil moisture, showing how the wetness of the land fluctuates with the seasons and weather phenomena.

Hopefully, most of our full-season soybean crop has been managed for weeds by this time of the summer and some growers have planted or are still considering double-crop. There is still time to ensure your soybean weed control programs worked by scouting those full-season soybeans for escapes and by selecting effective herbicides to control weeds in double-crop soybeans.

Corn is all over the board in terms of growth and development, ranging from V6 to R2. Late-planted fields are usually at greater risk for foliar disease development, and reports coming in indicate that gray leaf spot is already present on the lower leaves in some areas.

Corn has the potential to yield 500 bushels per acre. But according to the USDA, the average corn yield lands short at 158.

This year, there is a very high degree of variability across the state with regards to soybean height, canopy coverage and overall crop condition.