JuneCrops & Soils

Waterhemp has become increasingly difficult and expensive to control due to its widespread resistance to multiple herbicide sites of action, requiring growers to adopt a multi-layered, diversified approach to weed management. Experts recommend combining chemical, cultural, and mechanical tactics to manage resistance effectively. As no single "silver bullet" remains, success depends on field-by-field planning, community coordination, and ongoing adaptation to evolving resistance threats. 

Earn 1 CEU in Integrated Pest Management by reading this article and  taking the quiz.

In major barley-producing regions of the western United States and Great Plains, nitrogen (N) guidelines for spring malt and feed barley include both soil N and fertilizer N, commonly referred to as N supply. However, the recent development of hull-less, high-fiber barley cultivars has resulted in a lack of specific N management practices. This article presents research from southern Idaho on N management for two-row spring hull-less barley under irrigated high-yielding semi-arid conditions in an effort to establish appropriate N supply rates for hull-less food barley producers. Earn 0.5 CEUs in Nutrient Management by reading the article and taking the quiz. This article was prepared as a contribution of the Western Region Nutrient Management Coordinating Committee (WERA-103).

Giant miscanthus is a perennial, warm-season grass grown as a biomass crop. In Maryland, giant miscanthus successfully grew on marginal land experiencing flooding, saltwater intrusion, and heavy deer pressure, conditions that resulted in total soybean yield loss for several years prior to the study. While giant miscanthus did not grow in year-round flooded conditions and yield was negatively correlated with sodium level, giant miscanthus had little yield loss in areas with intermittent flooded conditions and areas with sodium levels well above what grain crops can tolerate. Earn 1 CEU in Crop Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.

Precision sprayers can detect and treat weeds simultaneously in real-time, enabling targeted weed management. This approach has the potential to reduce herbicide usage and associated costs. Although large-scale commercial precision sprayers are available for row crops, their weed control efficacy has not been extensively compared with traditional broadcast sprayers under field conditions.

New research evaluated the performance of precision sprayers (Greeneye Technology and John Deere) in corn and soybean production fields. Results indicated that both precision sprayers provided grass and broadleaf weed control comparable to broadcast sprayers with herbicide savings dependent on weed infestation.

Earn 0.5 CEUs in Integrated Pest Management by taking the quiz for the article.