2007 has begun with a challenge; first some inverted temperatures have threatened the wheat crop, and lately wet weather has prevented early access to fields for corn planting. But what lessons can we learn from the issues of 2006 that will spill over into 2007? What are the chances for bugs, weeds, disease, and other pests that will require our attention? As Dragnet’s Detective Joe Friday said, “Just the facts, please.”

The University of Illinois convened numerous specialists at the outset of the year to analyze the transition from 2006 agriculture into 2007. The conference proceedings and details of their reports are available. Although some of their references are to Illinois, most of them are applicable to farms in the heart of the Cornbelt.

Climatologist Jim Angel said spring and fall offer no real trends, however warmer temperatures in the winter and more variation in weather patterns in the summer have been noteworthy in the past 20 years. In the past 30-40 years there has been a trend toward more precipitation and fewer period of drought, which he said causes more flooding and more erosion. “Temperatures during spring, summer, and fall show no significant warming. Despite the negative impacts of some recent years, such as the drought of 2005, conditions during the growing season in the later portion of the historical record have been much better than the series of hot, dry summers in the 1930s.” Regarding the latest forecast for the 2007 growing season, Angel’s advice is to keep in touch with the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, which produces the official forecast for the next month and for 3-month periods for the next 13 months. These are updated twice a month for the 1-month forecast and once a month for the 3-month periods.

Crop Production Specialist Emerson Nafziger says 2006 for the most part was a good production season, but there were some problems appearing at the end of the year, which will be worthy of watching in the 2007 crop.
1) A flurry of reports about unusual plant growth symptoms, in which corn stalks were bent with pith discoloration. While there was no cause found, and most field yielded well, a repeat of the situation will be watched.
2) Corn seedling anthracnose was noted, and both seed treatment insecticides and Bt traits had a positive influence on corn stands.
3) Spotty areas of dry weather confirmed that corn and beans are not drought proof, and it is clear that increasing acreage of continuous corn will present ongoing challenges.
4) There were scattered reports of “short ear syndrome,” aka “beer-can ears.” There is no clear cause of the problem, which can cost up to 100 bushel yield losses.

Weed Specialist Aaron Hager says there are increasing reports of herbicide injury in soybeans where fields were particularly dry. Season carryover of mesotrione-containing products are being increasingly reported, however the wet spring may have helped dissipate the problem for 2007 soybeans. Hager says a two year cycle weed is becoming more of a problem as it moves from highway and railroad right of way to cropland. One such biennial weed species is poison hemlock which has become difficult to control in the spring prior to crop planting. Hager says farmers may want to consider investigating fall application as a possible way to improve overall success. A fall application would be better suited for targeting rosette-stage plants, and higher herbicide rates may provide better control with fewer planting restrictions, compared with lower application rates in the spring. Hager rhetorically asked, “Will total postemergence weed control programs in corn become as common as they are in soybeans today?” Concerned about glyphosate resistance growing among some weed species, Hager says, “This type of program also carries the greatest risk for significant yield loss if weeds are allowed to compete too long or if significant weed populations emerge after the initial glyphosate application and are left uncontrolled.” Although glyphosate is usually a good way to control volunteer corn in soybeans, its efficacy is diminishing. It will certainly not control Roundup – Ready corn, but there are difficulties in controlling volunteer corn that was not a Roundup-Ready variety. And Hager says glyphosate resistance is becoming more common, “Control of common lambsquarters, waterhemp, volunteer corn (described previously), and velvetleaf following postemergence applications of glyphosate could be described as ranging from extremely effective to highly erratic. Weed size, application rate, and myriad other variables almost certainly influenced the level of weed control achieved, but suffice it to say that the efficacy of glyphosate against several weed species has declined.”

Asian soybean rust was quiet until the end of the year, when it was found in Southern Illinois, Northwestern Indiana, and later in Iowa, which causes Integrated Pest Management Specialist Suzanne Bissonnette to remind all farmers about the sentinel plots that are surveyed regularly, and the information network www.sbrusa.net which will help inform producers about the proximity of soybean rust confirmations. Other resources include soybean rust websites:
1. Information on soybean rust, rust management, fungicide
recommendations, and monitoring
2. More information on soybean rust, rust management, fungicide
recommendations, and monitoring
3. Electronic weekly newsletter
4. North Central IPM Center’s soybean rust fact sheets
5. NCR 504 scouting brochure.
6. Characteristics of Fungicides for Field Crops

Soybean producers and scouts should have
1. A field crop scouting guide (Field Crop Scouting Manual, U of I Extension publication number X880d); and • the reprinted and updated soybean disease pocket guide
2. Pocket Guide to Soybean Diseases, U of I Extension publication number C1380).
3. A new and specifically for soybean rust are a disease assessment tool Soybean Rust Assessment Tool, U of I Extension publication number X881;
4. A hand lens for soybean rust scouting endeavors folding pocket magnifier, 20X, U of I Extension item number X882).
Preparation, training, prescreening, and vigilance really did work to detect soybean rust.

Nematologist Terry Niblack says, “2006 was a pretty good year for corn and soybean, with lots of big, beautiful root systems and little evidence of widespread disease. However, those big, beautiful root systems suggest that there was plenty of food for root-feeding nematodes. On average, nematode populations increased enormously in both soybean and corn in 2006. This increase will have an impact on 2007, especially for those who choose not to rotate crops.”
1. 84% of the soybean fields in Illinois are infested with SCN, and more than 75% of those SCN populations already have adapted at some level to the resistant varieties we have available. Soybean producers should make an extra effort to keep an eye on the SCN populations in their fields—and to choose soybean varieties carefully. The Variety Information Program for Soybeans database can be an enormous help in that regard.
2. The shift away from soil insecticides to neonicotinoid seed treatments or to genetically engineered hybrids may allow nematode populations to increase more than they were able when soil insecticide use was more widespread.
3. The increase in no- or minimum-till production allows the build-up of nematode species that are sensitive to soil disturbance.
4. The increase in corn-on-corn production will definitely affect the nematode populations, in a positive way for nematodes but in a negative way for corn production.
5. Lessons from the past show those seasons with good growing conditions contribute to bumper crops of nematodes for the next season. Nematode management should not be at the bottom of the list for production concerns in 2007.

Entomologists Mike Gray and Kevin Steffey say some events in the corn insect world probably seem preordained:
1. The distribution of the variant western corn rootworm probably will continue to expand southward and westward in 2007.
2. The western bean cutworm likely will gain more of a foothold in 2007.
3. Japanese beetles likely will threaten pollination in many areas in 2007, although predicting where is not easy.
The entomologists say the number of tools for insect control available to corn
producers continues to increase, and many producers will continue to use soil-applied insecticides for control of soil-inhabiting insects, especially corn rootworm larvae, and many producers will continue to rely on seed-applied insecticides (e.g., Cruiser, Poncho) for control of subterranean insects. However, the efficacy of seed-applied insecticides against corn rootworm is not reliable, and the efficacy against some secondary insect pests (e.g., black cutworms) was called into question in 2006.

The focus of insect management programs for soybeans in 2007 will justifiably be on soybean aphids, with bean leaf beetles and Japanese beetles also receiving attention.
In fact, with an increasing amount of data indicating that seed-applied insecticides (e.g., Cruiser, Gaucho) effectively control early season bean leaf beetles and delay the onset of heavy infestations of soybean aphids, Gray and Steffey anticipate that more soybean producers will rely on insecticidal seed treatments as part of their overall insect management program. While they are not convinced that the insecticidal seed treatments are cost effective for soybeans, the added insurance against insect injury is attractive to many producers. The continued concern about the occurrence of Asian soybean rust will encourage many producers to scout soybean fields regularly and frequently, an activity that should improve decision making for insect management. However, Gray and Steffey believe there will be some incentives for soybean producers to mix insecticides with either fungicides or herbicides (e.g., Roundup) or both to “control” all pests at once. Under most circumstances, this mixing of pesticides is unnecessary, and the widespread application of so many pesticides could have unintended consequences. They urge carefully planned decisions for anyone assessing the need for any of these pesticides for soybean pest management in 2007.

Summary:
Getting a head start on 2007 corn planting really has not occurred, but if you can get a head start on crop production issues, you might be money ahead. Part of that head start can be defined as a good scouting program. That will help with disease, insect, and weed issues. Rust is an issue that most farmers have little experience in scouting, but a good policy of accessing the latest information is just as good as a good scouting program. While getting a head start on identifying problems is the best way to protect your crop, the way not to proceed is by throwing chemicals at a potential problem that has not yet been diagnosed.