If you farm in North Carolina, you know nematodes are a fact of life regardless of what crops you grow. So what exactly is a nematode? Nematodes are tiny, colorless, threadlike, unsegmented roundworms. Nematodes can be found all over the earth and 4 out of 5 creatures on the planet are actually nematodes. There are…
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We haven’t even started thinking about getting the combine in the field for most of the soybean crop this year, but it’s never too early to start thinking about variety selection for next year. Variety selection is one of the most important decisions a grower can make, and with over 200 soybean varieties…
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Proper variety selection is one of the most important steps a soybean producer can make. It is important to devote some time to selecting the proper variety as this decision is one of the first steps to maximizing yields. If we compare the top 10% of soybean varieties grown within a single maturity group at…
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Last week we discussed some basics of soybean fertility (catch up here if you missed it). We know how important sufficient levels of P and K are but do soybeans need N upfront or in-season? Unlike most of our other crops soybeans have the ability to obtain their own nitrogen through N fixation. N fixation is…
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Last week we tackled foliar yield enhancements so this week we’re changing gears just slightly and tackling non-foliar yield products. Various non-foliar yield enhancement products are available to North Carolina soybean producers. Profit margins are currently narrow for soybeans and much thought should go into the potential yield advantages and associated costs from the use…
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Given all the publicity off-target dicamba injury has gotten over the last few weeks, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share some videos we made with Crop Science professor Dr. Wes Everman last season. In the first two videos, Anthony Grove, an NCSU Master’s student under the direction of Dr. Wes…
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A cool, wet spring, followed by heat and sun has led to the perfect storm for weed development over the last few weeks. As weeds begin to grow, timeliness of post-emergence applications is critical to suppressing weed populations and protecting the soybean yield. While there has been some late-season horseweed in soybean fields this year,…
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USB’s Take Action program is hosting PEST Week (or Pest Elimination Strategy & Tactics Week) this week, July 15-21. The focus is promoting on best management strategies and raising awareness of the looming threat of pesticide resistance. Make sure to follow on Twitter at @TakeActionWeeds or on Facebook during #PESTweek and turn your pest practices…
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It is important to keep track of pesticide application variables for good stewardship. It is also a good idea to keep a detailed record of each application to help make sure proper procedures are followed and to serve as official documentation, whether or not the product requires it. Need help keeping accurate records? CLICK HERE…
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The 5+ inches of rain much of the state saw this week has put a hold on planting for a few days, but you can use this time to make sure you are ready to start (or continue) planting when things dry out. As Dr. Heinniger says, “Planting day is the most important day of…
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Application requirements for dicamba in 2018 have the potential to leave farmers with a very small application window. As the growing season begins, it’s important to have a plan in place to be prepared if dicamba application isn’t an option. For farmers with herbicide-resistant weeds The biggest challenge comes to those who specifically choose dicamba-tolerant…
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Regardless of the crops we grow or work with, the one thing we all have in common in the ag industry is complaining about the weather. It’s either too wet, or too dry or too hot, or too cold. When talking soybeans specifically, water stress (either too much or too little) is one of…
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