1. Field Observations

The weather has been great for making hay, which is what many of you have been up to this week. And while it feels weird to say it, many of us could use some rain. Here's the short-term weather outlook from Jess Spaccio, from Cornell's Northeast Regional Climate Center:

And if you haven't already, be sure to pre-register for our upcoming Corn and Soybean Seed IPM field day at SUNY Cobleskill. It's free, but pre-registering helps us plan ahead for meals and transportation: https://cals.cornell.edu/events/ipm-strategies-protect-corn-and-soybean-seed-new-york-state-cobleskill-meeting In addition to learning more about our neonicotinoid seed treatment trials, we're offering 1.5 DEC credits (Cat. 1A, 4, 10, 21) and 1.5 CCA credits (Cat. TBD). And lunch!

2. Pest Monitoring

The upcoming rainstorms might help us by knocking down any emerging soybean aphid or potato leafhopper issues, but keep an eye on them as I've started to see their populations tick upwards. But I've also seen ladybug and other natural enemy populations spike upwards as well.

Remember to keep an eye out for tar spot of corn and other foliar crop diseases. As we get closer to soybean flowering, be prepared to protect your fields that have a history of white mold.

And for hayfields and pastures, 'tis the season for knapweeds and thistles to begin flowering and announcing themselves in your fields. At this point, mowing is the best medicine. If herbicides are warranted, wait for fall when plants are more susceptible, and when temperatures make volatile herbicides like 2,4-D ester and dicamba less risky to non-target plants.

    A. Potato leafhopper in alfalfa

Here are some potato leafhopper populations from around the region. These fields were sampled by Zach O'Donnell, our intern from Colgate Univ., and Heer Patel, our technician. As usual, for alfalfa 15"+, no spray is recommended if harvested within one week.

3. Growing Degree Days (GDD) (See: Climate Smart Farming Growing Degree Day Calculator)

Growing degree days (GDD) are calculated by taking the average daily temperature and subtracting the base temperature for development of a given organism ((High + Low)/2 - base temp = GDD). For corn silage, we are using base 50/86, as corn development starts at 50 degrees F and ceases above 86. Check your location and planting date:

See you in the field!