Latest Updates from cropwatch.unl.edu

Dry edible bean harvest by undercutting the bean plant roots and placing cut plants in a windrow. (Photo by Gary Stone)

Short pastures and hay prices have some farmers considering an early corn harvest to provide more grazing options.

This week, Nebraska Extension Educator Melissa Bartels highlights the importance of scouting early and often for fall armyworms right now, and what to do once they've been spotted in your area.

Figure 1. Soybean pods collected from stage R7 plants (one mature pod per plant) that were opened to determine if the pod wall interior membrane was still clinging tightly to the seeds (leftmost pod), or if it was beginning to detach from the seeds (second pod), or if the membrane was now permanently attached to the pod wall (third pod). After attaining physiological maturity, seeds undergo a dry-down period from about 60% moisture to about 13% moisture. Note that the Rx.x numbers used here are pod-based stages, not plant-based stages. The timing of the ending R stages in soybean is governed by planting date (PD) and varietal maturity group (MG), though the date of R7 can be hastened if water stress and high temperatures prevail in August — something we are seeing in portions of Nebraska this year.

Hosted by Samantha Teten and Jackson Stansell — graduate students in UNL's Department of Biological Systems Engineering and Nebraska Extension Digital Agriculture team members — FarmBits Podcast is a weekly series highlighting new innovations and trends in digital agriculture through interviews with academic experts, farmers and industry specialists.

Top: Combining weedy dry beans. Bottom left: Palmer amaranth in dry beans. (Photo by Gary Stone). Bottom right: Combine cleanout. (Photo by Meaghan Anderson)