Fieldwork and planting progress was good early this week, but rain over much of the state on Thursday brought that activity to a standstill. DuPont Pioneer agronomist David Cosgray reminds producers it is still early in the season, ?The worst thing we can do is plant into a wet seed bed where we kind of mud it in.? He said most growers can get their entire crop planted in 10-14 days, so there is no reason to rush at this point, ?As soon as you start to mud in a crop, you open yourself up to yield loss and sidewall compaction.?
With a warm winter behind us, Cosgray is concerned about heavy insect pressure this growing season, ?I am concerned about some European corn borer issues. I am also very worried about western bean cut worm infestation, especially in northern counties.? He said these insects can burrow down into lighter soils and overwinter very nicely.
Listen to the complete DuPont Pioneer agronomy update under the crops tab on this website.
