iGrow - A Service of SDSU Extension

We do not have many pest treatments to begin at this time of year. Most diseases have already infected the foliage and foliar-feeding insects and borers have already come and gone or have burrowed into the protective inner bark or wood. However we have one insect in which treatments can still be initiated and that is the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae).

Every year, the fate of the entomological world is discussed by 2,000-3,000 entomologists at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America (this year held in Knoxville, TN). Often, a hot topic is clearly identifiable from this meeting. This year is no exception: the major theme of the meeting was nothing less than the next generation of insecticides: RNAi-based insecticides.

Lilacs are one of those plants whose lovely flower clusters and sweet fragrance are anticipated by gardeners in many parts of the world but especially in the colder regions of the United States, Europe and Asia. While lilacs are not native to North America, they were brought here by the earliest settlers because they were so highly prized in the Old World.

As severe weather makes its way yet again across South Dakota this week, I get asked the question… when will this wet streak end? Not only has it been wet, but a steady dose of wet days. The Aberdeen National Weather Service forecast office provided these tidbits of information...

No Corn Acreage Change In June WASDE: USDA’s March Prospective Plantings report indicated that corn growers expected to plant 97.3 million acres to corn in 2013.  Typically, that planted acreage figure is finalized in USDA’s June Acreage report, which is released on June 28 this year.  Prior to planting in May, some were expecting that the corn acreage figure would grow by as much as one to two million acres.

Now is the time to think ahead about preventive measures for pinkeye. Pinkeye is the common name for Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis, a highly infectious disease that affects the eyes of cattle. It causes infection of the eye itself as well as inflammation of the conjunctiva (inside lining membrane of the eyelid).

Tillage erosion is the downslope movement of soil by tillage. During tillage, soil is lifted and gravity moves soil downslope. Soil movement by tillage increases with slope steepness. However, net soil transport by tillage is determined by the change in slope. Soil movement by tillage very slowly levels the land surface.