Early season April – June

Although I would love to be everywhere at once, a lot of my scouting for the 2021 season has been focused throughout Illinois stretching from Princeton to Altamont. This season I was able to make a trip down to Carbondale and was able to see fields of double crop beans coming up July 9. And I always make a trip up north to my favorite fields in Stockton at least twice a year, once in April and again September.

Cover crop mix, picture Dec. 16, 2020.

Stockton, IL field day April 2, 2021 at Greg Thorn’s field.

Cover crop fields in fall 2021 seemed to have a more ideal planting season than usual. A challenge on many farms during the fall is the time and labor it takes to put cover crops in. Although it seemed we could get most of the covers in late September early October, many were slow to emerge and get a lot of growth before the frost. Planting date, dry soils and cold temperatures contribute to the type of biomass in the fall. Although the fall may look like a disappointment for establishment, the spring will usually surprise you for what growth you’ll see.

For early season scouting there was great concern around stand establishment with early planted fields and cold temperatures. We again saw an early window of planted beans around April 6 and conditions seemed to be challenging in no-till cover crop fields as temperatures dropped early on. After the cold temperatures though, planting seemed to progress smoothly throughout the state.

Field planted to cereal rye Oct.5, 2020; Picture taken March 31, 2021.

Barley cover crop mix planted Oct. 6, picture March 24, 2021.

Soybeans planted April 6, picture taken April 16, 2021.

Mid Season June-July

With the majority of soybeans emerged by May 30, crop conditions have been good. Soybeans were now in the flowering stages around July 9. Not too many insects have been noticeable apart from some Japanese beetle feeding. Post herbicide applications have been wrapping up and field activities like fungicide applications have started around this time.

Champaign Co. picture taken June 23.

Left: Champaign Co. picture taken July 13. Right: Champaign Co. picture taken July 21.

Intense rain events were common throughout early summer, resulting in some fields receiving three to eight inches in a day. Drown out areas and Phytophthora root and stem rot started to make big holes in some fields. This does not halt scouting as soil structure, infiltration, and many fungal pathogens can be interesting to document during this time. Windstorms also took a toll, especially after Aug. 9, many fields north of 80 beans were laying down and corn fields goose-necked or green-snapped.

Headed to a field right under rainstorm. July 15.  Shelby Co.

Tillage vs. no-till & cover crop side by side plot; showing excellent soil structure and infiltration from no-till and covers. This field is in its first rotation of no-till! 

Christian Co. Aug 3.

Current Status – Aug. 2021

Now scouting soybean fields, SDS has been spotted across the state. SDS infection starts in the spring but signs and symptoms do not occur until late in the season. Fields seem to be sporadic across the state but as August has continued, notable hot spots in the field are obvious from the road.

Below are pictures of the same field Aug. 4 (red) Aug. 18 (blue) showing SDS progression. Pods can either abort, compromise seed fill and/or reduce seed size. Note: Make sure to scout for both Brown Stem Rot and SDS as foliar symptoms are similar. Also, some fungicides are resulting in similar tissue symptoms as well (example- Bayer Delaro dapple effect).

Although we have had some obstacles throughout the year overall, I am optimistic of high yield averages across farms for many parts of the state. With some moisture in August, fields are looking good and pods are filling out!

Pictures of crop progress in August. Although I walk fields of all different hybrids/varieties and field inputs, one of the main comparisons among different management practices late season are if ears or pods are staying competitive and if overall plant health are showing differences.

Non-GMO beans planted green into cereal rye vs. no cover crop. Although soybean yield estimates can be challenging, cover crop plot averaging seven extra pods per stem.

Monster beans in August! Main stem averaging 19 nodes and 70+ pods per main stem. Field is no-till in Menard Co.