Wisconsin growers first questioned the idea of a possible connection between potassium levels and soybean aphid populations in no-tilled bean fields. They wondered why they were often seeing a considerable variation in the aphid populations that were found in different areas within a single field.

Few, if any, farmers were spared the sticker shock of rising costs of fuel, fertilizer and ag chemicals in the past 16 months. But the reality is these costs have been steadily increasing for a decade or more as shown in Fig. 1.

Having invested in the latest sprayer technologies, cereal grain growers are gearing up to do a better job of applying pesticides — starting this fall with winter wheat.

About 6 years ago, Loran and Bryce Naber shifted to no-tilling to capture major fuel, equipment and labor savings. The Albion, Neb., corn and soybean producers are also in their fourth season of reaping additional efficiencies with variable-rate dual banding of directly injected liquid anhydrous ammonia and liquid fertilizer.

Although it has been available for several years, an often-overlooked, environ- mentally friendly slug-control product is gaining popularity in the United States and could provide an alternative to metaldehyde- based products for no-tillers.