Corn and soybean harvest continues to move along in Illinois, and as the 2013 crops come off, thoughts turn to fall fertilization.

As corn harvest is concluding, many farmers are turning their thoughts to preparing for next year’s crop. One thought is on how to best apply nitrogen (N) fertilizers to maximize N use efficiency and corn yields. Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied at many times throughout the year including: fall, spring, preplant, at planting, sidedress, or through fertigation. When deciding when and how to apply N fertilizers, consider the 4Rs of nutrient management

In the chemical age of agriculture that began in the 1960s, potassium chloride (KCl), the common salt often referred to as potash, is widely used as a major fertilizer in the Corn Belt without regard to the huge soil reserves that were once recognized for their fundamental importance to soil fertility.

A Purdue University study shows that high-yielding, modern corn hybrids take up not only more nitrogen from soil but more micronutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Nitrogen fertilizer rates also influence how much of these nutrients are stored in the grain at harvest.

For wheat growers, it's a truism: Plant varieties that are resistant to prevalent diseases. But what if the wheat plant has to pay a price for resistance, possibly reducing its yield? Is the resistance worth it?

We have been receiving numerous phone calls about Dectes stem borer in soybean this year. We began seeing large numbers of adults in soybean fields as early as mid-June this year and populations appeared to peak in early- to mid-July. Now we are beginning to receive reports of severe infestations in maturing Group IV and early V soybean fields.

Leaving corn to dry in the field exposes a crop to unfavorable weather conditions, as well as wildlife damage.

Bats are voracious feeders. Beyond eating mosquitoes, there is a definite advantage in having them on your property during the row crop season. Their food of choice is a wide variety of night-flying insects, many of which are the adult stages of crop pests.

Harvest operations are well underway on most Michigan grain farms, but the significant likelihood of above normal precipitation totals over the next couple of weeks could quickly return combines to the shed.

Agronomists from Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences have created a fact sheet designed to provide growers guidance on soil sampling to develop nutrient recommendations.