With so many Bt trait offerings on the market today, it can be challenging to determine which package best fits your farm. Each package contains different combinations of traits with different levels of effectiveness against specific pests. Understanding best management practices is critical to ensuring control options for years to come.

A corn rootworm (CRW) beetle infestation can decimate corn yield. They have a keen ability to adapt to control strategies, which makes vigilant scouting and management a priority. Regions with heavy continuous corn acres can harbor high CRW populations. However, rotation-resistant beetles and extended diapause beetles contribute to increased populations, even with a rotation in place. With careful monitoring, a timely insecticide application can manage CRW pressure and mitigate damage the following year.

Grain corn ear molds can lead to yield loss at harvest. If mycotoxins are present, grain may be toxic to animals and ultimately unusable. It’s important to understand environmental conditions that lead to diseases and how those diseases affect grain.

Factors that stress corn throughout the growing season can lead to stalk rots, which can lead to yield loss due to premature plant death or lodging. Understanding stalk rots risk factors and management practices are critical.

Stand establishment depends not only on the success or failure of germination but also on early season stresses. If you notice early stand problems, carefully examine damaged seedlings to discover clues to the likely causes.

Northern corn rootworm (NCRW) is one of the most damaging corn pests in North America. Because the NCRW typically has a one-year life cycle, rotating corn with another crop has been a successful management strategy. Unfortunately, some populations of NCRW have successfully adapted to a corn soybean rotation and now have a two-year life cycle. This is called extended diapause because the eggs remain dormant in the soil for almost two years before hatching.

Seed treatments can help protect soybean seeds and seedlings against a wide range of yield-threatening insects and diseases. Treatments can help to increase stand and vigor, promote earlier canopy closure and improve yield potential. The need for seed treatment depends on soil type, field history and pest pressure. Assess all factors before deciding whether to order seed treatment.

Producers who plant insect-traited corn are required to manage refuges to preserve Bt technology. With so many trait options, following refuge management guidelines has become more complicated. SmartStax^® Refuge Advanced^® available in Mycogen^® brand hybrids simplifies achieving higher whole-farm yield potential by making refuge management easier. Refuge Advanced ensures refuge compliance in the Corn Belt¹ with a blend of 95 percent SmartStax seeds and 5 percent non-insect-traited refuge seeds in one bag.

Before planting, producers planning to use Mycogen^® brand BMR and TMF corn hybrids should carefully select which fields will be used for corn silage in order to maximize quality and yield.

Early season seedling damage can significantly reduce yield. Scout cornfields regularly and diagnose problems before economic losses occur.

Dry summers and relentless pests increase your corn crop’s susceptibility to aflatoxins, which are harmful to livestock. Reduce your exposure with effective management.

Corn rootworm is one of the most damaging pests in the Corn Belt. Don't let corn rootworm rob your yields. Scout for the pest by digging for larvae. Jeff Housman, Mycogen Seeds customer agronomist, walks through how to do root digs to find corn rootworm to evaluate the damage in your fields.

Since their 2000 United States debut, soybean aphids have proven to reduce yields by up to 40 percent while exposing soybean crops to other potential pest problems. Under the right circumstances, insecticide applications can help growers manage crop losses.

A high rate of black cutworm (BCW) moth catches, green fields and late planting dates are the perfect recipe for significant damage from black cutworm. Damage can range from very little to almost 100 percent stand loss. To give late-planted corn the best yield potential, make controlling this pest a high priority.

Sunflowers are grown in many parts of the country and planting dates vary considerably from region to region. Both early and late planting dates have associated benefits and risks.

Protect your crop by scouting sunflower fields for insects, which can appear at different crop maturity stages throughout the growing season. Establish action thresholds for each insect based on population to help determine when an insecticide application is economically sensible.

Slug damage in corn and soybeans has increased with the adoption of no-till and minimum-till practices. Because rescue treatment options are limited, growers should take steps to prevent slug damage.

Spider mites can be a major corn pest in western regions of the United States. Mite infestations damage corn by removing photosynthates from the leaves, resulting in loss of leaf tissue, stalk breakage, kernel shrink and premature death. Damage from spider mites may lead to yield or tonnage loss and poor quality silage with low relative feed value.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is an invasive species that is causing economic damage to fruit, vegetable and agronomic crops in the Mid-Atlantic states. The insect now is expanding its range westward across the Corn Belt.

Cutworms can devastate sunflower plant stands if left unchecked and untreated. Perhaps their biggest asset is grower underestimation of the damage that can occur. Before planting, consider best practices for protecting your crop.

Corn nematodes are plant parasites that exist in every field to some degree. Yield loss varies by nematode species and their populations. Collecting and submitting samples for plant parasitic nematode analysis is the only way to evaluate your exposure.

In Midwest alfalfa fields, potato leafhoppers can cause significant problems for alfalfa growers by reducing yield, quality and stand longevity. Scouting alfalfa stands for these pests is crucial to alleviating future headaches.

Grasshopper population levels are highest during hot, dry summers. Active scouting and applying appropriate crop management practices can help guard your crop from damage.

Flea beetles are one of the most jarring canola pests in the northern Plains. Follow these guidelines to control infestations.

Historically, sunflower stem weevils have mostly caused sunflower stalk lodging damage. However, in recent years the longhorned beetle also has become a concern. Growers who can identify the problem can escape the financial penalty.