Farmers may not be seeing major signs of pests or diseases yet, but should be scouting their fields to get ahead of anything that may come.

Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist Mike Witt says that there haven’t been any reports of major insects like corn rootworm, or diseases like black tar up to this point, but that farmers shouldn’t wait until they see major signs of them. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio what the most important thing to do right now is in terms of preparing for pests, weeds and diseases.

“The biggest thing is make sure that you go out and scout your fields. If you have weed issues, or if you’re having weed escapes, making sure to get out there and get that rescue application of herbicide, if that’s what you’re going to require. Make sure you get that done sooner rather than later so that you can get that and get a chance to attack those weeds, because canopies are going to start closing fairly quickly.”

Witt mentions that once soybeans and corn canopy, it makes it that much more difficult to get chemical treatments to the areas where it’s needed, especially for things like corn rootworm. He adds that for those using alfalfa as a cover crop, there have been reports of alfalfa weevil, so getting on top of that before your second cutting is important.