Pests & Diseases

Rodents can be a significant pest in alfalfa fields for producers. Damage to irrigation equipment, loss in hay yield and the rapidly increasing number of rodents present can be a costly problem for any operation. Current control systems for rodents can be the use of traps, flooding or poisoning.

Warmer weather is right around the corner and that means the summer growing season is not far away. The above-average rainfall that many of us have received over the last couple of months has left a lot of pasture damaged and in need of renovation.

Alfalfa weevil (scientific name Hypera postica) is one of the most damaging pests of alfalfa grown nationally, and recommendations to manage its damage have remained unchanged for several decades. During the last few years, however, alfalfa producers in the Western region have reported increasing problems managing this pest.

Root and plant diseases that affect alfalfa yield and quality are nothing new to farmers. Diseases can be difficult to identify and manage, and it can be hard to understand their impact on plant health.

It is difficult to prevent fumonisin contamination of corn when conducive environmental conditions occur; however, selecting the right crop hybrid and using good cultural practices reduces severity.

Damage caused by dicamba drift has been in the news a lot over the past couple of years. With Monsanto releasing new varieties resistant to a new, less volatile formula of dicamba, reports of drift damage have increased in many states.