Given the wet harvest conditions in June, now is a good time to check the condition of dry hay in your barn. There have been a few reported cases of hot hay already this year. You can check the temperature of the mow with a thermometer inside a pipe or simply by pushing a metal rod into the mow and leaving it for 10 to 15 minutes and then feeling the temperature with your hand. Early planted corn now has a good canopy over the row. Where the corn is too advanced for an over the top herbicide application, the use of drop nozzles may be the only alternative.
Armyworn damage is evident in a number of locations.
The armyworn larvae feed on the foliage of grass crops like corn, cereals and grass hay fields. At this time of year, weedy corn fields attract armyworm moths for egg-laying. You can check for armyworm by examining your fields during the evening, just before sunset when the caterpillars are moving up the stalk or out of the whorl of the corn plant to feed. The threshold for treatment is 5 to 6 armyworm larvae per square foot. For Armyworn control, see Table 7-19 on page 112 of the Field Crop Recommendations Publication 296.