Plants or Crops

All Plants or Crops Content

Numerous grayish-brown bugs gathering on the stems of a Brassica plant.

False Chinch Bugs in the Garden

Swarms of false chinch bugs have started appearing in South Dakota this month. Although they are typically only a nuisance pest, their populations can become magnified during cool, wet springs (like this year). In high abundances, false chinch bugs can pose a threat to garden plants, especially Brassica plants such as broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, and cabbage.

A collection of empty pesticide and herbicide containers.

What to Do With Unusable Home and Garden Pesticides

As a gardener or homeowner, you may be wondering what you can do with your leftover pesticide products (including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides), or maybe you bought a new home and the garage or basement is full of mysterious containers with no labels. If products are stored in garages or other areas with a lot of temperature changes, these products may become entirely unusable. So what to do?

Three types of plant bugs. From left: Meadow plant bug, Lygus bug, and alfalfa plant bug.

Plant Bugs Showing Up in Alfalfa Fields

Plant bugs are now becoming active in alfalfa fields across the state. A common question we receive is why some of these bugs looks so different from others. There are actually three different types of plant bugs that commonly appear in alfalfa fields: meadow plant bugs, Lygus bugs (aka tarnished plant bugs), and alfalfa plant bugs.

Green beetle larvae with white stripe and brown head.

Alfalfa Weevil Activity: June 7, 2019

Quite a few degree days were accumulated over the course of the last week. Alfalfa fields should be closely monitored for alfalfa weevil activity for the next couple of weeks, even in areas where degree days indicate the alfalfa weevils are pupating.

A herd of cattle gather around a stock pond on a vast, lush grassland. Courtesy: USDA [CC BY 2.0]

2017 Weed Control: Pasture and Range

There are 24 million acres of native and tame pasture and range as well as 1.4 million acres of grass hayland in South Dakota.

grass with field bindweed, a viny green weed with white flowers

2018 Weed Control Noxious Weeds

Noxious Weed Recommendations: Herbicides for pasture, range, and non-crop areas, including roadside and other right-of-way that may be harvested for hay or grazed, are given a priority.

Teardrop shaped green insect with long legs and antennae on a lighter green leaf.

Pea Aphid Populations Increasing in Alfalfa

While scouting alfalfa this week, we noticed pea aphid populations are starting to increase. The forecast is looking favorable for this pest, so it will be important to continue monitoring populations prior to and after the first cutting.

Green beetle larvae with a white stripe running down its body.

Alfalfa Weevil Activity Update: May 30, 2019

It was another cool week for most of South Dakota, with little degree day accumulation occurring. However, alfalfa fields should still be monitored for alfalfa weevil activity, although the cool, wet weather might have slowed the pest down.

Brown beetle with long snout.

2019 Alfalfa Weevil Activity

It was another cool week in South Dakota with not a lot of degree day accumulation occurring. Alfalfa fields should still be monitored for alfalfa weevil activity even though the cool wet weather might have slowed this pest down.

Sun rising over a vast spring landscape with green corn emerging from the soil.

Large Farms More Dominant in South Dakota Crop Production

Large farms play a more dominant role in South Dakota crop production, according to the recently released 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture. As of 2017, large farms of more than 2,000 acres operate 66.8% of South Dakota total cropland aces compared to 47.7% as of 1997.