Plants or Crops

All Plants or Crops Content

Purple-brown caterpillar with orange head on a green corn leaf.

Common Stalk Borer Activity Estimate: May 25, 2023

Common stalk borer caterpillars are a frequent early-season pest of corn, and their hatching and movement can be estimated by using degree days. See our latest scouting and management recommendations based on observations from around the state.

Many small, thin insects on a yellow background with a mechanical pencil tip for scale.

Invasion of the Western Flower Thrips

Recent southerly winds brought large numbers of western flower thrips to the eastern third of South Dakota. Learn how to identify and manage this pest before they become a problem in your yard and garden.

Tractor applying preemergence herbicide on a freshly planted field.

Considerations for Preemergence Herbicides

Weeds emerging with crop plants have the potential to reduce yields. Learn some tips for applying preemergence herbicides to control weeds before emergence to ensure that your yields aren't limited by early-season weeds.

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

Alfalfa Weevil Activity Prediction Update: May 19, 2023

Forecasted weather conditions are ideal for alfalfa weevil activity, and early detection of feeding activity will prevent extensive defoliation.

Raised bed garden container.

Using Compost in Raised Beds and Containers

Compost is often mixed with soil to create a more-fertile growing media, as well as to increase the ability of the soil to hold both air and water. Learn some expert tips for using it in raised beds!

Three perennial trial plants: Sedum 'Rock 'N Grow® Back in Black', Ornamental Oregano (Origanum) ‘Drops of Jupiter’, and Russian Sage (Perovskia) 'Sage Advice.’

A Look Back at Top-Performing Perennials From the 2022 McCrory Gardens Trial

Are you looking for new ideas of what to grow in your garden? Take a look at six of the top-performing perennials as judged during the 2022 growing season at McCrory Gardens.

A monarch butterfly alights near a purple flower with trees, grass and a blue sky in the background

SDSU Extension, McCrory Gardens to host 2023 Garden Discovery Festival

May 15, 2023

SDSU Extension and McCrory Gardens are kicking off their summer programming with the 2023 Garden Discovery Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. CST on May 21 at McCrory Gardens in Brookings, South Dakota.

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

Alfalfa Weevil Activity Prediction Update: May 15, 2023

During the last week, the entire state reached enough degree days to have active alfalfa larvae. In areas with the highest accumulation of degree days, alfalfa should be scouted to ensure that alfalfa weevils don’t cause extensive defoliation.

Four top-performing perennial plants: Phlox ‘Opening Act Pink-a-Dot,’ Ornamental Onion ‘Serendipity,’ False Sunflower ‘Tuscan Sun,’ and Coral bells ‘Dolce® Wildberry.’

2021 McCrory Gardens Trials: A Look Back at Top-Performing Perennials

Are you looking for new ideas of what to grow in your garden? Let’s take a look at the six top-performing perennials as judged during the 2021 growing season at McCrory Gardens!

Four Top-performing annnuals: Sunflower ‘Suncredible® Saturn™, Verbena ‘Superbena® Imperial Blue™’, Sweet Alyssum ‘Violet Knight™’ and Coleus ‘ColorBlaze® El Brighto.'

2021 McCrory Gardens Trials: A Look Back at Top-Performing Garden and Container Annuals

Let’s take a look at the ten top-performing annuals during the 2021 McCrory Gardens Trials! Results feature the top six in-ground annuals and the top four container grown annuals.