Content by SDSU Extension

Strawberry Care

Have you been enjoying strawberries from your own patch? Here are some tips for keeping your strawberry plants healthy and productive.

A pair of hands holding a soybean sample with three leaves.

Plant Nutrient Analysis: Do your soybeans have the right stuff?

There has been a renewed interest in taking samples of soybean leaves for nutrient analysis as a quality control tool to ensure soil and the fertilizer programs are meeting the needs of the plant to eliminate nutrients as a yield limiting factor.

Two mosquitoe samples side-by-side. The one on the left is labeled "A". The right one is labeled "B".

Know Your Mosquitoes to Protect Yourself

Mosquito trapping efforts across the state in the last seven years showed that there are over 20 species of mosquitoes occurring in South Dakota, yet only two species dominate the surveillance data: Aedes vexans and Culex tarsalis.

SDSU Research Shows Effects Of Volunteer Corn In Corn And Soybeans

In 2007, researchers at South Dakota State University indicated that volunteer corn is much less competitive in corn than soybean. The South Dakota study (Alms et al. 2007) evaluated the full season effect of a range of volunteer corn densities (800-14,000 plants/acre) on both corn and soybean and reported yield losses that ranged from 0% to 13% in corn and 0% to 54% in soybean.

hands holding a sample of turf with thick thatch.

Understanding Thatch in Turf

Many homeowners have a misconception that thatch in turfgrass is undesirable and should be eliminated; however, when thatch is not excessive it is actually beneficial to the turf.

an orange lady beetle with nine black spots

Lady Beetles of South Dakota

Lady beetles are one of the most familiar groups of beneficial insects. Farmers and gardeners appreciate them for devouring insect pests. Both adult lady beetles and caterpillar-like juveniles eat pests.

Spring Dandelion Control In Soybeans

Dandelion has become much more of a problem as farming practices have changed. Less tillage and increased use of glyphosate resistant crops along with reduced use of residual herbicides have allowed some perennial weeds such as dandelion to prevail.

A black angus calf grazing in a green pasture.

Calf Implants: Use/Don’t Use At Grass Time?

While the performance benefits of implanting calves through the suckling phase is well documented, many cattlemen choose not to employ this management practice in their operations.

a lush, green grape vine with clusters of dark, purple grapes

Grapes for Your Garden

Grapes in the Dakotas? Given an appropriate growing site and care, grape vines can last for decades or more in our climate thanks to the efforts of grape breeders over the past thirty years.

A black calf drinking milk from its mother.

The Suckling Effect

As soon as the calf hits the ground, the reproductive clock of the cow starts to tick. In order to maintain the annual production cycle of the cowherd, cows and heifers must overcome postpartum anestrus within 83 days of calving.