Content by SDSU Extension

Adult goldenrod soldier beetle sitting on a yellow/orange flower

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle: A late-summer friend in the garden

A number of ornamentals are in full bloom, ablaze with colors and, in some cases, buzzing with insects. One such insect that you may have noticed in your lawns is the goldenrod soldier beetle or Pennsylvania leatherwing (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus).

A pile of brown wheat seeds

Fungicide Seed Treatments for Winter Wheat

As producers are preparing to plant winter wheat, one of the decisions to make is whether to use a fungicide seed treatment, and if the answer is yes, which product to use.

two beetles side-by-side. The left one is a ladybeetle. The right is a colorado potato beetle.

Beetles in Your Garden: Friends and Foes

Two types of beetles are increasingly common on vegetable garden this time of the year. Interestingly enough, one is a predator that helps out gardeners getting rid of pestiferous insects while the other is a pest busily munching on the foliage.

A herd of cattle grazing near a pond on an open range.

Nitrates and Livestock Water Quality

Nitrate poisoning is something we think about with forages such as millet, oats, corn, sorghum, sudan, kochia and others that have been fertilized or if there is a drought, but water can also be a contributing factor.

a tractor in a field spraying soybeans

Foliar Fertilization for Soybeans

There has been much press and interest for foliar fertilization of soybean - especially for micronutrients based on plant analysis. In general, foliar fertilization has not proven effective unless there is severe deficiency of a particular nutrient.

white fly sitting on a green plant leaf

Biological Control of Pests in High Tunnels

Major insect and mite pests in high tunnels include aphids, thrips, white flies, and spider mites. Biological control uses living organisms (natural enemies) to suppress or limit pest populations to levels that do not cause economic injury to the crop.

Winter wheat emerging from a planted field.

Double-Crop after Wheat?

Two crops in one year may sound tempting, and for some crop species is possible, but before doing so, producers should consider possible crops and compare the potential benefits with the drawbacks.

two students look at a fish while a teacher makes an explination

Aquaculture Comes to South Dakota: Part 1

Aquaculture has expanded beyond Asia, Central America and the farm ponds of southern states up north to South Dakota. Of course, fish production in South Dakota opens a new market for the state’s soybean farmers.

Tomatoes growing in a high tunnel. Courtesy: USDA

Pollinating Tomatoes in High Tunnels

In field-grown tomatoes the air movement is sufficient to vibrate flowers and achieve pollination. This is not generally true in the high tunnel because there is not sufficient natural wind to vibrate the flowers. High tunnel tomato growers should therefore pollinate their crop by other means.

White grub with a C-shaped, white to cream-colored body, tan to brown head, 3 pairs of legs, and transparent abdomen.

White Grub Damage to Lawns

White grubs are root-infesting larvae that are the immature stages of scarab beetles. Grub-infested turfgrass may turn brown and die from drought stress due to the inability to take up water from loss of roots.