Hit and miss rain and showers were part of the headlines over the last week across the north central region of the state.  This included some severe weather events – strong winds and some hail were reported north and east of Minot last Friday.  The following are observed reports of precipitation throughout the area for the last week (week starting July 12^th) include: Minot: 0.46” (NCREC 0.43”); Bottineau: 0.05”; Garrison: 0.56”; Karlsruhe: 0.47”; Mohall: 0.27”; Plaza: 0.11”; and Rugby: 2.08”.  Bare soil temperatures at the NCREC was observed at 70^◦F as of July 20^th.  According to the forecast, it appears some hit and miss showers are possible over the next week.

Some growers are calling into the NCREC about some continued fungicide applications.  Many small grain applications are complete.  Soybean and dry bean are in the flowering stages.  Much of the canola in the region is in the flowering stage, with some pod development taking place.  The small grains continue to advance quickly.  Some winter wheat at the station appears to be nearing maturity. Corn is observed at the station in the V7 stage.  The area scouts have been hard at work.  Grasshoppers are being found in localized pockets, so continue to scout.  There have been some reported armyworm issues in the area.  A grower in Bottineau County reported defoliation to some of his small grains, however, due to size (about 1.5 inches) are no longer required to be controlled.  The have reached a point in their development where feeding has dropped considerably as they begin to move into the pupa stage.  No feeding (or damage) occurs during this stage.  As a result, any control would not yield an economic return.

TJ Prochaska

Extension Crop Protection Specialist

NDSU North Central Research Extension Center