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Dicamba Heads Management Topics At MU Crop Conference, Dec. 14-15
COLUMBIA, MO.
“The Dicamba Dilemma” will be one of the top topics at the annual Crop Management Conference in Columbia, Dec. 14-15.
The keynote talk by Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weed scientist, is subtitled “Where do we go from here?”
Much farm news and coffee talk in the 2017 soybean growing season concerned the herbicide and soybean varieties resistant to dicamba.
Problems occurred with drift or vaporization that carried the herbicide beyond farmers’ fields. Bradley has tested new herbicides for years in his MU test plots. After problems popped up in 2017, he spent many days investigating damaged fields.
In his keynote, Bradley plans to summarize research on volatility of the new formulations. “It’s not just my research but that from university weed scientist across the country,” he says.
The conference provides latest research on other problems seen this year. There will be far more than herbicides in the two-day meeting at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, Columbia.
The meetings began to provide education credits for certified crop advisers with farm supply companies and MU Extension.
At the same time as the conference, MO-AG holds its annual meeting and trade show in the Expo Center. It is free to those with conference nametags.
By attending, farmers find they get growing tips for next year. To encourage attendance, the MU Conference Office gives a cut-rate fee of $100 for farmers.
Other MU Extension specialists and researchers will tell more than herbicide research and impact. Ray Massey, MU economist, will talk on “Herbicide Injury: Crop and Liability Insurance.” Massey adds a talk on a new dimension of economics, the study of “irrational decision-making.”
A growing concern is changing weather. That’s covered each year. Pat Guinan, MU climatologist, tells how to use the drought monitor index.
A recent study said Missouri may become more like Oklahoma in weather. This change may affect soybean variety selection.
Bill Wiebold, MU soybean agronomist, will provide attendees with a session on “Plant Response to Drought and Temperature.” He runs date-of-planting studies and crop variety tests.
An old problem with renewed interest is the soybean cyst nematode (SCN). Melissa Mitchum, MU nematologist, will tell of SCN resistance management.
In all, 29 sessions go in three concurrent tracks. Areas include crops, nutrients, pests, and soil and water. All are professional development for advisers.
Enrollees get copies of speakers’ slides and handouts on mobile devices in real time at the conference.
Registration is through the MU Conference Office or at plantsciences.missouri.edu/cmc.
For questions about the program, call Bradley at 573-882-4039. Registration questions go to 573-882-4349. For hotel rooms, call 573-445-8531. Ask for a crop conference rate. ∆
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