Smooth and timely planting season followed by good emergence and populations has led many farmers in western Illinois to have high expectations about the 2025 crop. Bayer Technical Agronomist Lance Tarchione adds that so far, disease pressure has been low, which could change in the coming weeks.
“It’s been moist and humid for six weeks in this area, and disease development has been slower than some people anticipated, says Tarchione. “We need to keep disease pressure low, we need to lower our temperatures, and we need to quit getting rain now and save some for August. Those things are what will make this crop all it can be.”
Tarchione adds that the heat and moisture over the past few weeks most likely had an impact on the yield.
“The last two weeks, probably trimmed yield just because it’s been too hot. What we’re going to see is maybe more tip back on some ears than you would have anticipated, and you could be seeing potentially smaller kernel size, which is not going to ruin the crop, but it does take some of the ‘icing off the cake,’ so to speak. I like to keep expectations realistic, and I would rather people be pleasantly surprised in the combine rather than disappointed.”
Tarchione adds that the two primary diseases he has seen in fields are Gray Leaf Spot and Southern Rust.
