Crops & Comments

Did you know that cleaner air has quietly turned sulfur into a yield-limiting nutrient for row crops in North Carolina and South Carolina?

In this week's episode, we sit down with an agronomy expert to unpack the "Clean Air Act effect." With power plant sulfur dioxide emissions down 95% since 1990, the "free" atmospheric sulfur that used to mask soil deficiencies is practically gone. We dig into the inseparable biochemical link between nitrogen and sulfur — and explain why piling on more nitrogen won't fix a sulfur problem, and will actually just drive nitrate accumulation and poor crop protein.

Key topics covered in this episode:

• The Soil Risk — Why deep, sandy, low-organic-matter Coastal Plain soils (like Candor and Conetoe) are the most vulnerable to sulfur leaching.
• Testing Tactics — Why standard soil tests are notoriously unreliable for sulfur, and how to properly diagnose issues with plant tissue testing.
• The N:S Ratio Debate — A nuanced look at whether to rely on the traditional 15:1 to 20:1 nitrogen-to-sulfur tissue ratio, or follow newer research that judges nitrogen and sulfur on their individual sufficiency.
• Fertilizer Strategy — The benefits of treating at-risk fields with immediately available sulfate-based fertilizers (like AMS or ATS) rather than relying on slow-releasing elemental sulfur for a quick correction.
• Economic ROI — The break-even math showing why 15–25 lbs of sulfur per acre is a low-cost investment that pays for itself in responsive crops.

Every March, Italian ryegrass shows up armored, oversized, and resistant to nearly every herbicide group in the toolbox — by the time you can see it, it's too late. On this episode we aim to lay out the fall program that actually works.

We break down Geoff Reeves' October burndown strategy: pairing Liberty Ultra (glufosinate) + AMS to wipe out early emerged seedlings, layered with a Zidua SC or Anthem Flex (pyroxasulfone) residual — anchored with the adjuvant Infuse so winter rain doesn't wash the barrier below the germination zone. Then we get into the cover crop debate: why bin-run winter wheat, not cereal rye, is Geoff's pick for physically choking out ryegrass without overwhelming your planter, tying up nitrogen come spring and most importantly -- simply giving the farmer options.

If you grow row crops anywhere ryegrass is a problem, this is the fall checklist to have locked in now.

EPA just cleared three new herbicide active ingredients for corn, soybeans, and wheat — and they're aimed squarely at the weeds giving Southeast growers the most trouble: resistant Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, and marestail.

In this episode we break down what each one actually is and where it fits: epyrifenacil (Valent's Rapidicil, sold as Empera) and trifludimoxazin (BASF's Tirexor and Voraxor) — two next-generation Group 14 PPO inhibitors built to control PPO-resistant pigweed that older chemistry can't touch — plus diflufenican (Bayer's Convintro), the first effective Group 12 "bleacher" residual for pigweed control in corn and soybeans.

We keep it practical: how they differ from glyphosate, glufosinate, and the PPOs you're already running; where they slot into burndown, preplant, and pre-emergence programs; why none of them is a silver bullet for Italian ryegrass in wheat; and how to use them to diversify sites of action instead of burning them out. If resistance management is on your mind heading into next season, this one's for you.

RNA interference — RNAi — is quietly reshaping how we think about insect control in row crops. The technology is already commercial: corn growers have had an RNAi rootworm trait since 2022, and potato growers got the first sprayable dsRNA product in 2024. But for soybean and cotton? Nothing is registered yet — and there are real biological reasons why.

In this episode, we break down how RNAi actually works, why beetles responded first while caterpillars and sucking insects are a harder problem, what's in the pipeline for soybean and cotton pests, and what a realistic timeline looks like for row crop farmers. We also sort the independent university data from the manufacturer claims — because in a category this new, that distinction matters.

Why are farm managers spraying an EPA-registered biochemical pesticide to force their crops to grow?

In this episode of the Crops & Comments podcast by Field to Yield, curated by Geoff Reeves, we cut through the glossy agricultural marketing to explore the hidden science behind Radiate by Loveland Products. We explore how a tiny active fraction of the product utilizes a highly specific 5.7 to 1 ratio of auxin to cytokinin.

Tracing this exact chemical formulation back to the 1957 Skoog-Miller principle discovered at the University of Wisconsin, we explain how this mathematical ratio acts as a "master biological switch" that aggressively drives root development and floors the plant's underground architecture pedal. We also dive into severe competitor patent warnings to reveal the catastrophic 20% yield loss that occurs when this delicate hormone balance is inverted, forcing leafy canopy growth while starving the roots.

Finally, we break down the real-world field agronomics. Learn why applying this root-boosting trigger during early vegetative stages (like V2 to V5 for soybeans) gets a "free ride" in the herbicide tank, acting as a cheap structural insurance policy against late-season droughts and heat stress. Tune in to find out if chemically altering your crop's foundational blueprint is a scientifically sound risk management tool or just a placebo.

Why does a trace element punch so far above its weight in the Carolina Piedmont and the broader Southeast?

In this episode of Crops & Comments, we take a deep dive into boron to explore the fundamental science of why it acts as the literal "mortar" holding plant cell walls together by cross-linking pectin. We explain the critical concept of "phloem immobility" — the fact that boron is a one-way ticket up the plant. Because your corn and soybeans have no internal savings account to draw from, they rely on a steady supply exactly when reproductive demand spikes.

We cover the specific impacts of boron deficiency on both crops, from barren stalks, "tip-back," and erratic kernel loss in corn, to impaired nitrogen-fixing nodules and hidden pod-set losses in soybeans.

Given the highly weathered, low-organic-matter, and highly leachable soils of the Southeast, we discuss why even a brief deficiency window can quietly cap your yield. Most importantly, we explore the trend of adding boron to your mid-season fungicide applications at VT/R1 for corn or R1–R5 for soybeans. While this timing perfectly aligns with peak reproductive demand, we explain why tissue testing is essential to ensure boron is truly the limiting factor before you spray.

Tune in to learn how to keep your crop's "mortar" strong and ensure your plants have the fuel they need exactly when reproduction counts.

What is Falling Number? Falling number is a physical test (the Hagberg-Perten test) that measures alpha-amylase activity in your wheat. In the lab, ground grain and water are mixed into a slurry, and a machine measures the exact time in seconds it takes for a plunger to fall through the mixture. If the wheat has sprout damage, the alpha-amylase enzyme thins out the slurry, causing the plunger to fall faster and resulting in a lower falling number.

Environment Outweighs Genetics: When it comes to falling numbers, the weather conditions at your specific farm matter far more than the variety of seed you plant. Rain after maturity and temperature fluctuations dictate FN to the point that a single wheat variety can swing more than 140 seconds between two different locations during the exact same crop year.

The SY Viper Question: The data shows SY Viper isn't necessarily a silver bullet for high falling numbers — it tested right in the middle of the pack for FN performance. However, it does possess a few favorable traits, specifically an awnless (beardless) head type that can help the plant shed water and dry out, which modestly reduces the risk of pre-harvest sprouting.

Testing is Outdated — Test Your Own: Official variety testing for falling numbers is extremely limited; the most comprehensive regional data we have comes from a 2018–2019 NC State study. Because multi-year public data isn't currently available, the best strategy is to do your own testing. You can submit your farm's wheat samples for free through the NC Cooperative Extension to be tested at NC State's new Grain Quality Lab.