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The 59th annual University of Illinois Agronomy Day will be held at a new location on August 18. From land values to drones, university experts will cover a wide range of topics.

July 3, 2016

2 Min Read

Want to know more about drones in agriculture? What about nitrogen management? Do you have questions about Bt resistance? Hear about these topics and more at the 59th annual University of Illinois Agronomy Day.

The event will be held on August 18, 2016 at a new location: 4202 South 1st Street in Savoy, Illinois.

Here’s a rundown of topics and speakers:

TOUR A

• Tiffany Jamann: Genetic resistance for Northern Leaf Blight and Goss’ wilt in corn

• Frederic Kolb: Breeding for resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in wheat

• Santiago Mideros: Plant pathogen diversity and control of Fusarium Head Blight on wheat and Northern • Leaf Blight on corn

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• Nathan Schroeder: Nematodes, the unseen enemies

• Joe Spencer: Bt resistance in corn rootworm beetles

TOUR B

• Jonathan Coppess and Gary Schnitke: Economics of nutrient management

• Todd Kuethe: Land values

• Cameron Pittelkow: Nitrogen management

• Pat Tranel and Marty Williams: Weed science presentations

• Maria Villamil: Cover crops for soybean and corn rotation

TOUR C

• Dennis Bowman: Drone information and demonstration

• Jason Niekamp and Joshua Vonk: Managing soybeans for high yields

• Tony Studer: Maize photosynthesis

• Jake Vossenkemper: Soybean planting date and variety maturity

TOUR D

*Offered at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (tentative) with limited availability, as attendees will be transported offsite to SoyFACE. Attendees will need to sign up in advance at the registration table. Tours will last one hour.

• Lisa Ainsworth: Photosynthesis/climate effects on soybean yields

• Carl Bernacchi: CO2

• Andrew Leakey: Drought

• Don Ort: Overview of SoyFACE

What is SoyFACE?

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SoyFACE (Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment) is made up of several rings of horizontal pipes, each 70 feet in diameter in a soybean field on the South Farms at the University of Illinois.  It is an innovative facility for growing crops under production field conditions in an atmosphere that has higher levels of carbon dioxide and ozone, higher temperature and altered soil water availability. SoyFACE was designed to discover the effects of atmospheric change on the agronomy and productivity of Midwestern crops. Carbon dioxide and ozone can be released to the “atmosphere” inside the rings to simulate different concentrations in the air. Researchers can learn how those higher concentrations will affect crops.

For more information on speakers, displays, and location, join Agronomy Day 2016 on Facebook or visit the Agronomy Day website.

Source: University of Illinois

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