AGA 381 - Crop Scouting

1. Evaluate crop scouting basic techniques, tools, and testing
   1.  Identify fundamental concepts of integrated pest management
   2. Assess economic thresholds and injury levels
   3. Develop crop-scouting schedules that include frequency of scouting and patterns used
   4. Take part in the collection and shipment of plant and soil samples
   5. Construct a general scouting report
   6. Identify basic tools used to crop scout grain and forage crops 
2. Estimate grain and forage crop growth stage and development
   1. Identify normal crop anatomy and morphology of grain and forage crops
   2. Analyze growth and developmental stages for grain and forage crops
   3. Estimate grain and forage crop plant populations
   4. Make use of growing degree-days to predict the timing of plant development 
   5. Utilize a management calendar to crop scout grain and forage crops
   6. Distinguish the developmental growth stage of corn and soybean plants 
3. Judge biotic factors that affect crop growth and development 
   1. Identify common grain and forage crop insects, their morphology, and life cycles 
   2. Identify common beneficial insects of grain and forage crops
   3. Identify common grain and forage crop diseases 
   4. Apply the disease triangle to assess crop disease risk and development
   5. Summarize common grain and forage crop weeds, their morphology, and life cycles
   6. Make recommendations based on pest injury levels to minimize economic damage
   7. Recommend crop pest prevention and management strategies 
4. Evaluate abiotic factors that affect grain and forage crops’ growth and development 
   1. Identify nutrient deficiencies in grain and forage crops
   2. Compare soil with good structure with compacted soil
   3. Summarize how crop injury can occur due to pesticide drift and pesticide carry-over 
   4. Identify mechanical crop damage on grain and forage crops
   5. Evaluate fertilizer burn on grain and forage crops
   6. Apply a diagnostic field guide to identify grain and forage crop problems 
5. Propose management strategies to prevent or minimize pesticide resistance 
   1. Identify how pesticide resistance occurs
   2. Evaluate integrated pest management strategies prior to selecting pesticides
   3. Compare the mode and sites of action of pesticides used to control crop pest
   4. Contrast the types of application methods used to place pesticides
   5. Make defendable pesticide product recommendations based on pesticide application timing
   6. Interpret current federal and state pesticide laws as they pertain to pesticide used on grain and forage crops in Iowa
6. Appraise the need and use of precision agriculture technology used in crop scouting 
   1. Identify the various uses of GPS in crop scouting
   2. Outline the economics of precision technology used in crop scouting 
   3. Practice mapping an area using a hand-held GPS unit
   4. Demonstrate the operation of a drone to collect crop scouting information 
   5. Export saved data to computer applications to create a written scouting report
   6. Identify computer applications that can visually identify pest organisms in the field