NDSU Langdon Research Extension Center to Host Annual Field Day on July 24

Jul 11, 2025

By Randy Mehlhoff

The Langdon Research Extension Center (LREC) will be holding its annual field day in cooperation with the Northern Canola Growers Association (NCGA) on Thursday, July 24, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and concluding with a noon meal sponsored by the NCGA.

There will be an array of topics to address during the field tours, including a disease and insect update on the 2025 canola crop in northeast North Dakota. An update will be provided on select soil health projects on the grounds of the LREC, along with an opportunity for participants to view the new NDSU Extension Soil Health Express education trailer.

“This area, known for its cool temperatures and wet climate, is very conducive to disease development, so information on small grain diseases in 2025 will be a featured topic,” says Randy Mehlhoff, LREC director. “Recently, some very promising NDSU hard red spring wheat (HRSW) varieties have been released, and we will address their performance during the field tours. Finally, information on resistant weed management and proper grain storage management in northeast North Dakota will be offered.”

Source : ndsu.edu

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.