By Bob Kemerait
- Peanuts and disease: Conditions are perfect now for leaf spot disease to occur. A significant portion of our crop is approaching 30 days after planting and wet fields are likely to keep growers our of the field. Growers who are delayed making their first application should consider using or mixing a systemic fungicide (for example Priaxor or Alto or Domark, etc.) with their first leaf spot spray.
- Cotton: Seedling disease will continue to be a problem in warm, wet soils. Growers delayed in planting cotton until now may consider extra protection from seedling disease to include in-furrow fungicides or additional seed treatments.
- Cotton: bacterial blight- conditions are perfect for bacterial blight to affect susceptible varieties planted in our cotton fields. Cotton is susceptible to bacterial blight throughout the growing season; in fact I have seen reports on social media where bacterial blight has already been found on young DP1747NR planted in Irwin County. This is significant because the earlier that cotton is affected, the more severe the POTENTIAL for disease loss. The eventual losses are not only a factor of how early the disease occurs, but also how susceptible the variety is and how weather conditions continue throughout the season.