How to start a peanut fungicide program?
- Consult Peanut Rx to determine risk. Lower risk fields have better options.
- Did your grower use Velum in-furrow? If so, grower can most likely start a program at 40-45 days after planting.
- Most growers will start their program 30-35 days after planting. Most any leaf spot fungicide (applied at correct rate) is appropriate at this timing. This includes chlorothalonil, but fungicides like Absolute Maxx, Approach Prima, etc. also work well early.
- Growers who start a leaf spot fungicide program at 45 days should recognize that the BEST products here (in my opinion and I have lots of opinions based upon results from our research trials with Dr. Albert Culbreth and Dr. Tim Brenneman) include Priaxor and Lucento. I see them as “more alike” at 45 days than they are different. Using fungicdes like chlorothalonil alone, Aproach Prima, or Absolute Maxx as a FIRST fungicide at 45 days should be done only after careful thought. Most every grower in the state, except for a father and son team in Screven County, SHOULD begin a program by 45 days after planting. It gets tough to fight disease if it gets ahead of you. Same goes for melanoma. My sister had it cut off her shoulder yesterday. They think they got it all. Much longer and it would have been bad. Get yourselves checked for skin cancer. Some of us in the specialist ranks will tell you to do it now.
- One grower we talked to wanted to start his peanut fungicide program at 30 days with 8 oz of tebuconazole. It might work. It might not work. With our resistance in peanut leaf spot diseases to tebby, why not mix some chlorothalonil in with it…. to be safe…