Up Coming Meetings:
Georgia Cattlemen’s Regional Roundup
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
This event will be held at the Colquitt County Extension Office and starts at 6 PM. If you are interesting in attending please RSVP to the Georgia Cattlemen’s office in Macon, 478-474-6560.
Colquitt County Cotton Defoliation and Peanut Maturity Update
Monday, August 29, 2016
This event will be held at the Colquitt County Extension office and starts at noon. Keynote speakers include Drs. Jared Whitaker, Scott Monfort and Wes Porter. Jared will cover cotton defoliation topics. Scott will update growers on peanut maturity and Wes will educate growers about precision ag. Pesticide credit will be available and if you are interested in attending this meeting please contact the Colquitt County Extension office at 229-616-7455.
UGA Grazing School
UGA Extension will host the annual Georgia Grazing School on Sept. 20 and 21 in Tifton, GA in the UGA Tifton Campus’s NESPAL conference room. This two-day workshop will focus on soil fertility, forage crop establishment, plant growth, animal nutrient requirements, and management-intensive grazing. Training will take place in both classroom and field settings. Multiple classroom lectures addressing plant and grazing management will be combined with a farm visit to a nearby grazing operation. Demonstrations of fencing and watering options will highlight valuable management practices for livestock producers.
Cost of the two day program is $150 for the first person from each farm ($75/person for each additional person from each farm/family) and includes lunches and breaks on each day, dinner on the first night, and a grazing school handbook. Participants are responsible for lodging. Registration is limited to 75 participants and is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you desire more information on Grazing School, contact the Colquitt County Extension office or go to the following link.
https://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/events/GS16/GS16.html#Agenda
White Flies!!
Numerous cotton fields are being treated for white flies in Colquitt County. Following is the method to check for whiteflies: 1) Count down from the terminal of the plant to the 5th vegetative leaf (starting with any leaf that is the size of a quarter or bigger), 2) Slowly turn the 5th leaf over to view the underside of the leaf, 3) See if there are any immature whiteflies present. If 50% or more of the 5th leaves checked have multiple immatures on them, then treatments should be started. Insect growth regulators like Knack or Courier can be used if the population is not too high. These options are slow acting, and results are not seen until 5 to 7 days after treatment. If populations have already exploded, then other insecticide options may be needed. If whitefly is present avoid using Bidrin. Bidrin provides excellent control of brown stink bug but is prone to flare whiteflies. A better option for stink bug control is the highest labeled rate of bifenthrin (6.4 fl ozs/a). Call or email if you have any questions.
White Mold in Peanuts!!
Still getting comments from concerned growers about white mold in peanuts. The current weather patterns have made development likely in this area so what should growers do? 1) Stay on a good spray program with a good fungicide for white mold control. 2) Growers (especially dry-land growers) should take advantage of predicted rain events to apply fungicides ahead of rain. Rains following fungicide applications (hopefully after 8-12 hours) will help to re-distribute the fungicide from the leaves to the crown of the plant. If rains occur to quickly after the fungicide spray, one can still expect good white mold control. However, the grower may need to come back to reapply a fungicide for leaf spot.
Peanut Maturity Clinics!!
The Colquitt County Extension will be offering peanut maturity clinics beginning August 30, 2016 thru September 30, 2016. The clinics will be offered Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9AM to 11AM and will be held at the Colquitt County Extension office. If you need peanut samples done earlier please call.
Taking a good sample is CRUCIAL in determining the proper time to dig, so here is a reminder of how to pull a sample for profiling peanut maturity. A peanut hull scrape maturity check will be as accurate as the sample that you take. Pull or dig up at least 5 to 6 adjacent plants from at least three representative parts of a field which can be dug in on day. Keep these samples from each area of the field separate. Pick ALL the peanuts off the plants until you get around 200 peanuts (a sample should contain between 180 and 220 peanut pods). Pick the vine clean. If it will be a while before you can bring the sample then pick off the sample and keep the peanuts in a bucket of water to keep them fresh.
Grain Storage Update
Corn harvest is underway in Colquitt County and there has been some reports of good corn yields. I am getting a few questions about treating shelled corn as it goes into storage. Dr. Mike Toews, UGA Entomologist, has provided us information on grain storage options.
https://site.extension.uga.edu/colquittag/2016/08/grain-storage-update/
Thank you for your time,