Up Coming Events:
Winter Forage Field Day at Packer Park Farm. This event will be held at the Packer Park Farm next to the Colquitt County High School. It starts at 11 am and will conclude with lunch at the Colquitt County Extension office. If you are interested in attending please contact the Colquitt County Extension office or Heath Cross, Colquitt County Young Farmer Advisor.
The Colquitt County Cattlemen will host a meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 starting at 7 PM. Dr. Lisa Baxter, UGA Forage Agronomist, will be giving producers a forage update. This event will be held at the Colquitt County Extension office. If you are intersted in attending please contact Kris at the Colquitt County Extension office.
All About the Pod: In this week’s episode , Dr. Scott Monfort is with Dr. Scott Tubbs, Dr. Glen Harris, Dr. Wes Porter, and Dr. Eric Prostko. In this episode, the peanut team discussed equipment maintenance, herbicides, fertility (lime and gypsum), and seed quality. Many of these discussion points came from questions asked during the recent county grower meetings. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allaboutthepod/episodes/Episode-2-3-Equipment–Fertility–Herbicide–and-Seed-Quality-Discussion-e2gqmmp
EPISODE 3, Season 2
What if I missed the UPW training last week? There was a great turnout for the Using Pesticides Wisely training at the Colquitt County Extension office last week. If you were busy doing other things and could not attend the training there are a few more opportunities to receive this training. The upcoming schedule is posted here.
Rainfall totals over the last week have ranged from 1 to 3 plus inches. The illustration below shows rainfall totals for south GA for the last 7 days (March 10, 2024).
The 7-day weather summary from the UGA Weather Station located at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie. The 2 Inch soil temperatures are in the mid-60s and the recorded rainfall was 2.91 inches.
Mr. Kichler, when can I fertilizer my bermudagrass hay fields? This has been a challenge this year for sure. Warm season perennial grasses, such as bahiagrass or bermudagrass, green-up when nighttime temperatures remain above 60 degrees F for several days in the spring and soil temperature reaches 65 degrees at the 4-inch depth. For bermudagrass or bahiagrass to utilize any fertilizer, it should be applied after green-up and as active growth begins.
Stripe Rust in Wheat: I started to notice stripe rust in area wheat fields. The wheat crop is in the stem elongation stage of development. The UGA Wheat Production Guide states that Stripe Rust is also called yellow rust. Pustules coalesce to produce long yellow stripes between veins of the leaf and sheath. Small yellow, linear lesions occur on floral bracts. These pustules are filled with spores of the fungus. In Georgia, the disease appears in late February or early March during cool, overcast, and wet weather. Stripe rust occurs well before leaf rust. Stripe rust is an emerging disease in Georgia and has been seen for two of the last three years. Stripe rust can have a potentially devastating effect on yield. Chemical options are available to control stripe rust however selection of fungicide should be made judiciously. Genetic resistance to stripe rust should be the best way to manage the disease. The UGA publication Stripe Rust (Yellow Rust) in Wheat mentions that two types of genetic resistance to stripe rust are known: a) seedling resistance and b) adult plant resistance. Seedling resistance, which is controlled by a single gene, is highly effective and lasts throughout the wheat life cycle. Adult plant resistance develops as the plants mature. Expression can occur at different growth stages ranging from boot to early head emergence, depending on the variety. What about control? Please go to the Small Grains portion of the UGA Pest Management Handbook.
Dr. Prostko discussed several topics during the weed management program this past January, including how Brake herbicide fits into a peanut weed management program. Below is research from 2022 showing what happens if you replace Valor with Brake in an herbicide program for peanuts. The slide shows Valor or Brake Tank mixed with Prowl and Strongarm applied PRE. The POST herbicide program is the same in both the Valor and Brake programs.
What do the top Georgia peanut growers do for weed control?
Dr. Prostko also provided information on Zalo to county agents last week. He mentioned that the registration for AMVAC’s Zalo herbicide (glufosinate + quizalofop) was recently granted by the US EPA on February 13, 2024. Considering the current shortage of the over-the-top dicamba products (Engenia, Tavium, and Xtendimax) in Georgia, cotton and soybean growers will very likely be interested in any or all glufosinate formulations. The label is below. For more information, check out the slides below.
Mr. Kichler, If I deep turn my land will that help with Palmer Amaranth? I had this question a couple times this winter. I had the opportunity to assist in some of this research when I was a young agent in Macon County. This practice can assist in the management of certain insects and diseases while improving the control of many weed species, especially small seeded weeds. For success, it is critical to understand the biology of the weedy pest that one is attempting to manage. For example, research notes Palmer amaranth rarely emerges from depths below 4 inches (shown in the slide below). Thus, seeds buried to a depth of at least 4 inches will not emerge improving weed control and resistance management. Recent research on annual ryegrass has noted this weed responds similarly to Palmer amaranth in regards to deep turning. It is important to note that the lifespan of the seed in question is critical in determining the interval needed before implementing deep turning again.
Is this a clover? I had a question or two about Spotted Bur Clover (Medicago arabica (L.) Huds.) last week. Southern or spotted burclover (a type of medic) grows in late winter and spring, but animals generally do not readily graze burclover once it begins to mature. Burclover produces seed in abundance and reseeds readily. The burclovers have not been used extensively in Georgia because of poor yields. An example of spotted bur clover is below and more information is here.
Have a great week,
Jeremy M. Kichler
Colquitt County Extension Coordinator
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension does not endorse or guarantee the performance of any products mentioned in this update.