In the aftermath of the hurricane, there are a lot of people in need, especially on the east side of I-75. Colquitt County sustained some damage, but it paled in comparison to the images emanating from East Georgia. Below is information about disaster relief and a link to other information. Dr. Lenny Wells, UGA Pecan Specialist, gave an update on how the hurricane affected pecans in Georgia in his blog post. Tropical weather is again in the news this week as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton. Pam Knox spoke about this on October 5th on her blog.
Rainfall totals from September 23-29, 2024 for Georgia are shown below. Colquitt County rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 9 inches from the tropical system. This illustration is from the NASS Crop Progress report that is posted every week. Rainfall data comes from the CoCoRahs website for Colquitt County for the period September 22-28, 2024 is below.
The UGA Cotton and Peanut team did a joint podcast this past week. In this episode, Dr. Scott Monfort talked peanuts with Dr. Camp Hand, Dr. Mark Abney, Dr. Wes Porter, Dr. Phillip Roberts, and Dr. Eric Prostko. In this episode, the peanut and cotton teams discussed the direct and indirect damage from Hurricane Helene in Georgia.
Pam Knox, Director of the UGA Weather Network, mentioned this week in one of her blog posts information about the climate outlook for October. The latest monthly climate outlook for October 2024 shows a large area of warmer and drier than normal conditions covering much of the continental US in the next month. This is likely to lead to the expansion of drought in those areas. The Southeast is on the edge of the warmer than normal conditions in an area designated as “equal chances” of below, near, or above normal temperatures except for southern Florida. The precipitation outlook for the Southeast continues to show the likelihood of wetter than normal conditions, especially along the southeast coast and in Florida. This is likely a reflection of the continued expectation of more tropical activity in the coming weeks before the end of the Atlantic tropical season.
The peanut maturity clinics have been interesting this year. There has been a lot of variability in samples due to planting dates, supplemental planting, and environment, resulting in later maturity. Growers need to check fields and not dig based off days after planting. Peanut maturity for Georgia 06G has been ranging from the upper 140s to toward 150 days plus. As we get later, more Georgia 12Y are coming into the clinics. Georgia 12Y have been running between the upper 150’s to 160+ day maturity range. Growers need to keep a watch on leaf spot and peanut canopy defoliation in fields.
I often get the question about when and what to spray peanuts. Below is the late season peanut fungicide program review from Dr. Bob.
2-3 weeks and your field looks good??? Don’t spray it again.
2-3 weeks and leaf spot present but little or no defoliation??? Chlorothalonil (1 pt) + Domark (2.5-3 fl oz) or chlorothalonil (1 pt + Topsin/Thiophanate methyl (5 to 10 fl oz) of Topsin/Thiophanate Methyl (10 fl oz).
2-3 weeks to go and more than 10% defoliation– nothing you spray now will help
2-3 weeks to go and 50% or more defoliation- prepare to dig. Those pegs won’t hold much longer.
There is no magic in Topsin/Thiophsnate methyl or azoxystrobin for enhanced peg strength. (Almost sounds like a little blue pill add…) Bottom line- keep the leaves on and leaf spot and white mold out and the pegs stay stronger longer. There are no little blue pills in a peanut field.
What do I do about grass and morninglory during cotton defoliation? According to Dr. Hand’s slide that he presented at the cotton and peanut harvest meeting back in August. Glyphosate is effective on grasses. If morningglory is troubling you, then he said to drop the Folex out of “three way” and replace with a PPO inhibitor such as ET or Aim. If you use Aim or ET please use the recommended rate of crop oil according to the label and that information is in the image below. The recommendations for cotton defoliation from the UGA Pest Management Handbook are here.
What about three way rates this week? I would be in the mid season rates for cotton defoliation this week. Dr. Hand suggests Prep + 3-4 oz Dropp and 10-12 oz Folex for three way rates this week. Highs range from the low to mid 80’s start of week and drop into the 70’s later in the week. Lows start off in 60’s and drop into the 50’s toward the end of week.
I had a question or two about water volume for drone applied cotton defoliants. Dr. Camp Hand spoke about this during the September UGA Cotton Team newsletter.
Last year, many folks went out and bought spray drones. Some are using them to apply on their own farms and others are doing custom application work. I would caution anyone thinking about using a spray drone to defoliate cotton. Below are pictures from a ground rig applying the “three-way” at 10 GPA and a drone applying the same rates at 5 GPA. I cannot explain why, but the drone application stuck leaves worse than the ground rig. We are doing this study again this season to try and get some answers, but just be cautious on using a drone. Make sure you follow all labeled regulations for aerial applications (most defoliants require 5 GPA for aerial applications) if using a drone as well.
A couple comments from Dr. Simer Virk, Alabama Extension Specialist, about cotton defoliation. This exert is from the September edition of the Alabama Cotton Shorts newsletter.
| Spray Considerations for Cotton Defoliation. Cotton defoliation has begun across some parts of the state with more growers to follow in the coming weeks. Along with considerations for product rate and timing, some of the application parameters could also have an impact on the efficacy of the harvest-aid products. These factors can become even more important when the applications are performed in weather conditions that are not so favorable for defoliating cotton. Application Parameters: Two of the most important parameters from the application perspective are carrier volume and droplet size (nozzle type). Make sure to use a carrier volume, preferably >10 GPA, that can provide adequate coverage to ensure good product efficacy. A carrier volume of 15 GPA is ideal and provides good coverage in most cases. For nozzle type, medium- to coarser-droplet nozzles should be utilized again to obtain adequate coverage. Avoid using nozzles that create too many finer droplets or running excessively high pressure (>60 PSI) on the sprayer to minimize the potential of spray drift. A combination of low carrier volume and larger-droplet nozzles can result in reduced defoliation efficacy and may necessitate additional application in some cases. Pay attention to ground speed and boom height as well since higher ground speeds generally require operating at higher spray pressures and higher boom height can cause most of the defoliants not reaching the crop or into the crop canopy. Defoliation with a Spray Drone: With the increasing use of spray drones in agriculture, there is also an interest in using drones for defoliating cotton. Research conducted last year comparing defoliation with ground sprayer and drone applications indicated comparable efficacy between the two methods. However, it should be noted that aerial applications were made with the spray drone fully calibrated for both spray volume and swath, and in favorable wind conditions. Without proper calibration, the actual volume applied with the drone could be lower than the target and there is also potential for streaking when an optimal spray swath (for a given spray drone type/model) is not selected. Avoid making any drone applications when the wind speed is above 5 mph. It is also important to carefully note the minimum recommended volume for aerial application as it can vary based on the type of products used for defoliation. The minimum volume for drone applications is dictated by the product requiring the highest minimum volume. For example, if one of the products calls for a minimum of 2 GPA and the other calls for a minimum of 3 GPA, the drone applications with a tank-mix of these products would need to be performed with a minimum of 3 GPA of water volume. Virk |
What ryegrass do you recommend for my cows? This is an excellent question. The UGA recommended winter annual forage variety recommendations are available for your viewing pleasure on the UGA OVT website.
How does a variety make the recommended list? The recommendations below identify varieties shown to produce above-average yields when planted within the recommended time period for their species and geographic area.
What does the Early, Late, and Season long mean? Columns identifying “Early” yield represent forage growth from planting to around March 1, depending on location. “Late” columns represent production from after then until regrowth was of too low quality to justify further harvest. “Season long” columns represent varieties with the highest total season yields, which may be of most interest to those who intend a single end-of-season harvest for hay or ensiling or will be supplementing feed during lower forage growth periods.
What zone do we look at for Colquitt County? In 2023, the USDA revised its plant hardiness zones. Plains and Tifton are located in Zones 8b and 9a, respectively, and represent areas sometimes referred to as the upper and lower coastal plain. Of the two, Zone 9a is warmer and more humid, increasing the risk of foliar diseases.
If you have questions please contact your local county Extension agent.
Have a great week,
Jeremy M. Kichler
Colquitt County Extension Coordinator
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension does not endorse or guarantee the performance any products mentioned in this update.