In this issue: Corn Situation. Jassids, PGR Responsiveness of Varieties (Camp Hand), Cotton insects, Peanuts, and forage insect situation. Screwworm Survey
Corn: The corn stage of development ranges from early dent to black layer. If you experienced drought or issues at the end of the season or stopped irrigating too early, the chart below provides some estimated yield losses associated with lack of moisture during the end of the season.
Below is the estimated water use from blister stage to black layer for corn.
Southern corn rust was confirmed on July 7 in Coffee County. This is about one month later than it normally shows up in Georgia. This is the first find in Georgia. The local crop ranges from early dent to black layer so rust is not an issue. The map below shows the latest southern rust scouting efforts across the corn production region (July 12, 2026).
Jassids: This week has been another interesting one for Colquitt County agriculture. The map below shows the latest cotton jassid detections across the Southeast. Last week, (July 5-11, 2026) cotton jassids were confirmed in Appling, Bacon, Colquitt, and Decatur counties.
According to Dr. Phillip Roberts, current jassid populations remain well below treatment thresholds, and the insects were found in blooming cotton. Growers are encouraged to continue scouting fields and monitoring population levels as the season progresses.
We are tracking cotton jassid detections by county across the Southeast. The latest detection map and updates are available on the STOP Spotted Cotton Leafworm website: Cotton Jassid Tracking Map.
Below is an article from the UGA Cotton Team newsletter from Dr. Hand.
PGR Responsiveness of Varieties (Camp Hand): It is that time of year, where sprayers are making trips over squaring and blooming cotton, and the calls are rolling in on growth management. Managing vegetative growth in cotton requires knowledge on soil fertility, field history, and variety responsiveness.
Environmental conditions also play a major role in the growth of the crop, and coming off of the overcast and rainy days we experienced over the last few weeks, the sunshine and high temps have sent this crop into over drive. Even in some of our June planted cotton, we need to consider evaluating growth rates and consider applying PGRs, particularly if you want to try and shorten your season. Below is a relative scale of variety aggressiveness that I have tried to modernize over the last 5 years. One thing I would point out is where DP 2333 B3XF resides on this list, as many acres are planted to that variety this year. In my experience, DP 2333 B3XF is a very responsive variety that will require lower rates and fewer applications than many growers have grown accustomed to with varieties like DP 2038 B3XF, ST 5091 B3XF, or even DG 3799 B3XF. When switching from an aggressive variety to something more responsive, it can be easy to overdo it, so be cognizant of the variety you are spraying.
One other suggestion is pay attention to which product you are using – there have been a lot of mix ups in the last few years when someone says “Go put a pint on X field” and a pint of 6X gets applied to squaring cotton (that would be almost 100 oz/acre of regular Pix). So let’s make sure we are all speaking the same language when it comes to what is getting applied where and with what product.
As always if there are other questions that are not addressed here please don’t hesitate to reach out. Additional information can be found on episodes of the Talkin’ Cotton Podcast as well. Be safe out there and happy spraying.
Cotton insects: I have been getting a few comments from scouts and consultants in the area about plant bugs. Levels have been low to moderate depending on location. According to Dr. Roberts, in recent years, we have seen increasing infestations of both tarnished and clouded plant bugs in cotton during the blooming period. This trend has been particularly evident in parts of Georgia during the last two years, where some fields harbored established, reproducing plant bug populations throughout bloom. This year, plant bugs have already been a concern in squaring cotton in certain areas, and we are now beginning to detect immature stages in blooming cotton within those same regions
When checking immature plant bugs, a drop cloth remains the most effective sampling method. The economic threshold is 3 plant bugs per 6 row-feet when using a drop cloth. Keep in mind that clouded plant bugs should be weighted at 1.5 times their actual number and added to the tarnished plant bug count when making treatment decisions.
Immature plant bugs can feed on larger squares that the plant does not shed, resulting in damaged fruiting structures. This injury often appears as “dirty blooms,” characterized by discolored anthers and/or misshapen petals. The presence of dirty blooms indicates current or recent feeding by immature plant bugs and should prompt additional drop-cloth sampling to determine the abundance of nymphs and assess whether management is warranted.
The whitefly populations have been increasing in some cotton fields around the 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.
Peanuts: White mold season is here in peanuts below are some points to consider about fungicides and rainfall and/or irrigation.
Dr. Bob says that prompt irrigation and/or rainfall is essential for maximum efficacy of a white mold fungicide. Without rainfall or irrigation, the fungicide tends to get trapped in the dense leaf canopy, and away from the crown of the plant and lower limbs where it is needed for white mold control. Timely rain and irrigation help to distribute the fungicide from the leaves to additional targets.
Key points to remember:
1. Depending on the fungicide, you need between 90 minutes and 8 hours of drying time PRIOR to rain or irrigation to ensure good leaf spot control.
2. If leaves are still wet from morning dew when you spray, you need even longer time to ensure adequate leaf spot control.
3. If using a center pivot, I would likely start the pivot by about 6 hours after application; amounts needed to move the fungicide are anywhere from 0.1 to 0.25 inches. This does not have to be “irrigation”.
4. The sooner the better (after appropriate drying time) for irrigation or rainfall to get a white mold benefit. The benefit diminishes quickly with time. After 48 hours there is no benefit.
5. Non-irrigated fields without rainfall can make white mold control tough. My advice- spray at night when leaves are closed or spray when dew is on the plants (recognizing this could negatively affect leaf spot control.)
Forages: This past week, Tanner Wilson, Colquitt County ANR Educator and Brooke Eyster, Colquitt County ANR Intern scouted a few bermudagrass across the county. Below is a report of their findings.
Fields varied from the West side of the county all the way to the East side. A sweep net was used to scout for Bermudagrass Stem Maggots (BSM), and Army worms. While scouting these fields, Stem Maggots were found in moderate populations. This pest was discovered in 2010 and has damaged Bermudagrass forage each summer. When using a sweep net for Stem Maggots, sweep down into the canopy 20 times per sample. There should be 3-5 samples done per field. If stem maggots reach 20-50 flies per sample, control options should be considered. In the fields scouted on July 8th, 2026, Stem Maggots ranged from 5-15 flies per sweep. Since these populations may be increasing this is something that should be checked. After evaluating all the scouted fields, there were no armyworms detected. Overall, there was no damage to report from these fields, and the insect and pest levels will be continuously monitored as the year progresses.
New World Screw worm Survey
Every summer we have an intern at the Colquitt County Extension office. This year Brooke Eyster is interning with us. She is originally from Punta Gorda, Florida. Brooke is a junior studying Agriculture with a concentration in livestock production at ABAC. Every year, interns select a project to highlight at their internship graduation held in August. Brooke chose the topic of New World Screwworm. The goal of this project is to understand and evaluate where local producers stand on the current New World Screwworm outbreak in the U.S. Below is a link to a short survey. It should take 1-2 minutes to complete. We know how valuable your time is.
If you have questions please let us know.
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.