Samples have been coming in to blast since the end of last month and I ask any producers with fields not inverted who may be wondering about digging time to call me (229-417-7062) or just stop by the office with a representative set of peanuts. I’ll conduct maturity checks as long into the season as necessary.
The 2018 article below of course talks about the approximate 140 day timeline for 06G’s but also discusses Alberto’s effect on last years crop.
“First Peanuts, Then Cotton: Maturity Checks Start in Crisp” – Dispatch Article from 09-06-2018
Then there was Michael with further effects to y’alls crop.
This time around I’ve heard, and saw, lots of stories about worm damage. Tomato spotted wilt virus, though still not necessarily understood to be yield damaging, anecdotally seemed worse in 2019. Vines in irrigated fields have looked to go down faster than non-irrigated but many samples from dryland have profiled out to be a “split crop.” Maybe an effect of the record heat and drought conditions back in May.
I’ve heard of grades in the low to mid-70’s. Bottom line is, take all factors into consideration when planning to dig: peg strength, maturity check profile board, vine health, disease, days since planting, etc. It may board out to the most non-helpful/informative 7-10 days range but we can work through the other factors to make a decision. This is especially true for dryland, where digging early might make sense, being that the the ground is only getting dryer with our lack of precipitation. I know its a stressful time of year for row croppers, when decisions such as cotton defoliation timing also hangs heavy, so please let me know if there’s anyway I can assist.
Again, please stop by with peanut samples or inform me of the field location and I’ll grab it.
Thanks, and if you’ve read this far and are not a producer, below is an article I wrote two years ago outlining the basics of a peanut maturity check.
“Its Peanut Blasting Time” – Dispatch Article from 09-09-2017
Best Wishes,
Joshua Grant