It’s been a busy week. Peanuts are in full swing. Cotton is cranking up. Livestock show season is here. 4-H judging teams are starting practice for the fall and winter run. It was actually cool when I walked out of the house this morning and I don’t think I started to sweat until lunch. I can sure get used to some of that! Also, the Dawgs are gonna whoop up on Notre Dame come Saturday night, I can’t wait. Go Dawgs! GATA
Peanuts: Peanuts have been progressing along this week. Were still in the 140-day range on irrigated peanuts. Drylands are a little more scattered; mainly depending on if, when, and how much-scattered rain they received. Be mindful of dry corners and try to keep them separate. Hot and dry is a good fuel for aflatoxin and that will throw them to seg-3 which we don’t need.
Cotton: We have had reports of defoliating not going as planned. Farmers putting out defoliants and they don’t work. Make sure you are using the correct rate on your 3-way and remember the amount needed changes as temperature changes. Also, its best to use at least 15 gallons of water, 20 gallons is ideal but you need at least 15. Whiteflies need to be scouted for and controlled on later cotton. I heard of a surrounding county having a bad whitefly problem. That field will suffer a significant yield loss and possibly have some sticky cotton. Look at the sticky mess on the topside of this cotton leaf. We don’t need that on the lint.
Hay Samples: Don’t forget to submit your hay samples for our sampling research. You can get your hay or silage tested at a discount rate if you fill out a simple survey about what you think the nutritional value of your hay/silage sample is.