The theme of hot and dry for this year continues. No rain is in sight. The Dawgs are off this weekend.
Peanuts: I know you have to plan ahead and around other crops but I think we’ve been pulling the trigger a little too soon on some fields. Grades have dropped a little. Talking with Dr. Monfort, he attributed it to thicker shells. That means we’re not letting them fully mature and fill the shell before we dig. Irrigated are still looking good and drylands are all over the place. We have checked a lot of samples at Tifton Peanut, Omega Farm Supply, and Chula Peanut but things are starting to slow down a little bit. We will be doing all the samples at the office from now until the end of the season. We will still have time set aside on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for peanut samples.
Cotton: Keep a watch on whiteflies. I have seen some staining in cotton with heavy whitefly pressure. Looks like cotton has come up a few cents.
Pecans: Normally this time of year you can back off of pecan water but with this drought, we are currently in it is best to keep watering. Young non-bearing trees keep on a normal schedule (100 gals a week) until you can get an inch of rain. It is critical to keep watering bearing trees. If you turn the water off too soon you will see significant shuck decline and loss of quality. Continue irrigation 50-60% of full capacity until about 1 week before you expect to shake the trees. If you get a good inch of rain you can shut the water off for 3 days but then resume until leaf drop or another good rain.
Vegetables: Starting to see some disease in squash. Peppers are looking good. Virus is starting in tomatoes. Whiteflies are very heavy in all the vegetable fields I’ve been in.