Cotton: Grasshoppers and false chinch bugs have been seen in a few places. Grasshoppers can chew through the stem if bad enough. Only treat if the stand is being effected. The immatures are easiest to kill and can be taken out with some Acephate. False chinch bugs can feed on the plant and high populations can cause stress to the seedling. False cinch bugs are a potential problem up to the 4th leaf stage but only if they are in high populations, 20-30 per plant. Few reports of aphids are coming in but they are only in isolated spots.
Peanuts: It been a rough start for peanuts this year. I know many are planting 8-10 seed per foot and only getting 3-5 plants up. I know it is not ideal to look at 3 plants per foot but sometimes, it is not always economical to replant. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t replant but I am saying that each situation has different variables that need consideration. We are starting to see a shift from weather issues to more seed quality issues. Here are a few of the things we’ve been seeing:
- Planting in cool wet soils causing some stand loss due to seed rot
- Planting and receiving hard packing rain causing seed rot
- Cool temp causing the peanuts to grow upside down and die
- Chasing moisture in mid-April – planting too deep
- Germination and emergence problems due to applying a fertilizer in-furrow