Burndown applications are out as are the harrows. Snap beans are being planted and corn is popping. I’ve talked with several of you about delaying any POST applications in corn. It’s best to wait until this little cold snap passes. The reasoning behind this is that the weeds shut down when the temperature drops so they won’t take up the herbicide. The corn plant’s metabolism also is slowed which can lead to injury and stunting. The weed growth between now and when it warms back up (next week) will not be significant enough to hurt anything. Therefore by waiting a few days you remove the risk of injuring your young corn and save some money by not wasting it on a weed that is shut down and not receptive to the herbicide. Also, be mindful of frost if we get it. If hit with frost, corn could turn a yellow/purple color but it should recover quickly when warm weather reappears. Normally it takes 3-4 days after the frost to assess any potential frost damage.
Corn acreage is up approximately 14% for the state. Cotton is estimated to be 1% higher while peanuts are estimated to be 2% lower.
Pecans are budding out so be on the lookout for budmoth (Intrepid Edge) and ambrosia beetles (Bifenthrin) on young trees. The cold shouldn’t affect budding trees or young pecan tissue. Usually, it takes a sustained cold of 28F or lower for several hours to damage buds. If you have trunk covers on young trees you should be fine.
Happy Easter!