I’ve been in Hiawassee for the past few days at the Georgia Cattlemen’s Conference. It’s as hot up here as it is in South Georgia but at least there are no gnats. I serve on the legislative committee for Georgia Cattlemen’s Association so I’ve been sitting through policy meetings for the upcoming legislative session. Policy can get boring sometimes but it’s important for our cattle producers and several of the upcoming legislation helps farmers as well. The worst part is I don’t care for the mountains, I’d so much rather be at the beach.
Cotton: Target spot is out there so remember if you don’t find any you can delay a fungicide spray. Some who have had target spot problems in the past may want to spray preventatively as ‘insurance” but I usually wait until I find it before I recommend an application. Usually around the 3rd week of bloom is when it starts to show up. Fungicides are not needed after the 6th week of bloom. If target spot hits early it can cause yield problems. We have seen upwards to 250 lb lint/A reduction from cases where target spot was left untreated. The best route for target spot is Priaxor, Miravis Top, Headline, or Quadris. Whitefly pressure is still low.
Pecan: I heard from Dr. Lenny Wells this week that the large nut carryover from the 2020 crop is diminishing quickly. Pecan scab is wreaking havoc across South Georgia right now especially on susceptible varieties. This will probably reduce the crop load this year. However, with the shellers moving nuts out quickly and the potential for a reduced crop load this year makes the perfect storm for a sharp demand increase. Reports show that South African and Mexican crops are lighter this year too. For scab, continue rotation of Miravis Top and Elast/Tin through shell-hardening. For those orchards with some scab (but not so much that the crop is nearly lost) use a full rate of Elast when Elast/Tin comes up in the rotation. You should only need one more spray after this week to get Pawnee to shell-hardening. The crop still seems to be running a little late this year so I do not expect to see Pawnee shell-hardening until maybe the first or second week of August. For varieties normally with a mid-October harvest date, you may not see shell-hardening until the end of August, which would mean you need to continue fungicide sprays until that time.
Peanut: Leaf spot is becoming more and more popular. The picture below is a grower with a good spray program and he still has leafspot down in the canopy. This is a telling sign of how tough this weather has been on diseases. This isn’t what you want to hear but it may be time to tighten some spray intervals. Don’t forget to be vigilant with whitemold as well.
