It has been a while since my last blog post; it’s been a busy year, but I will try to get them out more often. I have a Remind that I send messages on. If you have not signed up, it is very easy. Send a text to 81010 and type @justinhand in the message part of the text. That’s it; it’ll notify me that you have joined the group.
Peanuts: We should be finished with the replants we’ve had to make. The monsoons we were having did a number on us. There is an increased risk of Aspergillus crown rot with the upcoming high temperatures, so those seed treatments and in-furrow applications will be put to the test. Some are starting to spray peanuts for leaf spot, which we have plenty of good options for, but remember that if you used Velum in-furrow, you can extend that 30-day application to 40-45 days. Some have asked about white mold control; it depends on your program. If you start with Priaxor or Lucento at 45 days, you’ll have a little bit of built-in white mold control, or if you start with Chlorothalonil at 30 days, you can throw in some Teb to add some white mold control. I don’t know if that is totally necessary, but on a short rotation, it could be some “cheap insurance.” These upcoming weather conditions favor the development of white mold.
Cotton: I’ve looked at several fields that Rhizoc hit early on and stunted much of the cotton. It didn’t outright kill the plant, but it set it way back, and if the plant doesn’t eventually die, it’ll be a struggle for it all season. It’s been a wet start, which can cause some fertility problems. Adequate soil moisture is good for nutrient uptake, but saturated soils can stunt the cotton and give it the appearance of being nutrient deficient despite having good fertility. This anaerobic state is caused when the soil oxygen level drops below 10% in the soil; also, the saturated soils leach nutrients, especially the mobile ones like Nitrogen. Usually, we sidedress between squaring and 1st bloom. If the crop looks stunted, weak, or pale, it’s ok to side-dress closer to the squaring stage, but if the crop is showing good vigor and is pretty and green, you can wait until closer to 1st bloom. With the amount of rain this year, it may be a good practice to do a tissue test at 1st bloom to see the nutrient levels accurately. Current plant bug populations are low, but with more cotton squaring, we need to be on the lookout for them. If we start seeing plant bugs, I like Transform; it’s good for plant bugs and aphids while not hurting our beneficial insects. Centric is a good option as well. Bidrin is good on plant bugs and fair on aphids, but it’s hard on beneficial insects; I like it better later in the season.
Corn: Southern Corn Rust has not been found in Tift County yet but is in South West, GA. Corn is most susceptible from the tassel to milk stage. Just remember, single mode-of-action products like Teb, Quadris, and Domark are good but have a two-week protective window, while mixed mode-of-action products like Veltyma, Trivapro, Headline AMP, and several other fungicides have better efficacy and a three-week protective window. I’ll keep you updated as it moves closer to Tift.