It is a little dry and dusty out there, but the tropical system in the Atlantic has about a 40% chance of developing into a named storm. Maybe we will get a little bit of rain out of it.
Peanuts: It is hot and dry, which increases our risk of Crown Rot while lowering our risk of Leaf Spot. While the hot and dry can stifle Leaf Spot, it can fuel White Mold, so don’t slack off of your White Mold sprays. So, what do I need to spray in these conditions? It goes back to your variety, rotation, and the weather. The backbone of our fungicide programs are normally the 60 and 90-day marks, where we protect against White Mold and Leaf Spot, but what we put in between depends on various variables. We have a bunch of products and a bunch of programs. Call me, and we can talk through it. Hot and dry also bring out Lesser Cornstalkborers, but I haven’t seen any.
Cotton: Again, rain has become rare lately, and cotton is hit or miss, mostly miss right now. Much of what I’ve seen looks weak, but our early floods didn’t allow them to set a good root base. Hopefully, this weather will turn for the better and we will make a good crop. Sidedress and some PGRs are going out. Make sure you have some sulfur in your sidedress, and if you use urea without an inhibitor, make sure it gets watered in as soon as possible. For dryland, inhibitors on urea can hold 7-14 days. While managing vegetative growth is crucial for all cotton, a more aggressive application of PGRs is necessary for later-planted cotton. With a shorter fruiting window, it is important to avoid delaying the initiation of fruiting, as excessive vegetative growth may not contribute to increased lint yields. Timely application of PGRs on late cotton is essential, and applications should begin earlier than those for cotton planted in May. Utilizing higher rates and reducing the interval between applications can enhance early fruiting. The major benefits of mepiquat chloride are plant height reductions and hastened maturity.
Corn: There is still no Southern Rust in Tift County, but I saw some earworms working on a field this week. Remember, once the worms get in the ear, it’s almost impossible to control them, but you can control the smaller worms before they move into the ear, so timing is very important. Pyrethroids don’t work well on earworms, so you’d need something like Vanatcor or Intrepid Edge.