Corn: With corn harvest underway. Please don’t forget that it is a great idea to think about managing weeds such as Palmer amaranth and Benghal dayflower at this time of year. Remember that Palmer amaranth seed is viable within 2 weeks after pollen shed, and Benghal dayflower can go from seed to seed in about 42 days. Thus, there is ample time to produce lots of seed in those harvested corn fields from now until the first frost. For those who will not be planting a small grain this fall, here is one of my favorite post-harvest treatments: Gramoxone 2L @ 3pts/A + Metribuzin 4L @ 8oz/A NIS @ 0.25% v/v. For those fields that are plagued by Benghal dayflower, split shots (7-14 days apart) of either Gramoxone or 2,4-D.
Peanuts: Rainfall and abundant moisture will undoubtedly bring a greater risk for foliar diseases like peanut leaf spot. However, cooler temperatures and heavy rain may give a temporary respite to white mold. The battle is far from over, but there may be a brief lull in the battle. Growth of the white mold slows with cooler temperatures; heavy, pounding rain beats it down. But it can quickly rebound when hotter, humid conditions return.
Cotton: Here recently, we have had a mix of rainfall across the county, with some extreme hot weather mixed in, and a majority of our crop should be in peak water usage now. An important note for discussion at this point is that if we have not kept adequate moisture during the growing season, then we have most likely used up the reserves at deeper soil levels and do not have a cushion to help us through during this high demand at peak water use. The rains have helped. The recent rains can lead to disease spread like target spot and areolate mildew. Below are the symptoms of the cotton jassid. Jassid’s give some yellowing, reddening (hopperburn) to the leaves as well as crinkling. We are beginning our control methods with a 3 nymphs per leaf threshold and will dial it in as we learn more about the pest. Currently, the best control methods we have are Bidrin and Orthene. Venom also performed well in Cook County.
