Peanuts: Leaf spot is popping up in places. We need to be careful about managing it; we don’t want our crop to defoliate before we can get them mature. Speaking of maturity, the samples that I have looked at so far are running in the low 140s for TiftNV-HG and 06s. I’ve seen a few that were ready in the late 130s. We check them at the office every morning (Monday through Friday), so feel free to drop by.
Cotton: Jassids are still the talk of the town. We are learning more about them every day. They seem to be attacking field edges first. Symptoms can show up quickly, and we’ve seen fields that have crashed within 2 weeks of an infestation. Symptoms will persist in a field even after the Jassids are killed, due to the toxins they inject during feeding. UGA is currently testing infected plants for viruses; as of now, no known viruses are being transmitted. Symptoms are solely from the toxins. The new threshold is 1-2 nymphs per leaf. Bidrin has been consistent still. Argyle and Assail have not been as consistent as Bidrin, but are good options if you have whiteflies present. Carbine is looking good in small plot trials. Centric, Transform, Sefina, and Sivanto are options that have shown some promise, but we are testing them. Bifentrhin is not an effective option. Right now, the highest concentration of Jassids is in earlier-planted cotton, which may change as we start to defoliate. We are still trying to protect cotton up to 14 days (25% open and the field is still green) before you defoliate. If the field is crashing and leaves are yellow and turning red, it may be too late, and treatment would not be a benefit. I know this is a mess, but I promise Dr. Phillip Roberts, the Cotton Team, and UGA are working as hard as they can to figure this out.
Weather: There is a 70% chance of a system developing in the Atlantic within the next 7 days, and these nights are getting a little cooler.