Please see some questions that I have been receiving lately. The first two were questions that Dr. Glen Harris had been receiving and he relayed them to growers last night at the cotton meeting.
- Be aware that soil pH levels are accurate in saturated conditions while in other labs pH levels can read high with a false reading. I believe this is due to leaching of salts in the soils and UGA adds salt back in the sample where as other labs do not. If you are seeing unusually high ph levels, or you took them early during heavy periods of saturation, it may be a good idea to sample a few areas over to make sure that false highs are not a concern.
- As seen in the photo, we have some fields of cotton that will not be harvested this season. some growers have been asking the following question? Can we give a nitrogen credit to unharvested lint? Answer: The lint possesses little to no value but the seed does contain N. The N in the seed is in a protein form and would have to break down over a period of time. Dr. Harris thinks that it may be similar to following peanuts where you can have up to 30 units of N as a credit.
- Can I put gypsum out on peanut preplant?
Answer: I have received this question alot. It would be a best practice to apply gypsum around early bloom in a peanut crop. Lime can be used to provide calcium at planting. If you apply gypsum at planting or before, the availability of calcium during the pod development is going to be very dependent on rainfall; therefore, stick to the recommendation.