Continued hot and dry conditions have put stress on our crops to this point. Hopefully, we will see some rainfall in the near future to relieve the pressure on the crops and on your irrigating schedule.
Disease update – As of today, there has still been NO southern corn rust confirmed in Georgia. Much of the corn is at a decision stage on fungicide applications; some growers may consider applying a fungicide if they are already making a trip through the field or as a preventative insurance. If growers choose to wait a littler longer, we plan to notify through an alert (text or email) as soon as we know about any in Georgia. In peanuts, conditions are favorable for white mold and Aspergillus crown rot to occur; I have see some crown rot in field visits, but it doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue right now.
Weed update – Many growers are working on weed control programs in cotton and peanuts. It appears that recent conditions may have allowed a few more weed escapes from our at-plant residual herbicides. See the weed control handouts for cotton and peanut/field corn/soybeans below.
2021 Cotton Weed Control in Georgia
2021 Peanut/Field Corn/Soybean Weed Control Recommendations
Insect update – Thrips pressure has been high in cotton and peanuts. Fields have been treated, especially in earlier planted crops. There may still be fields that require treatment, but once cotton reaches the 4-leaf stage and peanuts reach about 30 days, most of the time the plant growth picks up and outgrow the injury. Conditions have been favorable for Lesser Cornstalk Borer (LCB) in peanuts and soybeans. Once again, the Cotton, Peanut, and Soybean Scout School will be this coming Monday at the Tifton Campus Conference Center beginning at 9:00 a.m. This will be good for growers, beginning scouts, or a good review for experienced scouts.
Row Crop Comparison Tool – (Dr. Amanda Smith) There is now an updated row crop comparison tool on our Extension Ag Economics Budgets web page. The May update includes increased commodity prices, updated crop insurance prices and higher fuel and fertilizer prices. Also on this web page are the updated crop budgets and the custom machinery rates.
That is the update for now. If we can be of assistance at Worth County Extension, please let us know.