Corn and wheat prices are up; cotton and soybean prices down for the week. The June U.S. Dollar Index is trading midday at 81.45, up 1.05 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was down 405 points for the week at 12,416. Crude Oil traded before the close at 92.07 a barrel, down 3.58 a barrel for the week. The European Union financial crisis and its effect of strengthening the Dollar have been weighed this week against weather concerns. The dollar strengthened this week as troubles in both the political and financial arenas continued in Greece with concern that other countries will also be affected. This has been an ongoing saga throughout the year. Continue reading →

Week Ending May 17 – Complete moth trapping results for bollworm (corn earworm), tobacco budworm, beet armyworm and southwestern corn borer are linked below. Clearly, the warm winter resulted in good survival of overwintering larvae as southwestern corn borer moth catches continue to be very high is some locations including traps located in Continue reading →

UT Cotton Scout School on Friday, May 25^th at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson. Registration will begin at 8:00 AM (no fee or preregistration required). The program will end with a box lunch and a go-to-the-field session for those interested after lunch.

Actually, thinking of thrips as raining from the sky is pretty accurate; and we are getting a pretty good flood in most areas.  Many people are reporting 2-15 thrips per plant on cotton from the cotyledon stage up to the second true leaf.  These calls are pretty easy to answer.  Spray if multiple thrips are present on plants with less than two true leaves.  Certainly apply a foliar insecticide if the first or second true leaf has obvious signs of thrips injury … Continue reading →

False chinch bugs are a pest that can kill cotton and soybean seedlings.  I see them in a few fields almost every year, but they are causing more widespread problems this year, with reports from Madison, Gibson, Haywood and Hardeman Counties.  Infestations almost always occur in Continue reading →

As reported by NASS on May 14, 2012

WEEKEND SHOWERS WELCOMED BY FARMERS

Showers and thunderstorms provided some needed relief this weekend, but it has been so dry recently that all regions of the state continue to need a general soaking rain. Crops continue to develop at rapid rate well ahead of normal. Corn planting is complete, all emerged and in mostly good condition. Cotton and soybean planting and tobacco transplanting were the main farm activities last week. Fertilizing, spraying post-emergence herbicides and hay harvest were also major farm activities. The wheat crop is ripening and farmers expect to begin harvest within the next two weeks. Continue reading →

 Dear Colleagues

The University of Tennessee Weed Tour will be on Thursday, June 21 at the West Tennessee Research & Education Center in Jackson, TN.  Registration will start at 8:30 A.M. and the tour will begin at 9:00 A.M.. Continue reading →

The weed control in cotton has gotten off to a rough start in a number of fields.  In some fields the flowering Palmer amaranth has grown back from the paraquat burndown near planting. Continue reading →

The last week of April and first week of May were extremely dry in some portions of west TN causing producers to chase moisture and plant seed deeper than usual.  Heavy rain in some areas follwing planting on May 7th caused some soil surface sealing and crusting. Each year many producers are forced to replant cotton due to adverse conditions. Replanting is one of the most difficult decisions to make and second guessing is very common.  Continue reading →

Corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat prices are all down for the week. The June U.S. Dollar Index is trading midday at 80.39, up 0.80 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was down 180 points for the week at 12,858. Crude Oil traded before the close at 95.84 a barrel, down 2.65 a barrel for the week. Several non-agricultural related factors have come together here at the end of the week to put additional pressure on prices. These include the news that bank J.P. Morgan Chase has taken $2 billion in trading losses in a trading group that manages risks the banks takes with its own money and disappointing industrial production data from China and India. Continue reading →

Saving money when it comes to trips across the field with a sprayer can be appealing, but it’s important to keep some things in mind when deciding to mix herbicides with other pesticides and/or fertilizers.  With these types of applications, you risk mistakes on application timing, appropriate gallons of water per acre, and possibly using incorrect nozzles, all of which can result in poor efficacy.  However, you also risk crop injury with some of these combinations.  Continue reading →

It is amazing how insect populations sync up with the crop.  Like our corn crop, the first generation southwestern corn borer moth flight has started early.  Usually it starts about now, but some folks have been catching moths in pheromone traps for a couple of weeks, and moth catches are higher than usual.  Moth trapping data are linked under the “Quick Links” menu for SWCB, corn earworm (or bollworm), tobacco budworm and beet armyworm.  Compared with this week last year, moth catches are Continue reading →