It is back to the future in West Tennessee. Replacing hoses and solenoids on hoods and shovels on cultivators was common back in 2008 to 2010 when glyphosate failed on pigweed. There have been recent reports of folks trying to get hoods and field cultivators in working order. The reason for this is they are trying to knock down Palmer amaranth that has escaped dicamba + glufosinate applications. Continue reading
As we near the middle of July and soybean fields move into pod formation, it’s time to decide whether a fungicide application is needed. When making that decision, we need to consider the cost of fungicide application, the crop price, and disease pressure, meaning its potential to rob yield. Continue reading
Scattered rains have accumulated over the past week, with many receiving several inches or more. With even more rain in the forecast and many of our acres quickly entering their second and third week of bloom, the question of the week has been what to do with plant growth regulators. In contrast to previous years, the introduction of the active plinazolin (Vertento) has created a more interesting question- what can we do, from a plant growth regulator standpoint, to take full advantage of the long residual control window provided by this new product? In this blog, I outline the best approach to balance a possible opportunity to save an application cost with the risk of being too aggressive. Continue reading
Thank you to all of our Industry Partners, County Agents and Producers who participate in our County Standardized Trials programs
Below are the results from this year’s CST Wheat trials
All variety testing data can be found at http://search.utcrops.com
The last week of June and the start of July have brought unusually dry conditions to much of West Tennessee, and we’re already seeing the effects on the region’s major row crops. Among crops cotton—often considered a heat-loving crop—may appear to be thriving right now, extended heat and limited rainfall can still influence how cotton and other major crops grow and develop as the season progresses.
Why this matters now
Dry weather at this point in the season can quickly shift from “manageable” to “yield-limiting,” especially if high temperature and evaporative demand rates continue and soil water remains low. A widespread, soaking rain in the coming weeks would help stabilize crop conditions and reduce stress during critical growth periods.
What this blog covers
This article focuses on: Continue reading
Another week and more reports and field visits to fields where Palmer amaranth is escaping glufosinate, glyphosate and dicamba. These escapes range from relatively small pockets in fields to almost complete Palmer amaranth jail breaks across large portions of fields (Picture 1 and 2). Continue reading
Tarnished plant bug numbers appear to be low thus far in 2026 and clouded plant bugs are non-existent. Crop age and what’s neighboring your cotton play a large part of how intense plant bug pressure is over time. That being said, keeping an eye on square retention is the best gauge to determine how well your insecticides are performing. Most I’ve talked to haven’t applied Diamond yet or have it queued up for their next application. Diamond shines when you catch early plant bug hatches often after large adult migrations during late squaring and we see a good ROI with Diamond around that 1st week of bloom timing. Continue reading
I’ve gotten a few questions on Kudzu bugs over the past few days. Early planted beans (R3 +) are driving these calls and adult migration into more mature soybeans is common. With the mild winter and early spring, this migration is sooner than we’ve seen in the past. Continue reading
