A reminder that the annual Tennessee Grain and Soybean Conference will be held Thursday, February 2nd at the Dyer County Fairgrounds in Dyersburg. Registration begins at 7:45 with the program beginning at 9:00. Program details.
All posts by Scott Stewart, West TN Research & Education Center
Publications Available – Insect and Weed Control Recommendations
PB 1768, Insect Control Recommendations for Field Crops for Tennessee is available online and includes IPM recommendations for cotton, corn, soybean, sorghum, wheat and pasture (LINK HERE).
PB 1580, 2012 Weed Control Manual for Tennessee is also available and includes information for field and forage crops, harvest aids, and farm ponds (LINK HERE).
Time to Spray Aphids in Wheat?
I published an article about aphid management in wheat last October (link to previous article). In this article, I mentioned yield increases resulting from a foliar application of insecticides for aphids in mid to late February. In our testing, we’ve seen an average yield increase of about a 6-7 bushels per acre by Continue reading
Seed Treatments Options in Soybean and Cotton
Fungicide, insecticide and nematicide seed treatment options vary by company, and in some cases, you can pick the treatments you want and have them applied “downstream” by local distributors. There are many active ingredients involved. Thus, I tried to summarize the common seed treatment offerings by seed companies (linked below). For both cotton and soybean, Continue reading
So Many Bt Corn and Refuge Options
Bt corn traits that are potentially available in Tennessee are quite numerous, and non-Bt corn refuge requirements vary depending whether you are in a corn only area or in a cotton growing area. Cotton growing areas in Tennessee include Continue reading
Corn Seed Treatment Options for 2012
No one can blame you if you are confused about seed treatments? There are options that differ by crop and seed companies. Furthermore, pricing is not always transparent and some seed company websites are vague or do not even mention seed treatment options. There are really three pest groups that seed treatments target; namely seedling fungal diseases, insects Continue reading
2011 Cotton Variety Data
Final cotton variety test results can be found at:
PB1742 Tennessee Cotton Variety Test Results 2011
A new resource is available that quickly summarizes 2011 cotton variety trial results:
W285 Cotton Variety Guide 2011
Soybean Scout School Goes Virtual
If you want to hone your soybean scouting skills, it’s now as easy as turning on a computer. The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has partnered with the United Soybean Board and the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board using soybean checkoff dollars to create a Virtual Soybean Scout School. Currently the school consists of four brief video presentations, each led by UT Extension specialists, which can be viewed at www.UTCrops.com or http://www.tnsoybeans.org. The presentations focus on key areas of soybean scouting and include the following topics:
- Soybean Growth and Development (how to stage soybean) (Dr. Angela McClure)
- Identifying and Managing Weeds (Dr. Larry Steckel)
- Using a Sweep Net and Insect Scouting (Dr. Scott Stewart)
- Identifying and Managing Soybean Diseases (Dr. Melvin Newman)
The videos cover much of the material presented at the traditional UT Soybean Scout Schools that are offered at various locations throughout the state during the summer, and plans are to add more content next year. “With this online resource, producers and scouts now have another option when it comes to keeping informed of crop management issues,” says Dr. Scott Stewart, UT Extension entomologist, “and the information is presented in a format that is easy to access on your own schedule.”