| Location | CEW | TBW |
| Hardeman (Bolivar) | 0 | 0 |
| Fayette (Whiteville) | 0 | 0 |
| Fayette (Somerville) | 0 | 0 |
| Shelby (Millington) | 0 | 0 |
| Tipton (Covington) | 0 | 0 |
| Tipton (North) | 0 | 0 |
| Lauderdale (Golddust) | 7 | 1 |
| Haywood(West) | 47 | 2 |
| Haywood (Brownsville) | 16 | 7 |
| Madison (WTREC) | 37 | 0 |
| Madison (North) | 0 | 0 |
| Crockett (Alamo) | 0 | 0 |
| Crockett (Friendship) | 7 | 2 |
| Dyer (King Rd) | 6 | 0 |
| Dyer (Dyersburg) | 39 | 0 |
| Lake (Ridgely) | 26 | 0 |
| Gibson (Trenton) | 0 | 0 |
| Gibson (Milan Rec) | 0 | 0 |
| Carroll (Coleman Farm) | 16 | 0 |
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
JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will host the annual Weed Tour June 17 at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. The guided tour will feature 40 weed management research tests in cotton, corn and soybean.
Weed Tour runs from 9 – 11:30 a.m., with registration opening at 8:30 a.m. A light breakfast will be served. Continue reading
Palmer amaranth remains one of the most difficult weeds to manage, and when pigweed escapes preemergence control, postemergence decisions can quickly turn into a kitchen sink approach where multiple products are added to the tank. Because postemergence options depend on the crop system and trait technology, we evaluated a wide range of postemergence programs in 2025 to better understand overall control trends. Continue reading
We are 4 weeks early for the typical POST herbicide application window. These applications need to be effective and steward well. In fact stewardship of the herbicides used in those applications is critical. Crops injured by off-target herbicides were numerous last year. While many think about either dicamba or 2,4-D for off-target concerns, last year clethodim drift on corn was the most widely reported issue across the state. Continue reading
Ryegrass continues to persist in too many fields. Often the ryegrass in these fields has escaped both glyphosate and clethodim (Picture 1). In fields like this we typically will just have to live with ryegrass over the next 4 weeks as it completes maturity and goes to seed. Some have asked what can they spray? Liberty is really the last best option applied on a hot day to help speed up the ryegrass maturity process. Continue reading
I never thought by mid-April that corn in some fields would have grown to the point it is not safe to apply a pint of dicamba (>5”) yet here we are. The forecast suggests next week will not be a good spray week so time will be short that other herbicides can be applied safely to corn over the top. Continue reading
No-till without paraquat? That may be a possibility. Syngenta announced they will stop producing Gramoxone in June. This will leave only the companies that sell the generic paraquats to fill the demand. Will those companies be willing to take on the lawsuits to continue to sell a low margin herbicide? Maybe. Beyond that, the probability one of those companies in a few years will take the lead on re-registration with the EPA is low. All that would suggest that the time span paraquat is available could be as short as just a few years. If so, we need to have a Plan B to replace this herbicide in Tennessee over the next couple years. This will be the emphasis of some of our research this year. Continue reading