With the continued wet and warm weather, it didn’t take long to identify Southern rust in some Madison county corn, and additional fields are being scouted this week. Continue reading
I wanted send out a brief update on corn disease progress as of the end of June. We are scouting fields regularly now and with storms blowing into the state from south and west, a number of corn leaves where Southern rust was suspected have been brought to the lab here in Jackson. Continue reading
Trying to decide whether or not to spray fungicide on your corn? First, you should scout for diseases and consider your disease risk. Southern rust has been reported in TX, MS, AL, AR, GA, and FL and with the tropical storm there is a good chance spores have been blown in to TN and the wet, overcast weather provides the perfect environment for disease development. Continue reading
It seems that fall armyworms have gotten a running start in recent years. This species does not overwinter in Tennessee, but it may survive warm winters in the extreme southern areas of coastal states during mild winters. It migrates into Tennessee each year. Often, fall armyworms don’t show in substantial numbers until late July or August. However, they are being found Continue reading
They’re back, but they don’t scare me! It is very unusual to see economic damage from Japanese beetles in cotton, soybean, or corn. They may cause defoliation in all crops. I’ve never seen enough defoliation in cotton or corn to justify treatment. On a few occasions, I’ve seen enough defoliation in soybean to catch my attention. They will hang around for a while, so in combination with other defoliators, they may cause enough damage Continue reading
The University of Tennessee Variety Testing team is pleased to announce the launch of a new search tool for yield and agronomic data for corn grain and silage, cotton, soybeans and wheat. Continue reading
Moth traps catches clearly indicate that the first generation flight is peaking (link to moth trap catches). Local moth catches may vary considerably, and that is why we suggest running pheromone traps on your farm if you are growing non-Bt corn. The highest trap catches are on farms in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuges, primarily because they are not allowed to grow Bt corn. Please link to the publication below for more information about the management of this pest. Below, I’ve also provided the suggested treatment threshold for southwestern corn borers in non-Bt corn during the whorl stage. Continue reading
This is a reminder that moth trapping data for corn earworm (bollworm), tobacco budworm, and southwestern corn borer will be posted weekly during the summer. You can open the Excel file under the Quick Link menu on the left or directly at this link – http://www.utcrops.com/BlogStuff/2017MothTrappingData.xls. A few southwestern corn borers were caught this week, indicating the first generation is starting, perhaps just a little earlier than usual. Generally low numbers of corn earworm and tobacco budworm moths were also caught last week.