Every fall we travel around the state and observe the overall success or failure of weed control in our row crops. From the Palmer amaranth standpoint a few too many fields look like a failure. Particularly, from Gibson county across to Lauderdale county cotton and soybean fields ranged from clean fields to fields with more weeds than one would like (Picture 1) to completely grown up pigweed messes (Picture 2). Continue reading
This has been a big week for defoliation. Most of the calls have consisted of one or two questions. First, how long should I wait on acres that are nowhere near ready and second, what is the concoction when the weather is this cool? In this blog, I share a few thoughts on timing and some results from a strip trial we completed in cool conditions during 2020.
Our 2022 cover crop variety trial results are in! If you are thinking about putting in a cover crop this fall, check out which varieties and mixes did best. Entries were evaluated in both an early and late planted trial (early Oct., early Nov.) and under two termination timings (early Apr., early May). In addition to information on biomass, our report has data on which cover crops provided the best canopy cover throughout the season, estimated nitrogen release to the succeeding cash crop, and forage characteristics for those interested in grazing their covers. 21-22 TN Cover Crop Variety Test Report
On October 18th at 10:00 am there will be a pond meeting on aeration. Fisheries Biologist Bob Robinson from Kasco aerators will be discussing everything about aerators. He will even have a couple of types there to see. The meeting will be at:
468 Charlie Owen Rd in Covington TN.
There is a covered pavilion with picnic tables and chairs as well as a restroom. Memphis Net and Twine and Kasco are sponsoring our lunch so I will need a head count. Please call the office at 901-476-0231 or email me at beckymuller@utk.edu or Jeff Via at 901-476-0231 or jvia@utk.edu if you plan to attend.
The West Tennessee Research and Education Center (WTREC) would like to cordially invite you to the 2022 University of Tennessee Cotton Tour. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21st at WTREC (605 Airways Blvd., Jackson, TN 38301). Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the tour departing at 8:15. The tour will end at noon with lunch. University of Tennessee Extension and Research personnel from across the state will be presenting on a wide range of pertinent topics. Pesticide Re-certification and CCA points will be available. The agenda can be found by clicking here. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Abnormally dry soil conditions as a result of rainfall amounts far below average during this corn growing season present unique nutrient management decisions after harvest, particularly for growers considering wheat crop this fall. This article will address two key questions that may come handy in making management decisions: Is there be considerable amounts of residual soil N left after the 2022 corn crop? and if the residual soil nitrate is sufficient to meet N demand of the wheat crop in the fall? Continue reading
The West Tennessee Research and Education Center (WTREC) would like to cordially invite you to the 2022 University of Tennessee Cotton Tour. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21st at WTREC (605 Airways Blvd., Jackson, TN 38301). Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the tour departing at 8:30. The tour will end at noon with lunch. University of Tennessee Extension and Research personnel from across the state will be presenting on a wide range of pertinent topics. Pesticide Re-certification and CCA points will be available. Check back on the blog for an agenda in the coming weeks.
The bollworm flight has been in decline in several areas. Our trap catches have returned to single digits in several counties. A general decline in plant bug populations is also being observed, but stink bugs continue to linger. Some fields of cotton have now reached a maturity where we should and have terminated insecticide applications for plant bugs, stink bugs and bollworms. For later maturing fields, it may still be necessary to manage pest infestations for a couple of more weeks.
Keep in mind that the average last effective bloom date is upon us (August 15-20th). This is the average date that a white flower has a 50% chance of making a harvestable boll. It is a roll of the dice whether bolls set after this date have time to mature before a frost. For late maturing fields that are just now or have not reached NAWF5, it is still advisable to continue to good insect management practices for 2-3 weeks to allow these last bolls to accumulate enough heat units to be relatively safe from insect attack.
With the above considerations in mind, producers can potentially relax thresholds since we’ve reached the last effective bloom date.
My suggestion from this point forward is to pay better attention to stink bug and active bollworm infestations than to plant bugs. Stink bugs and bollworms are more likely to injure bolls. Spending a lot of money to protect squares and small bolls from plant bugs at this late date is a questionable decision. Of course, we have some built in protection from bollworm because almost everything is Bt Cotton. However, Bollgard 2 cotton in particular does not always provide adequate protection against moderate to heavy infestations, and insecticide applications may be justified. Bollgard 3 and Widestrike 3 cotton varieties have held up well this year, however; Bt expression can also decrease at cutout and beyond. Keep an eye on fruit damaged potentially damaged by bollworms out to NAWF5 + 400 DD60’s. Final clean up shots need to have a pyrethroid, OP or combination of the two to take care of stink bugs, plant bugs and potentially catch a stray worm in the top.