As most know the EPA approved a new five-year registration for Engenia, Tavium and XtendiMax to be used in Xtend cotton and soybean. The new registration has some new labeled directions on application of these herbicides. In a series of articles this winter, we will try to highlight the major label changes.

One of the new labeled requirements for these three herbicides is the addition of a volatility reducing agent (VRA). Continue reading →

Preliminary data from the 2020 TN Cotton CST Data is now available.  We are releasing an average table for the XtendFlex trials and the Enlist trials today.  We only tested the XtendFlex and Enlist varieties together in a handful of locations.  I will release the average tables from those locations later, along with results from each individual location.  Also, stay tuned for the OVT small plot trial data average table which includes 44 commercial and pre-commercial varieties.  The last of the OVT samples should gin during the first of next week. Continue reading →

The 2020 Tennessee soybean variety trial results have been finalized and are now available. You can access the pdf or excel tables on search.utcrops.com/soybean. Our searchable, sortable online tables and database will be available within a couple of weeks.

The 2020 Tennessee corn grain hybrid trial results have been finalized and are now available. You can access the pdf or excel tables on search.utcrops.com/corn-grains. Our searchable, sortable online tables will be available within a couple of weeks.

On September 18th, we applied a defoliation strip trial in Gift, TN.  The field was 85% open with juvenile and mature leaves present.  As you likely recall, this was immediately before a cold snap.  Night temperatures for the next five days were 54, 55, 55, 59 and 57. In this blog, I describe the concoctions applied, share a brief video of the results 13 days after the initial application, and highlight a few important take-homes from the video. Continue reading →

Are you thinking about putting in a cover crop this fall? While cover crops can provide many benefits, picking the right species and varieties for your system is critical to maximizing those benefits. Check out our 2020 cover crop variety trial results for a head-to-head comparison of 60 cover crop varieties at three TN locations.

Cover crops were planted in fall 2019 and evaluated for a number of important traits, including fall and winter canopy cover, biomass at termination (April and May), and estimated nitrogen release.

• Top-performing cereal varieties, including Bates RS4 cereal rye, NF95319B cereal rye, NF 97325 cereal rye, NF99362 cereal rye, and Wintergrazer 70 cereal rye, excelled at providing fall canopy cover and spring biomass,
• Top-performing legume varieties, including AU Merit hairy vetch, Survivor winter pea, Purple Bounty hairy vetch, Patagonia Inta hairy vetch, and WinterKing hairy vetch, excelled at providing winter canopy cover, spring biomass, and nitrogen release.
• Top-performing brassica varieties, including Viva hybrid brassica, Digger radish, and Smart radish provided above average fall and winter canopy cover at the East and West TN locations.

More information can be found in the full publication or excel tables. A virtual tour of the plots was also presented at the virtual Milan no-till field day and is available here.

If you trust the forecast, volatile temperatures should increase over the weekend before again falling into the upper 40s by the middle of next week.  Thanks, 2020.  Unfortunately, we do not have great options after Sunday and fields in West Tennessee are wet.  This blog covers the mixes I’m running prior to Saturday afternoon, Sunday through mid-week and thoughts on whether or not that green, soft boll will mature before a freeze. Continue reading →