The annual Cotton Tour Field Day is going virtual in 2020. The event, which is typically held at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, will be offered to the public online. Presentations covering Continue reading
Sometimes there is no substitute for scouting. Spraying based on rumor or what your neighbor does will get you in trouble (or waste money). I predicted a relatively large corn earworm (bollworm) moth flight, but the average trap catches don’t support that. Having said that, there are definitely pockets of bollworms in late soybean and more widespread issues in cotton. Cotton maturity is all over the board depending on planting date, variety, and field conditions. The most mature cotton is Continue reading
The University of Tennessee Extension is working with our State USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to increase awareness of CFAP money that is available to assist crop, livestock, and dairy producers. Continue reading
Although current moth activity remains relatively low, I’m expecting a peak of moth activity sometime beginning around August 5th through 10th. Bollworm (a.k.a., corn earworm) poses a significant threat to cotton and soybean, and particularly late planted soybean that are still flowering when the flight arrives. Below are some thoughts on managing for this troubling pest. Continue reading
Follow the link below to experience the 2020 Milan No-till Field Day at your own pace! You can watch an entire tour by clicking on its name, or just one presentation by clicking on a specific title.
Please note, all links will open in a new tab. Closed captions are available by clicking the “CC” button on the right side of the video’s play bar.
https://milannotill.tennessee.edu/research-tours/
Cotton – Although plant bug populations remain lighter that usual, we are now seeing treatment levels in many fields. It’s time to switch to the drop cloth for best results. The treatment threshold for tarnished plant bug beginning at first flower is 3 tarnished plant bugs per drop cloth. You should maintain this threshold until about NAWF5+250 DD60s, at which time Continue reading
While May brought a great deal of rain, June and July have been dry for much of West Tennessee. We are already beginning to see the impacts on cotton growth and development. While we still have very good cotton yield potential, we need a good soaking rain in the coming weeks. This blog highlights impacts of drought on cotton during the growth stage, provides general information on scheduling irrigation and highlights a few scheduling methods.
Ideally, the soil profile needs to provide sufficient plant available water throughout the blooming period. As we begin to move towards the permanent wilting point during the blooming window, fruit retention may begin to decline and maturity may be delayed. If a rainfall or irrigation event does not ameliorate the stress, yield penalties may develop. Cotton plants are particularly susceptible to drought during the early boll development stages which immediately follow flowering (Table 1). Keeping soil profile at or near field capacity at early bloom through peak bloom will support earliness and maximize yields.
Although pressure is currently below average, it is increasing, which is to be expected as we enter the early blooming window. We have limited but good options to control plant bugs in blooming cotton. I often tell folks that if you call me once bloom starts, I’ll often only mention 4-5 products, sometimes in combination. Those include Acephate/Orthene, Diamond, Transform, and Bidrin. Vydate also gets and honorable mention. These are the core products suggested for mid-season plant bug control. Below are some treatment options I like, in no particular order. However, Continue reading