The 2019 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide is now available online. You can access the guide by clicking the above image or any of the embedded links within this post. This guide was compiled by Extension Specialists from throughout the Mid-South and is updated yearly.
Cotton – Even for our latest cotton, given an average frost date of around October 15, this is the last week you can likely justify insecticide applications to cotton. Based on average historical temperatures, the last effective bloom date was two week ago. A late flurry of bollworm moth activity has forced some sprays this week, and most folks are electing to Continue reading
Dr. Heather Kelly shares disease outlook in cotton and soybean and discusses what you can expect to learn at the upcoming Soybean Disease Field Day (9/3/19) and Cotton Tour Field Day (9/4/19). Play podcast.
The West Tennessee Research and Education Center (WTREC) would like to cordially invite you to the 2019 University of Tennessee Cotton Tour. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 4th at the 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 topics including: fungicides and target spot, weed and resistance management, variety testing, defoliation, insect control, and drought mitigation, just to mention a few. Pesticide Re-certification and CCA points will be available. Continue reading
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been getting asked about leaf spots in cotton and the majority of them have been leaf spot complex.
I was thinking it might be 2021 or at least 2020 before we would start getting reports of Xtend soybean fields that were wrapped up with Palmer amaranth. Wrong! It is 2019. I visited several soybean fields this week where, judging by the Palmer amaranth regrowth, Engenia had been applied to Palmer that was 2 to 6″ tall (Picture 1). A small percentage died and the rest went on to over run several Xtend soybean fields (Picture 2). In another field a follow-up Engenia application was made and it did improve the pigweed control some but the field was still far from being a success story. Continue reading
CORN PRODUCERS PREPARE FOR HARVEST
Hot, dry weather prevailed over most of the state, providing ample opportunities for fieldwork. Corn producers were busy preparing for harvest with some expected to begin harvesting as early as this week. Soybean and cotton growers sprayed for insects and applied fungicides. Hay baling continued to be a major activity with farmers working on their second and third cuttings. Despite the heat, pastures and cattle looked good for this time of year. There were 6.4 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was rated 4 percent very short, 27 percent short, 67 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 3 percent very short, 26 percent short, 64 percent adequate, and 7 percent surplus. The entire report can be read here: TN Crop Weather 08_19_2019. The USDA also released the latest national crop progress report as well. It can be viewed here: US Crop Progress 08_19_2019.
I’ve resisted writing this post for 5 years because I think estimating lint yield from boll counts only provides enough insight to differentiate between poor, decent and good cotton. Still, I understand the temptation to count one’s chickens before they hatch. In this blog, I highlight a few issues with estimates and define the number of bolls required to produce one and two bales at various row spacings and patterns. Continue reading