Dr. Scott Stewart just finished a study involving 60 years of weather data. The results may surprise you. In this podcast, he’ll discuss the data and potential impacts on insect pest dynamics in Tennessee. Listen.
Category Archives: Cotton
Field Crop Insect Management Recommendations (PB 1768) Available Online
The 2020 version of PB 1768, Insect Management Recommendations for Field Crops (and pasture), is now available. The guide has gone through substantial revision this year and closely matches the content on the mobile friendly Disease and Insect Field Guides at https://guide.utcrops.com/. Hard copies will be available soon and distributed through county extension offices and at various educational meetings.
Wheat, aphids and BYD … it’s that time of year

This is a repeat of an article from last year (as a reminder). One of the most consistent yield responses I’ve seen in my time at UT is when a foliar insecticide application is made to wheat at this time of year (late January – late February). An insecticide application, specifically a pyrethroid insecticide, has increased yield by an average of 5.7 bushels/acre. Thus, this application has become a fairly routine recommendation. Insecticides can be co-applied with a herbicide or Continue reading
Upcoming Events
January 24, 2020 – Gibson County Extension Crop Production (Ed Jones Agri-plex) 8:00 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. (Contact Philip Shelby for details)
January 30-31, 2020 – Cotton & Rice No-Till Conference (Memphis, TN)
February 3, 2020 – Henry County Extension Crop Production (Henry Co. Fairgrounds) 6 – 9 p.m. (Contact Ranson Goodman for details)
February 4, 2020 – Middle Tennessee Grain Conference (UT Space Institute in Tullahoma, TN)
February 6, 2020 – West Tennessee Grain and Soybean Conference (Dyer Co. Fairgounds, Dyersburg, TN)
February 7, 2020 – KY/TN Grain Conference (Russellville, KY)
February 11, 2020 – Haywood/Madison Extension Crop Production (Samuel T. Bryant Distillery, Jackson, TN) 9AM-12PM (Contact Jake Mallard or Lindsay Stephenson for details)
February 12, 2020 – Tennessee Agricultural Production Association Winter Agronomic Workshop (DoubleTree Hotel, Jackson, Tennessee) 8 AM – 4 PM
February 13, 2020 – Cotton Focus (West Tennessee Research and Education Center, Jackson, TN) 8 AM-12PM (lunch provided, pre-registration is not required)
Tennessee Certified Pesticide Applicator Recertification, Dicamba and Paraquat Training in 2020.
Tennessee Certified Pesticide Applicators must take recertification training in 2020. The recertification training is good for three years. In addition, those who will be spraying Engenia, Tavium, FeXapam or XtendiMax on Xtend crops must take dicamba training in 2020. A new addition from the EPA will be the requirement that anyone who purchases, mixes or applies a paraquat-containing herbicide to take the “How to Safely Use and Handle Paraquat-Containing Products” training module. Continue reading
2020 TN Cotton Variety Guide now available
The 2020 TN Cotton Variety Guide is now available online. This preliminary report serves as a precursor to the complete Variety Trial Results which will be published after the remaining samples have been ginned and classed. Summary tables from the 2019 season were calculated from five Official Variety Trials (OVTs) and nine County Standard Trials (CSTs) scattered throughout TN’s cotton producing counties. Continue reading
2019 CST Soybean Data
The 2019 County Standardized Trial-Soybean Results are now available.
This year, the trials evaluated 88 soybean varieties from 15 companies at 71 locations. Across all varieties and maturities, the tests averaged just over 60 bu/ac. Sufficient rains and soil moisture got this crop off to a great start and earlier planted beans showed no sign of drought stress in most locations. As the season went on, July and August offered little rain to much of TN and later planted beans suffered during pod fill and showed reduced yields in many locations. Maturity and herbicide tolerance is split into 6 protocols. Glyphosate/Dicamba tolerant varieties are tested in four separate trials; late MG III, early MG IV, late MG IV, and early MG V. Our Glufosinate tolerant trial, now hosting some 2-4-D tolerant varieties are separated into two trials; early MG IV and late MG IV.
String-out, fall out, and estimating yield loss in cotton
While the finish line is either within sight or has been reached by most, Tennessee still has several acres of cotton in the field. Several have reported fall out, or seed cotton on the ground, on some of these acres. There are several methods to estimate yield loss from fall out. This article explains string-out, fall out, the method for estimating harvest loss from lock counts and covers potential sources of error in the estimate. Continue reading