If historical weather trends are true and our forecast holds, we are staring at one of the last opportunities to use moderate to warm temperatures to coax leaves off and open bolls. The long term forecast suggests low temperatures next week will consistently fall below 60F with a few nights forecast to touch the low 50s. Furthermore, rain is in the forecast over the weekend/through the beginning of next week.
The Mid-South’s cotton crop is rapidly maturing and many of our acres will receive a harvest aid application soon after Hurricane Irma moves through the area. There are many factors to consider in determining timing, products and rates. In an effort to outline these decisions and provide harvest aid recommendations for the Mid-South, the 2017 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide has just been updated by the MidSouth Cotton Specialists’ Working Group and is now available online. To access the guide, click the image above or the included link. Please keep in mind that this was compiled as a regional guide and should be used in conjunction with your previous experiences.
Heat unit accumulation has been the big question over the past week. Mild temperatures settled over Tennessee during early August and there is some concern that the crop may not be maturing as quickly as noted in years past. While I agree the weather has been quite comfortable, we are currently very close to the 30 year average heat unit accumulation trend noted from 1980-2010.
The new publication, “W 403: Verticillium Wilt in Tennessee Valley Cotton” provides background on Verticillium wilt, summarizes recent variety trial results, and highlights other practices that can reduce the impact of the disease. Continue reading
Ryan Blair, County Variety Testing Coordinator
The 2016 TN Cotton Variety Trial Results Publication (PB1742) is now available online. This document contains detailed results from all harvested trails in the 2016 University of Tennessee Cotton Variety Testing Program. Continue reading
The 2017 Tennessee Grain & Soybean Producers Conference is being held at the Dyer County Fairgrounds in Dyersburg, TN on Thursday, February 2nd. On-site registration begins at 7:45. The programs ends after lunch following the Keynote Address by Harrison M. Pittman, Director, National Agricultural Law Center (University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture) on “Ag Law Update: Recent & Emerging Issues for the Ag Industry”. Preliminary Agenda (updated)
The twelfth annual Middle Tennessee Grain Conference set for Thursday, January 26 at Coffee County’s Fairgrounds in Manchester offers farmers insight to a number of emerging corn, soybean, and wheat production concerns. The conference is scheduled to get underway with registration beginning at 7:30 am. Registration is $20 at the door or $10 if participants pre-registering by Noon, Monday, January 23 through their local UT Extension office. Registration fees include the program and materials, refreshments, lunch, a copy of the conference proceedings, and a grain conference cap. View Program
By Tyson Raper and Ryan Blair
The University of Tennessee Cotton Agronomy Program provides an unbiased evaluation of experimental and commercial varieties available for production in Tennessee each year. The 2016 program consisted of Continue reading