“Planting cotton is the second great urge known to man.” I am not sure who to accurately attribute that quote to, but I have heard it several times from Dr. Will McCarty, former Extension Cotton Specialist at Mississippi State University. Continue reading
Slugs. There have been a few calls about slug feeding in corn, and I would expect some similar calls in other crops as they emerge. Slugs, unlike snails, lack shells and commonly feed on plants. They feed on leaves and sometimes cut the stems of cotton or soybean seedlings similar to cutworms. Snails rarely cause economic damage to field crops, and the ones typically encountered do not even feed on the plants. There are no Continue reading
Armyworms in Wheat – Unlike some areas to our south, there have been very few calls on armyworms. Granted, many people included an insecticide with their fungicide, but the few reports of those that didn’t indicate that armyworms are not an issue. I have not found armyworms in the wheat at the Jackson experiment station. Dr. Angus Catchot did an excellent podcast about the treatment threshold for armyworms in Mississippi, which is essentially the same as ours (link here). Cereal leaf beetles also Continue reading
I’ve had a number of questions about including insecticide with fungicide applications. In almost all cases, there are not significant insect infestations in the field. It is purely a convenience application. In fact, most reports are of light aphid and cereal leaf beetle infestations, and little or no armyworm activity. Some have used the logic that insect populations are ahead of schedule, but so is the wheat. At this time of year, insecticides should be applied as needed based on Continue reading
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My counterpart, Dominic Reisig, in North Carolina wrote a couple of good articles that are worth a look (linked below). Sugarcane beetles, like just about everything else, are out early this year. Ed Burns, Extension Agent in Franklin County, reported “about a hundred beetles” at his shop lights last week. I typically start getting calls about this pest beginning in early May, but count on potential problems to start earlier this year.
Sugarcane beetles are active (Dominic Reisig, NCSU)
Cereal leaf beetle update (Dominic Reisig, NCSU)
My colleague, Angus Catchot at Mississippi State University wrote a good news article addressing Bt corn refuge requirements. Keep in mind that his comments are for Mississippi, and things change for non-cotton growing areas of Tennessee … those not officially designated as “cotton counties” (see below).
You can read Dr. Catchot’s comments on his blog site at http://www.mississippi-crops.com/2012/03/01/the-corn-refuge-conundrum-for-the-south/. Continue reading
A number of people asked if we could make available the slides used during the Irrigation Workshop that was held in Jackson on February 23rd. The slide shows can now be viewed at http://www.utcrops.com/presentations.htm.