Category Archives: Irrigation

Heat and Crop Performance

The last week of June and the start of July have brought unusually dry conditions to much of West Tennessee, and we’re already seeing the effects on the region’s major row crops. Among crops cotton—often considered a heat-loving crop—may appear to be thriving right now, extended heat and limited rainfall can still influence how cotton and other major crops grow and develop as the season progresses.

Why this matters now

Dry weather at this point in the season can quickly shift from “manageable” to “yield-limiting,” especially if high temperature and evaporative demand rates continue and soil water remains low. A widespread, soaking rain in the coming weeks would help stabilize crop conditions and reduce stress during critical growth periods.

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2024 UT Soybean Scout Schools

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UT’s Soybean Scout Schools will be held in July (see details below). These field-side programs cover the basics of soybean growth, scouting, pest identification, and general management. Pesticide recertification and CCA CEU points will be available. Scout Schools are offered free of charge with sponsorship from the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board. Registration is not required. Participants will receive a scouting notebook and a sweep net while supplies last.

 West TN – Madison County, July 15th, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM. This school will be at the West TN Research and Education Center, 605 Airways Blvd. Jackson TN, 38301. Signs will be up at the station to direct you to the field.

2024 Franklin County Soybean Scout School
2024 Franklin County Soybean Scout School

Middle TN – Franklin County, July 16th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. This school will be at 601 Cumberland St., Cowan TN 37318. Contact Matthew Deist for more information. 931-967-2741, mdeist@utk.edu. Register online at https://tiny.utk.edu/SoybeanScoutSchool

West TN–  Obion County, July 17th, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM. This school will be held at the Obion Farmers Coop,  810 Mt. Zion Rd Union City, TN 38261. Contact Garrett McDaniel for more information gartmcda@utk.edu, 731-223-1178.


Irrigation Termination Decisions for Corn and Soybean

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As we approach the end of July, much of our corn and some of our soybean acres are in the latter portion of their respective reproductive growth stages. As we progress toward physiological maturity, lets revisit irrigation termination decisions for these two crops.

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Cotton Specialists’ Corner Podcast: PGR use on dry acres, farms with mixed maturity

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We are quickly approaching the period of time in which we typically apply PGRs.  Unfortunately, May was not kind and June has been dry.  Many are struggling with figuring out when to start PGR applications and how aggressive we should be with that first application.  In this blog, I link to our most recent Cotton Specialists’ Corner podcast on this very issue.  This episode highlights several things to keep in mind before we run a stiff rate of PGR to an already stressed plant and potentially hurt yields.

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The New UTcrops.com !!!

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Cotton harvester in field with agricultural iconsIf you haven’t noticed, our UTcrops.com website has gotten a facelift.  You may not recognize it when you first visit us at  https://utcrops.com/.  However, it’s organized similarly to the old version.  I’m sure there are a few bugs that need to be fixed, but take a look!  This site gives you ready access to essentially all UT resources related to row crop production.

 


Virtual Milan No-till Field Day … Available Now!

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 growth stages and water requirements

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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.

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