Cooler temperatures have arrived in West TN. Luckily, much of our cotton crop has made up a tremendous amount of lost ground over the past month and several fields will have received their first shot of defoliant by the end of next week. With this less-than-desirable forecast and generally late crop, I would again encourage you to know your crop, know your environment/forecast, and use this information to guide your product selection and timing. Continue reading
I needed a quick way to view and download weather data from several counties, to determine accumulated heat units for many different planting dates and crops, and to compare against the 30-yr averages for making predictions and crop management decisions. So, I developed a web-based tool with that express purpose. Just point your browser or click-on http://weather.utcrops.com and the rest should be self-explanatory. There is also a Quick Link to this site on the left menu. If you are only interested in counties in Tennessee, you can click on Continue reading
Blooms are beginning to become easier to find in West TN cotton fields. It appears first bloom (the period in which 50% of plants have begun flowering) has arrived roughly 7-14 days behind schedule. Our plots here and around Jackson have definitely jumped in the past few days with warmer temperatures and moderately clear skies. Still, the 7 day forecast looks more like May. With that in mind, I’ve collected and graphed the growing degree days (no cut-off temp, base 60) in Jackson, TN for the past 14 years. Continue reading
Without a doubt, the Milan No-Till Crop Production Field Day is one of the most far-ranging agricultural field days in the nation. The event is a junction for producers with varied farming interests. Tours will cover topics as diverse as row crop sustainability, beef cattle production, natural resource management, unmanned aerial systems and even the compatibility of honeybees and agriculture. Registration is free and begins at 6 a.m. CDT, with the first tours leaving at 7 a.m. A total of 16 tours are on the agenda. Continue reading
If you haven’t watered corn yet this week, you may want to think about doing so. We have been blessed with an abundance of rain that has helped support corn development, and little irrigation has been needed. High temps mean water demand is higher too, and it is critical to not get behind on watering corn. Earliest planted corn is close to tasseling or tasseling which is peak demand time. Suggested irrigation amounts are listed below for corn for those using the ‘checkbook’ method of applying water. Continue reading
The following publications are available at UTcrops.com and can be accessed through the links below.
Grain Sorghum Production in the Mid-South (A regional production guide for Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee).
Nitrogen Requirements of Contemporary Cotton Cultivars (Cotton Incorporated)
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