Results from our greenhouse screens of Palmer amaranth to Liberty has been very encouraging. We feared that the Liberty resistance documented in Arkansas had crossed the river. The good news is that we have seen good control with a 32 oz/A rate of Liberty on all the Palmer populations tested (Picture 1). Continue reading
The UT Cotton Scout School is scheduled for the last Friday of the month, May 27th, at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center (605 Airways Blvd, Jackson). There is no fee, and preregistration is not required. Registration begins at 8:00 AM with the program starting at 8:30. Content will include classroom and hands-on training with an optional go-to-the-field session after lunch. Topics covered will include cotton development and identification and symptoms of insect pests, plant diseases, and weeds.
In West Tennessee, farmers were busy planting corn and soybeans and preparing to plant cotton. Winter wheat condition looked good across the region, as did pasture condition. In Middle Tennessee, corn and soybean producers picked up the pace of their planting. Wheat condition was reported as good throughout the region as well. Other activities included the application of fertilizer and herbicides. In East Tennessee, farmers began planting corn and soybeans, with some areas still reporting that rain was needed. There were 4.9 days suitable for field work.
Topsoil moisture was 8 percent short, 82 percent adequate, and 10 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was 6 percent short, 82 percent adequate, and 12 percent surplus. Hay and Roughage Supplies rated 4 percent very short, 22 percent short, 66 percent adequate, and 8 percent surplus. Continue reading at TN_CropProgress_05_01_22. The U.S. Crop Progress Report is available at US_CropProgress_05_01_2022.
Corn and cotton were up; wheat was down; soybeans were mixed for the week.
New harvest contract highs for corn and cotton were set this week. The last time the December corn contract was this high was 2012. That year the December contract peaked at $8.38 ¾ on August 21. Where was the December 2012 contract at the end of April? $5.43 ¼. The contract added nearly $3.00 between the end of April and the third week in August. Every year is different, and some weather concerns are factored into the current futures price, however if weather conditions are uncooperative over the next four months, we likely have another substantial leg up in this year’s corn market. Weather and the war between Russia and Ukraine will continue to make markets unpredictable and dramatic movements up or down can not be ruled out at this juncture. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.
The call of the last week has been ryegrass and/or Poa escaping burndown in a number of fields that have been or will be planted to corn. In most cases the ryegrass escaped a glyphosate plus dicamba burndown. Continue reading
So far only the usual suspects of powdery mildew (when it was still cool) and now Septoria have been reported in Tennessee wheat. Continue reading
A recent Ag poll indicated 80% of respondents felt they were behind on planting this spring. No surprise in Tennessee, as farmers once again take advantage of a small window for planting at the end of April ahead of more rain. Continue reading
The thrips infestation predictor tool uses planting date, precipitation, and temperature to create an estimate of the size of local thrips population and the susceptibility of seedling cotton to infestations of tobacco thrips (the predominate thrips species in Tennessee). Models can be run for two weeks beyond the current date. Planting decisions should be made based on weather, opportunity and agronomic considerations not based on this model. The model is useful for predicting/anticipating the need for a thrips overspray in addition to an insecticide seed treatment.
Utilizing the model is simple, users select a planting date and a location based on an interactive map. The model will predict thrips risk for planting dates in a designated time frame. As an example, cotton planted before May 5th in West Tennessee has a somewhat lower risk than cotton planted on May 15th. If you look at the within season model, cotton planted May 21- 31 has a much higher risk of thrips infestations than cotton planted in early May. Beware, the accuracy of this model often improves as we approach the intended planting date and rerunning the model as you get closer to planting is a good practice. This tool has helped us time our planting of thrips trials to maximize thrips numbers and will hopefully help you do the opposite.
