Recent Updates

11 Aug 2021

2021 Cotton Tour, Sept 1st @ 8AM, WTREC

11 Aug 2021
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The West Tennessee Research and Education Center (WTREC) would like to cordially invite you to the 2021 University of Tennessee Cotton Tour.  This event is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 1st at the WTREC (605 Airways Blvd., Jackson, TN 38301).  Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the tour departing at 8:30.  The tour will end at noon with lunch. University of Tennessee Extension and Research personnel from across the state will be presenting on a wide range of topics including: variety testing, including updates on ThryvOn; fungicides and target spot; weed and resistance management; defoliation; insect control; market outlook; and drought mitigation, just to mention a few.  Pesticide Re-certification and CCA points will be available.

Cajun Express will be catering the event with fried catfish and chicken.  Come join us Wednesday morning to pick up some useful information and eat a great meal right before dove season opens!

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05 Aug 2021

Cotton growth- managing the ‘runaway’ acre

05 Aug 2021
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An example of cotton height from research plots in Jackson: PGRs were used (left) vs. No PGRs (right). WTREC, August 2021

July rains and a rain on the first of August supported rapid growth in many areas.  Over the past few days,  two of the most common questions have become, ‘How much mepiquat chloride is needed to slow growth?’ and ‘should I also include Stance in the application?’  In this article, we highlight some interesting results from a preliminary study conducted during 2020. Continue reading →

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26 Jul 2021

Palmer amaranth Escaping Auxin Herbicides as well as Follow Up Liberty Application

26 Jul 2021
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Picture 1. Palmer amaranth escapes after Enlist One + glyphosate followed by Liberty. Picture taken 17 days after Liberty application.

We have visited fields where growers have found that Palmer amaranth that escaped an auxin herbicide (Engenia, XtendiMax, Enlist One) application also escaped follow-up glufosinate (Liberty) application (Pictures 1 and 2). Auxin herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth was documented in Tennessee last year.  As such, it was not a surprise to find dicamba or 2,4-D fail to control pigweed. Glufosinate-resistant Palmer amaranth was documented in Arkansas last year.  We have not found glufosinate-resistant Palmer amaranth on the Tennessee side of the river.  However, the reports from these fields has us concerned the glufosinate-resistant biotype has indeed crossed the river. Part of the reason for the concern is that we had research fairly close to these suspect fields that showed similar poor Palmer control with dicamba or 2,4-D followed by glufosinate. Continue reading →

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23 Jul 2021

Fall Armyworm Running Amok (pastures, soybean, lawns, and more)

23 Jul 2021
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Picture courtesy of Jake Mallard (click to enlarge)

The fall armyworm outbreak of 2021 is going to be one to remember.  My colleague, Dr. Gus Lorenz in Arkansas called it “epic”.  We knew something was different this year when another colleague in Texas, Dr. David Kerns, gave us a warning over a month ago.  So what’s different? First, the fall armyworm flight is several weeks early, second, larval infestations have been unusually high, and third, for whatever reason, control with pyrethroid insecticides has been unusually poor (ranging from sometimes acceptable to a complete failure).

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16 Jul 2021

Manage Large Palmer amaranth Escapes

16 Jul 2021
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Picture 1. Palmer amaranth escapes from Engenia + glyphosate. Picture taken 30 days after application.

We have visited fields where growers assumed their Engenia or XtendiMax + glyphosate had controlled Palmer amaranth only to find that many had escaped and are now quite large (Picture 1). The question is what are some approaches to manage these escapes? Continue reading →

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15 Jul 2021

Management of Auxin-Herbicide Resistant Palmer Amaranth

15 Jul 2021
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In fields where dicamba and 2,4-D are no longer effectively controlling Palmer amaranth what are some options to help manage this weed?  We conducted research at several locations this year trying to answer this question.

Picture 1. Palmer amaranth escapes from dicamba + glyphosate on 4″ Palmer followed by dicamba + glyphosate 7 days later.  Picture taken 21 days after last application

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