Recent Updates

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

Author:  Comments Off on Palmer amaranth Escaping Auxin Herbicides as well as Follow Up Liberty Application
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


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

Author:  Comments Off on Fall Armyworm Running Amok (pastures, soybean, lawns, and more)
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).

Continue reading


Manage Large Palmer amaranth Escapes

Author: and  Comments Off on Manage Large Palmer amaranth Escapes
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


Management of Auxin-Herbicide Resistant Palmer Amaranth

Author: and  Comments Off on Management of Auxin-Herbicide Resistant Palmer Amaranth

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

Continue reading


2020/2021 Wheat Data (County Standardized Trials)

Author:  Comments Off on 2020/2021 Wheat Data (County Standardized Trials)

A great big THANK YOU to our County Agents and cooperating growers for getting in and out this year’s County Standardized Trials Wheat Test.  With Covid ramped up last fall, we had fewer entries into our trials because of issues with supply and workers in the warehouses.  I was happy to see such good yields across the state for a lot of growers.  Looking at our plant dates, early planted wheat had an advantage over planting middle to the latter part of November.  We had a few scares across the northern counties with the late freeze, and across much of the state during grain fill we were cooler and wetter than desired.  Our target varieties seem to be more tolerant to these stressors and in most cases, overcame.

The table below has the results from 8 County Trials, testing 13 varieties.  Our average range in yield was from 62 bushel to 131 bushel per acre with an overall average of 94 bu/ac.  UT recommendations are to select varieties in the “A” group as our top performers.

-MS (mean separation) Varieties with the same letter are not significantly different

-Orange Blocks show varieties’ yield above the location’s average

-% ≥ Avg. is the % of locations that variety is at or above the field 2021 wheat

Click on table for a full PDF