Late Season Peanut Irrigation — During the last three weeks the strategy is to irrigate when fields go into enough stress that aflatoxin development is a risk. Don’t apply too much water during the last three weeks; about 1 inch per week will suffice to reduce the stress. When it becomes very dry producers will have to irrigate to facilitate digging in order to reduce digging losses.

Cotton Outlook

In 2018, Georgia’s farmers planted 1.43 million acres of cotton, up 150,000 acres from 2017. The average cotton yield is forecast at 946 pounds per acre. Production is forecast at 2.8 million bales, which would be the second highest on record. There are two major contributing factors to the increase in cotton acres in Georgia. First, the relatively high cotton price in 2018, especially during planting season, makes cotton more competitive with other row crops. Second, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 authorized seed cotton as a covered commodity and eliminated generic base and thus the eligibility for payments when planting other covered commodities on farms with generic base.

U.S. cotton planted acreage is 14.04 million, up 1.43 million from 2017, which is the highest planted acres since in 2011. The 2018 U.S. upland cotton is forecasted at 18.9 million bales, down 1.31 million bales from 2017. The reduction in production is largely due to the severe drought conditions in Texas. Even though Texas planting acres increased by 12 percent, the production level reduced by 30 percent from 2017. The forecasted production number might be further negatively impacted by Hurricane Florence on North and South Carolina.

World cotton use or demand has improved significantly in recent years and currently forecast at a record level. Even though U.S. cotton faces an additional 25 percent increase in tariffs on cotton exports to China due to the on-going trade dispute between U.S. and China, U.S. cotton exports are doing very well and are expected to continue to be strong for the 2018-2019 crop year. Exports are currently forecasted to be 15.7 million bales for the 2018 – 2019 crop year, which would be the second highest on record.  READ MORE

Late Season Disease Management and Harvest Issues Bob Kemerait

Disease management late in the peanut season can be very easy and it can be quite confusing.  In fields where these is little disease, growers can generally “coast” to harvest with confidence that there is little (or nothing) to be done to finish the crop.  Where disease is present, growers must decide what measures should be taken to protect their crop as best they can as they limp towards harvest.  The decision for “best” practices is based upon 1) projected time until harvest, 2) how much disease is in the field, and 3) overall yield potential of the crop.  

If there is not much time left until harvest, or if there is too much disease in the field, or if the yield potential is low because of other reasons, then there may not be any reason to spend more money on fungicides.  However, in other situations growers can be justified in making a final fungicide application; the trick becomes what fungicide, or combination of fungicides, to apply. Conditions in the field remain very warm and some, but not all parts of the Coastal Plain have been dry (or at least drier) over the past week.  With less rainfall, development of leaf spot diseases and white mold should slow; however there is still enough moisture for diseases to pose a threat.  However, most growers are within weeks, to a little more than a month away from harvest.  It is unlikely that diseases will have time to develop and affect yields in fields where diseases are currently well managed. Below are some typical situations that peanut growers may find themselves in and suggestions for control.

1.  Grower is four or more weeks away from harvest and currently has excellent disease control. a. Suggestion: I recommend that the grower apply at least one more fungicide at least for leaf spot control.

b. Suggestion: Given the low cost of tebucoazole, the grower may consider applying a tan-mix of tebuconazole (7.2 fl oz) + chlorothalonil (1.0 pt/A) for added insurance of white mold and leaf spot. NOTE: If white mold is not an issue, then the grower should stick with a leaf spot spray only. 

2. Grower is four or more weeks away from harvest and has disease problems in the field. a. If the problem is with leaf spot: Grower should insure that any fungicide applied has systemic/curative activity.  If a grower wants to use chlorothalonil, then suggest that they mix a product like thiophanate methyl (Topsin M), cyproconazole (Alto), tetraconazole (Domark) with the chlorothalonil.  Other growers may consider applying Priaxor or even Miravis; however I would encourage careful thought before using either late in the season. b. If the problem is white mold: Grower should continue with fungicide applications for management of white mold and leaf spot.  If they have completed their regular white mold program, then they should extend the program, perhaps with a tebuconazole/chlorothalonil mix.  If the grower is unhappy with the level of control from their fungicide program, then we can offer alternative fungicides to apply. c. If the problem is underground white mold:  Underground white mold is difficult to control.  Applying a white mold fungicide ahead of irrigation or rain, or applying at night, can help to increase management of this disease.

3. Grower is three or less weeks away from projected harvest and does not currently have a disease issue.  Good news!  This grower should be good-to-go for the remainder of the season and no more fungicides are required.

4. Grower is three or less weeks away from harvest and has a problem with disease. a. If leaf spot (or rust) is a problem and 2-3 weeks away from harvest, a last leaf spot fungicide application may be beneficial.  If leaf spot is too severe (defoliation more than 20%), then a last application will not help.  b. If white mold is a problem and harvest is 3 weeks away, then it is likely beneficial to apply a final white mold fungicide.  If harvest is 2 weeks or less away, then it is unlikely that a fungicide will be of any benefit. c. NOTE:  If harvest is likely to be delayed by threat from a hurricane or tropical storm, then the grower may reconsider recommendations for end-of-season fungicide applications. Growers, in general, are encouraged to wait until appropriate harvest maturity to dig their peanut crop.  However severe disease in a field may mean that growers should dig ahead of a projected digging date to minimize harvest losses. There are no “hard and fast” recommendations for conditions when digging early is advised, however here are some suggestions for when the grower is within two weeks of harvest.

1.  Tomato spotted wilt, even when severe, is generally not a reason to dig early. 2. Significant defoliation from leaf spot diseases, 50% and beyond is reasons to consider digging early to minimize harvest losses. 3. Active white mold in a field that affects greater than 40% of the crop could make digging early necessary.  Again, there are not hard and fast, but guidelines for timing “best” harvest. Please let me know if you have additional questions. 

ALERT: Whitefly-Transmitted Cucurbit Leaf Crumple Virus Detected in Georgia

Below are a few words from Dr. Dutta about the detecting Leaf Crumple Virus. 

We have  recently confirmed Cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV) on yellow squash at UGA, Tifton, GA. The symptoms  include crumpling, curling, yellowing and chlorosis of leaves. Infected plants appear stunted with distorted growth. Disease symptoms can be severe, especially in Cucurbita spp. (e.g., various types of squash), and may result in yield losses.  The virus spreads by whiteflies in a persistent manner. Current projections indicate  low disease incidence and sporadic/limited outbreaks.  In the best case scenario, we may escape disease as it appeared quite late in 2018 (mid-Fall) compared to summer (2017).

Jeremy M. Kichler

County Extension Coordinator

Colquitt County

Moultrie, Georgia

Cell.  229-921-1977