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1. By Crop

Insecticide Seed Treatments for Wheat Updated

🕔12:04, 5.Oct 2012

As we begin to gear up for wheat planting there have been several questions regarding the use of insecticide seed treatments. We have been testing insecticide seed treatments in wheat for several years and have seen a positive response in nearly every case.

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New Insecticides Labeled for Rice Updated

🕔21:09, 4.Oct 2012

Two new insecticides from Valent recently received federal labels for use in rice. The state approval is still pending, but expected soon. The insecticides are Belay and Nipsit INSIDE. Both of these insecticides have the same active ingedient, clothianidin.

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Weed of the Week: Annual Bluegrass Updated

🕔08:16, 4.Oct 2012

Identifying features of annual bluegrass are its light green color, low and clumping growth habit, open leaf sheath, and lack of hairs.

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Weed of the Week: Downy Brome Updated

🕔10:19, 26.Sep 2012

Downy brome can be problematic in some areas in winter wheat, pastures, and also in alfalfa.

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Weed of the Week: Cheat Updated

🕔16:57, 19.Sep 2012

Cheat is a tufted, erect, winter annual grass species that is native to Europe. Cheat prefers open areas with full sunlight, such as cultivated fields, roadsides, and pastures.

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September 2012 Supply and Demand Report Recap Updated

🕔16:44, 12.Sep 2012

I quickly want to introduce Dr. Brian Williams. Brian recently joined the Mississippi State Extension Service as a commodity marketing specialist. He will be taking over the corn, soybean and wheat duties and contributed to this post. Brian can be

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Weed of the Week: Italian Ryegrass Updated

🕔10:39, 10.Sep 2012

Italian ryegrass plants germinate from fall through early spring, are highly competitive, and grow rapidly in the winter and early spring months.

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Weed of the Week: Texas Millet Updated

🕔08:21, 6.Sep 2012

Texas millet is native to the southern United States and can be found in crop fields, pastures, roadsides, and untended areas in Mississippi.

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Early leaf spot found in the greater Aberdeen area Updated

🕔10:49, 5.Sep 2012

Description and symptoms.  Yesterday I looked at some defoliating fields in the greater Aberdeen vicinity. The vines looked like someone had used a set of hedge shears to remove the foliage from between the rows and thin it in the

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Soilborne Diseases and Disorders of Soybean: Is it Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) or is Something Else Responsible? Updated

🕔17:19, 3.Sep 2012

Many diseases of soybean can produce a symptom of interveinal chlorosis. Stem canker, sudden death syndrome, Phytophthora root rot, southern blight, and several other less common diseases in the MS production system can all produce symptoms on the uppermost leaves that appear similar to SDS. However, disorders can also produce the same symptom and are oftentimes readily misdiagnosed at the field level.

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The Principles of Plant Pathology: The Disease Triangle and Influence of the Environment Updated

🕔17:38, 31.Aug 2012

Plant pathogens require a specific set of factors to occur at the same time for disease to begin. More often than not diseases require a prolonged conducive environment before the pathogen can produce observable symptoms.

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Impact of Hurricane Isaac on Soybean Rust and Potential Management Decisions

Impact of Hurricane Isaac on Soybean Rust and Potential Management Decisions Updated

🕔11:48, 31.Aug 2012

Over the past six weeks soybean rust has been detected in numerous soybean fields throughout Mississippi.  Even though it appears that a large number of counties have soybean plants infected with the disease, at present only low levels of soybean

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Weed of the Week: Southwestern Cupgrass Updated

🕔09:39, 30.Aug 2012

Southwestern cupgrass has become an increasing problem in recent years in Mississippi.

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Soybean Harvest Aids Updated

🕔08:43, 28.Aug 2012

Soybean harvest has begun in several places around the state. According to the USDA Agricultural Statistics Service in Mississippi, 34% of the soybean acreage is dropping leaves and 9% has been harvested. Yield reports at this point are optimistic in

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Predicted conditions surrounding Isaac favor diseases of peanut Updated

🕔21:39, 26.Aug 2012

As of Sunday evening, it appears that Tropical Storm Isaac will slow, turn into a hurricane, and hit our Gulf Coast sometime Tuesday. Rainfall amounts are forecast in inches below I-20 and tropical storm conditions are expected to prevail for

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2012 MSU Short List of Suggested Wheat Varieties Updated

🕔11:08, 25.Aug 2012

This article lists those wheat varieties which have demonstrated superior productivity in the MSU Wheat and Oat Variety Trials and summarizes their characteristics. This impartial information should help you better assess how many variety traits potentially work to affect wheat performance on your farm next season.

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2012 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide Updated

🕔14:10, 24.Aug 2012

Cotton harvest aid applications are beginning to go out on some of the earliest planted and/or burnt up cotton in several areas throughout the state.  As most know, there are several methods that can be used to time defoliation applications;

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Soybean Foliar Disease Update: August 21, 2012

Soybean Foliar Disease Update: August 21, 2012 Updated

🕔16:52, 21.Aug 2012

Foliar disease in the soybean crop continue to be observed throughout MS. Presently, soybean rust has been detected in 11 counties, with Lowndes, Noxubee, and Winston being the most current finds (8/21/2012). In addtiion, frogeye leaf spot and Cercospora blight continue to be observed across a greater number of acres.

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Insect Management in Late Planted Grain Sorghum Updated

🕔11:39, 18.Aug 2012

Mississippi producers planted 65K acres of grain sorghum this year, up from 52K acres in 2011, and 12K acres in 2010. Grain sorghum traditionally in MS has been considered a “step child” crop that went on the worst dry land

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Terminating Soybean Irrigation Updated

🕔18:51, 15.Aug 2012

At this point in the growing season, those with irrigation capabilities are looking at their crop to decide how much additional water it will take to finish things off. Scattered rains over the last few days have helped make this

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Weed of the Week:  Browntop Millet

Weed of the Week: Browntop Millet Updated

🕔08:22, 13.Aug 2012

In Mississippi, browntop millet is found in cultivated areas, lawns, pastures, and along roadsides.

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Terminating Spider Mite Applications in Cotton

Terminating Spider Mite Applications in Cotton Updated

🕔10:23, 11.Aug 2012

When to terminate spider mite treatments can be a very difficult decision this time of year. Spider mites can cause yield loss directly by feeding on small squares and bolls causing them to abort, or indirectly by feeding on leaves which reduces photosynthesis not allowing bolls to fill out correctly. In many ways this indirect damage would be very similar to defoliation.

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Cotton Foliar Leaf Spots: Determining the Underlying Cause is Most Important Management Option Updated

🕔10:13, 11.Aug 2012

Foliar leaf spot diseases continue to be observed throughout the MS cotton production area. Determing the particular leaf spot at the field level can be quite difficult especially if the leaf spots are a result of a foliar potassium deficiency. Bacterial blight, Corynespora leaf spot, and various other fungal diseases are being observed at present within our production system.

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Week of August 10 Peanut Crop Update Updated

🕔11:08, 10.Aug 2012

As a Plant Pathologist, I tend to divide the peanut crop in Mississippi into growing areas based on the “climate” and soils.  Both influence the type and amount of disease pressure experienced in that growing area and, incidentally, quality and

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August USDA Report Recaps Updated

🕔09:44, 10.Aug 2012

[note: I have a prior obligation today. Here is a quick synopsis of the reports with more to come in later today or over the weekend] This morning USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board released their August estimates of U.S. and

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