Over the last couple of weeks I have had numerous calls about caterpillar pest in young soybeans. Most of these have been concerning beans that are still in the vegetative stages (V2-V5). The species that are being found are bollworm, yellowstriped armyworm, green
The corn crop appears to be much earlier this year than it has over the recent past. I’ve driven by numerous fields from south Washington County to north Bolivar County where almost 100% of the field has reached the tasseling
The insect scout schools for 2012 have been set. At each scout school we will go over biology, thresholds, and scouting techniques for each of the major pests of cotton, soybean, and corn. This is a great refresher for the
In most years it is not uncommon to overspray 20-30% of the cotton acres for thrips in MS. Last year (2011) was an anomaly in that we treated around 70% of the cotton acres for thrips due to extremely high pressure. It appears that this year is shaping up the same way. This week we have had numerous calls on young cotton with very high numbers of thrips. There have also been reports of Western flower thrips on cotton.
Pheromone traps are up and running for 2012. I will be posting county average trap counts here weekly from the Delta, the Northeastern Hills and the Central MS region for bollworm, tobacco budworm and beet armyworm. Most counties have 2 traps
An agronomic crops field day will be held at the R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center in Starkville, MS on July 19, 2012 from 9 to 11 a.m. The field day will begin at 9 a.m. with field tours concluding
Cotton planting has progressed at a rapid pace and we are well ahead of the five year average for percent planted acres for the first week of May. Nearly 40% of intended cotton plantings were complete at the beginning of
Dry early season conditions have prompted much conversation about the proper time to initiate irrigation for corn. This scenario usually generates a lot more anxiety than necessary because early season wilting is certainly not something we are very accustomed to.
There have been a lot of questions recently about thrips control in peanuts. In general, thrips will not hurt peanut yields except in EXTREME situations. Peanut seedlings are relatively vigorous compared to most of the crops grown in Mississippi. Foliar insecticide applications, though rarely needed, should be based on plant injury rather than thrips numbers.
Environment is the key component in the expression of every plant disease. Especially when considering the occurrence of seedling diseases we typically have a situation in place where inoculum is present in the soil, more than likely in high quantities,
Yesterday (4/30), I had a call from a consultant who found about 20% infestation of 3-4 day old SWCB in Non-Bt, V6 stage corn in the Minter City area. There were places in the field that averaged 40-50% infestation, but overall was about 20%.
Over the last several weeks corn has either passed or approached the V2-V5 stage of corn growth. During this time we have received numerous calls about corn having a yellow, streaky appearance. Many of the fields we received calls on
Holcus leaf spot, a leaf spot of corn caused by a bacterium, has been confirmed across a wide geographic area in the Mississippi Delta over the past two weeks. The disease is typically characterized by numerous cream to white lesions on the corn leaf that can oftentimes be confused with herbicide (paraquat) drift.
The 2012 Mississippi Agricultural Industry Council and Mississippi Seedsmen’s Association convention will be held again at beautiful Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama, on July 24-July 28, 2012. This will be our 19th year at Perdido Beach Resort.
In addition to the wheat rusts we’ve been observing over the past few months throughout our wheat production area, numerous additional foliar disease have been observed. The abnormally warm temperature and heavy dews we’ve experienced over the past several weeks have allowed several other wheat diseases to occur.
Sentinel plots will continue to be used to monitor for yield-limiting diseases throughout MS during the 2012 season. Even though in the past sentinel plots have more typically been used to monitor for the presence of soybean rust, the plots will be used to monitor for all economically important soybean diseases.
Heavy leaf and stripe rust sporulation continues to be a concern throughout much of the wheat production area in MS.
I have been told in many places by many people that using poultry litter to fertilize crops spreads weed seeds. However, research by Auburn, the universities of Kentucky and Georgia, and most recently, Virginia Tech found this to be untrue.
Wheat diseases continue to be identified throughout the MS production area. Barley yellow dwarf virus, leaf rust, powdery mildew, and stripe rust are all present in limited situations in several counties.
Paraquat is a critical component of an at-planting herbicide application.
The severity of the glyphosate-resistant (GR) Italian ryegrass problem in Mississippi has varied from year to year. This year has been the worst year since the initial confirmation in 2005, and GR Italian ryegrass is spreading.
In the last couple of days there have been calls coming in about armyworms in wheat. It is not unusual for us to get armyworms in wheat in MS but this at least 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule compared to years past.
The time until cotton starts to square is still a few months away, but it is not too early to start thinking about managing plant bugs in cotton. With the mild winter, plant bug population densities appear to be a little higher on wild hosts than they have the past couple of years.
© 2023 Copyright Mississippi Crops. All Rights reserved.
