Research Update (April 1, 2024)

 

Research Update (April 1, 2024)

 

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

Ready or not, the season is upon us.  We spent the past month easing back out into the field as weather allowed.  Wheat is being sprayed, burndown trials are going out, and preparations for corn planting are underway.  Things should get real busy over the next month.

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

Wheat trials are marked out in preparation for fungicide trials later this month.  Some burndown trials have been sprayed with others going out in the near future.

Row crop planting season is upon us as we have the second week of April targeted to begin corn planting.  Later in April we hope to be establishing several weed trials before moving on to cotton in early May.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

The greenhouse is still surprisingly busy as we enter what is normally the last month of greenhouse season.  We have a few more soybean, cotton, and vegetable trials to wrap up before we shut the greenhouse down for the season and move back to spending all our time in the field.  Many thanks to all that brought us greenhouse trials over the winter.  We are very grateful to be able to stay busy through the cold months.

 

WEATHER INFO:

The weather has been quite nice so far this spring.  We have had several warm days scattered in among the normal cool spells.  Rain has been fairly consistent so far and we are entering planting season with good soil moisture.  Now we just hope the trend will hold as we start to put seed in the ground.

 

PEST INFO:

With the warm weather, we are beginning to see some summer annuals in the fields a bit earlier than normal.  Otherwise, we still have a collection of winter annuals until we get them all burned down.  Aphid pressure in wheat has been light this year and we have not had much to talk about on the insect front for a while.

We are looking forward to another safe and productive research season.  Let us know how we can be of service to you in the coming year.

Tim, Jake, Will, & Jim

 

Proverbs 12:24

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be put to forced labor.

 

Research Update (March 4, 2024)

 Research Update (March 4, 2024)

 

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

We spent the last month pretty close to home.  Winter meeting season was winding down as we made our way to the West Tennessee Grain Conference, Cotton Focus, and the Gin Show.  Nice to have meetings that allow you to see your friends but still spend the night in your own bed.  Now is when we shift our focus back to the field and start making plans for the upcoming year.

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

We are beginning the 2024 field season by doing a little work in wheat.  Wheat herbicide work was started during one of the warm stretches we have had recently.  We have also begun to apply fertilizer and locate spots for fungicide trials this spring.  If you have any wheat fungicide work still on the list, let us know. We still have wheat available that can be converted to plots.  Our most common wheat foliar fungicide trials deal with Septoria leaf spot and head scab.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

The greenhouse is still very active with a few more trials to start before the season ends.  Consider this to be “last call” for greenhouse work this spring as we begin to transition to the field.  However, we will be glad to slide in a late winter trial if you have the need.

 

WEATHER INFO:

We can’t tell if it is summer or winter.  We have been blessed with some excellent days where we were looking for an excuse to get outside.  In contrast, we are still getting cold, windy days where we just want to hide in the greenhouse.  Such is the joy of spring in the south.  At least we have been getting rainfall this spring which should help when it comes time to plant.

 

PEST INFO:

Things are quiet on the pest front right now (as would be expected in early March).  However, we have been scouting for good burndown spots and the normal collection of winter annuals seems to be present.  Let us know if you have a burndown protocol that needs a home.

 

As we move into the 2024 field season, we look forward to working with each of you again this year.  A little break in winter is not a bad thing, but it does not take long to start missing being outside and working in the fields.  If we can help with your research program this season, please let us know.  That’s what we’re here for.

 

Tim, John Louis, Jake, Will, & Jim

 

Proverbs 10:4

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Research Update (February 3, 2020)

Research Update (February 3, 2020)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

NEW SERVICE – DT SHIPPING SERVICES:

In response to a need expressed by some our existing customers, Diligence Technologies will be providing research sample packaging and shipping services.  If you need someone to help handle the process of getting your research samples where they need to go, give us a call.  We will be glad to help.

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

Meeting season went into high gear in late January with visits to the NAICC in San Antonio, the SWSS in Biloxi, and the Cotton and Rice Conference in Memphis.  While we always enjoy catching up with old friends, it will be a bit of a relief to reach the part of winter where the meetings tend to be a little closer to home (and we can sleep in our own beds).  Look for us in February at a variety of meetings around west Tennessee and let us know how we can be of service.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

We currently have the following meetings on our winter schedule:

Grain Conference (Feb. 6, Dyersburg, TN)

TN Ag Production Association (Feb. 12, Jackson, TN)

Cotton Focus (Feb. 13, Jackson, TN)

Gin Show (Feb. 28-29, Memphis, TN)

WSSA (Mar. 2-5, Maui, HI)

CROPPING SEASONS:

This is our slowest time of the year in the field with only an occasional rating or trip to view an ongoing trial.  That will change soon, however, as we move into spring applications to winter wheat and burndown trials.  Now is a great time to call with wheat fungicide and postemergence herbicide trials as well as early burndown work.  We want to be ready to head back to the field as soon as spring begins.

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

When we are slowest in the field, we tend to be the busiest in the greenhouse.  Ongoing greenhouse trials are being treated and evaluated and new trials are beginning.  If you are considering some greenhouse testing this winter, now would be a great time to give us a call.  We want to make sure that we have everything started in a timely manner so that we can finish up before shutting the greenhouse down for the summer.

WEATHER INFO:

Winter finally arrived in west Tennessee in late January.  The early part of January (and much of December for that matter) was warm and wet.  While we are still getting moisture, the temperatures recently have dropped to near normal (and sometimes quite a bit below normal).  This will slow the growth of winter weeds and winter wheat, but that is what we expect this time of year and should not be an issue.

We hope your winter is going great.  We look forward to seeing the folks we have not managed to catch up with yet.  And we hope you are getting a little rest before we all head back to the field for another season.

Proverbs 21:5

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.

Research Update (October 7, 2019)

Research Update (October 7, 2019)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

CROPPING SEASONS:

For the first time this season, we have had a real dry spell.  The past few weeks have been unusually warm for September and rainfall has been hard to come by.  Corn was pretty much done before the dry weather hit, so I do not believe we will see much impact there.  However, it has made cotton move along a bit faster than anticipated and we are well into defoliation at this point.  Our biggest concern has been our soybean disease plots.  Due to replanting, our soybeans are later than normal and the dry weather has not helped the development of frogeye leaf spot.  We did get some relief from the dry weather in Jackson, but let’s hope it was not too late.

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

With all the warm weather, it is hard to convince ourselves that we need to be getting the greenhouse ready for winter.  However, we have braved the heat and have things in pretty good shape for another season.  We will be running trials in October, so let us know if you have any projects in the works.

 

WEATHER INFO:

A hot, dry September has been the latest weather challenge this season.  Frequent rains slowed trial establishment early in the year, but those same rains have produced some nice trials so we really do not have much to grip about.  If the fall continues to be warm and dry, I would anticipate an earlier harvest season than last year (when it started raining and would not stop).

 PEST INFO:

Weed pressure has been excellent for the most part this season as the rain showers have resulted in constant flushes of new weeds.  We, of course, are probably the only ones happy about that.

Insect pressure has been variable depending on the species.  We had some excellent fall armyworm pressure in our late-planted corn. Plant bug pressure in cotton has been moderate but steady.  Not the outstanding populations that are seen at times, but enough to get some work done.  Soybeans have had plenty of insects except stinkbugs.  However, the stinkbug populations have picked up in our latest soybeans and I think those trials will be fine.

Gray leaf spot in corn was very good this year.  It did start a bit later in the season, but the pressure was more than adequate for fungicide evaluations.  The jury is still out on frogeye leaf spot in soybeans.  Pressure has been lighter than normal and slow to develop.  The degree of separation we will see in yields is still up in the air.

 

Hope all is well with our friends as they finish off the 2019 cropping season.  Let us know what you need in the way of wheat trials and greenhouse work as those are next on our list.

 

PROVERBS 27:23-24

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds; for riches are not forever.