Research Update (March 2, 2026)
Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee
EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:
We have been keeping roads hot in February. We were at the West TN Grain Conference, the Cotton & Rice Conservation Tillage Meeting, Cotton Focus, and the Mid-south Farm & Gin Show. Nice to have some meetings a bit closer to home. It is always a good meeting if you can attend and still sleep in your own bed. We have a few more on the list, but the list is getting smaller.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Join us at the meetings listed below in March and April.
- Southern Weed Science Society
March 9-12 | Nashville, TN - CPDA
April 27-29 | Austin, TX
CROPPING SEASONS:
Time to wake up some winter wheat. It is nearing time for fertilizer and spring pest applications. We have extra winter wheat planted for spring fungicide and herbicide trials. Just let us know what you need.
March also signals the start of burndown trials. Let us know what weeds you are after (horseweed, ryegrass, chickweed, henbit) and we will find you a spot.
GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:
Greenhouse activity is at its peak as we scramble to complete trials before moving back into the field. We still have time to start more, but do not delay. If you need a greenhouse trial this season, let us know so we can get it started soon.
UPCOMING TRIAL REMINDERS:
COTTON (YIELDED & INSECTICIDE TRIALS)
We generally target early May for planting yielded cotton trials. Being on the northern end of the cotton growing region, we make every effort to plant cotton as soon as the weather allows to make sure the cotton has time to reach maturity in the fall. Insect trials that are not being taken to yield are generally planted after that.
We are now planting three different cotton technologies in the field depending on the objective of the trial. A cotton variety that includes the ThryvOn technology is planted in trials that are not targeting insect control to minimize the impact of insects. These would include trials on fertilizers, biostimulants, PGRs, and microbials. A cotton variety containing only the Bt technology is used in trials targeting thrips and plant bugs. Finally, a non-Bt cotton variety is used where worm pests are the target insects.
Please contact us as soon as possible if you require cotton variety outside of our normal plantings or if you require a special site type (no-till, low fertility, etc.) so that we can make arrangements prior to cotton planting season. It is much easier to line those things up now.
CORN FUNGICIDE TRIALS
The logistics of our corn foliar disease trials differ from most of the other corn trials we conduct. While we try to plant other yielded corn trials in April, we generally wait until mid-May to plant corn foliar disease trials. On average, we have increased disease pressure with this later timing. Also, we do most of our foliar disease work at the location in Jackson. The Jackson location historically has much better disease pressure than the site in Memphis.
Our target disease for most of our foliar corn trials is gray leaf spot. We will occasionally get other diseases in the mix such as southern rust, but these diseases do not occur as consistently as gray leaf spot. To enhance the presence of foliar diseases, we plant corn hybrids that are not highly resistant to foliar diseases.
If you are looking for a foliar disease other than gray leaf spot or need to work with a specific corn hybrid, please let us know as soon as possible. We will need to make different arrangements for those trials.
YIELDED SOYBEANS
We normally begin planting yielded soybean trials (fertilizers, biostimulants, microbials) as soon as we finish with cotton planting. Soybeans require less time to mature than cotton and can be planted a bit later in the season. We normally grow mid to late maturity group 4 soybeans but we do have some flexibility. Our soybean varieties are typically resistant to both glyphosate and glufosinate to aid plot maintenance.
If you are looking for a special cropping situation (low fertility, etc.) or a special soybean variety, please let us know as early as possible so we can make arrangements.
SOYBEAN FUNGICIDE TRIALS
Much like our corn fungicide trials, we plant our soybean fungicide trials later in the season (often late May or early June) to increase disease pressure. Our most consistent soybean disease and the one we usually target is frogeye leaf spot. We place these trials in Jackson since disease pressure there is almost always heavier than at the Memphis location. They are generally conducted in a no-till situation which also tends to enhance disease development. Finally, we use soybean varieties that are known to be susceptible to frogeye leaf spot to get the best evaluations possible.
We are blessed in that we can typically get several good visual observations of fungicide activity in the soybeans. Most of these trials are taken to yield and the degree of yield separation varies with the timing of disease development and frogeye leaf spot severity in a given season. The earlier the disease arrives and the greater the disease intensity, the more likely we are to see yield separation between treatments.
WEATHER INFO:
After we thawed out from the great ice storm of late January, the weather turned relatively mild. Occasional rain has kept the ground moist, and we hope that speaks well for a good start this spring. We have been able to continue with equipment upgrades and other maintenance items and still be able to feel our fingers for the most part.
PEST INFO:
Burndown will be in full swing as the weather allows. This is particularly true of those battling ryegrass. That is a weed that we generally regret not controlling while it is still small. Large ryegrass can present quite a challenge.
As we gear up for another field season, we invite you to send us your protocols and ideas. We look forward to what we hope is another busy year.
Tim, Jackson, Jake, Will, Jim, & JT
Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be put to forced labor.
