Research Update (October 5, 2020)
Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee
EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:
As we transition from summer to fall, progress on finishing up trials has been slow. Cool, cloudy weather has slowed crop progress and frequent showers have hampered harvest efforts. Corn harvest is proceeding as the weather allows. Cotton and soybeans are finishing off slowly and we hope to be getting yield data before too long.
CROPPING SEASONS:
Harvest is big job at hand this time of year, but we still have other research projects to tend to. Cotton defoliation trials are being established as the cotton matures. Later this month we will begin to establish winter wheat trials. If you are considering any wheat work this fall, now is the time to let us know.
GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:
As the field work for this season begins to slow down, it is time to open up the greenhouse for winter trials. We plan to have the greenhouse in operation in October and keep it open all winter. Now is a great time to start thinking about those winter projects that we can do to help you be ready for spring of 2021.
WEATHER INFO:
This fall has been a bit cooler and wetter than normal and it is taking more time for cotton and soybeans to reach full maturity. While the temperatures have been quite pleasant for us personally, the crops would have been better off with more sun and heat in September. They will get there, but progress has been slow.
PEST INFO:
Weeds have been plentiful and we had only one brief period in late summer where it was really difficult to get good weed emergence. Otherwise, it has been a pretty “good” weed year (if you want weeds).
Insect populations have been variable depending on which species you are looking for. We got our normal infestations of stinkbugs and loopers in soybeans and those trials seem to be doing quite well. We also got good infestations of fall armyworms in corn. On the bad side, cotton bollworm infestations have been spotty in west Tennessee this year and it looks like we were in the wrong spot. Those trials are lacking the pressure we normally expect when we plant late cotton designed to draw them in.
On the disease front, we had good gray leaf spot pressure in corn and those evaluations should do a pretty good job of measuring the efficacy of the fungicides. Frogeye leaf spot pressure in soybeans has been consistent but not heavy. We did not see the late surge in pressure that we often get. This is somewhat surprising considering that we had generally good moisture conditions for disease development.
As always, we are blessed to be working with so many of our old (and new) friends this season. Please let us know what we can do this fall and winter to further your research program.
Proverbs 12:27
… the substance of the diligent man is precious.
