Monday, December 7, 2020

Research Update (December 7, 2020)


 

Research Update (December 7, 2020)

 

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

The harvest season that would not seem to end has finally come to a close.  It took a while to get cotton bolls open and leaves defoliated.  It also took a similarly long time to get all the soybeans dry enough for harvest.  And while the process took longer than we might have wished, all the trials are out of the field, cotton is ginned, and reports have been issued.  Thanks to (and my apologies to) all those who waited patiently while we finished off the year.  Not the latest season we have had by any means, but still longer than anticipated.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Not sure if there will be any real meetings taking place this meeting season.  It appears that most (if not all) our usual gatherings will be done in some sort of virtual format.  We will still be participating as much as the technology allows, but I think we will all feel the loss of not being able to gather in person this winter.

You will be able to find us virtually at the NCWSS, NAICC, and SWSS meetings in December and January (and possibly a few others).

Even as we cannot meet as we normally would, please make every effort to stay in contact.  If you are near west Tennessee, please let us know.  I have no doubt we will be looking for human contact before the cold months are finished.  And always feel free to call if you cannot get down our way.

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

We had a good variety of winter weeds emerging this fall.  That allowed us to do some fall burndown work and is good news for the burndown work to be done next spring.

Our winter wheat trials have been fertilized, sprayed, and basically “put to bed” for the winter.  In addition to our ongoing trials, we have quite a bit of extra wheat that can accommodate trials that may arise in the spring.  Please keep us in mind if you find yourself in need of postemergence trials in winter wheat.  We should have a spot for you.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

Trials are underway in the warmth of the heated greenhouse.  We are already working with multiple row crops and have even ventured into some turf work this year.  While we have done several turf trials in past seasons, it is always interesting work.  If our current plans are any indication, we will be working with an even greater variety of crops and pests very soon.

For those of you who have visited the greenhouse in recent years, you may notice a few improvements.  Most notably, we replaced the front wall of the greenhouse this year.  I believe that the crew and I (mostly the crew) did an excellent job.  Feel free to drop by and tell us what you think.

 

WEATHER INFO:

I am very thankful that we were blessed with a long, mostly dry harvest season this fall.  With our crops being slow to mature, a lot of rain in November could have spelled big trouble.  But the mild, dry weather allowed us to get the crops out of the field when they finally got ready.  It was a long year, but it could easily have been a lot longer.

 

PEST INFO:

The only pests we are really seeing now are the winter annual weeds.  It does look like we have plenty, so keep us in mind come spring burndown season.

We have not seen many aphids in wheat so far, but that is not too unusual.  It seems we generally have more aphids in the spring in most years.

 

As the year 2020 comes to a close, I want to thank all of you that continued to support Diligence Technologies this past season.  Even though it has been an unconventional and sometimes challenging year, we were greatly blessed by your continued support.  We wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas season and a blessed 2021.

 

ONE LAST NOTE:

Many of you know that Diligence Technologies employs a talented young artist named Kevin (Mick) Spaulding.  On December 1st Kevin released his new 5 song album.  You can find it on iTunes or most any of the other music services.  Check it out.


Proverbs 22:29

Seest thou a man diligent in his business?  He shall stand before kings…