Monday, December 4, 2023

Research Update (December 4, 2023)

 

Research Update (December 4, 2023)

 

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

All the trials from this summer are harvested and the reports are issued.  Our wheat trials are all started, and our fall trials sprayed.  Except for a bit of data collection on the winter trials, we are out of the field and working in the greenhouse for a while.  The season went by quickly and reasonably well with the help of an excellent crew and a little rain. 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

We only have one meeting to work in before the Christmas holidays.  After the NCWSS meeting in Minneapolis we have a break before things get busy in January and early February.  We look forward to seeing you at the following events this winter:

 

NCWSS, Minneapolis, MN, Dec. 11-14

NAICC, San Antonio, TX, Jan. 15-19

SWSS/WSSA, San Antonio, TX, Jan. 22-24

West TN Grain Conf., Dyersburg, TN, Feb. 1

Cotton Focus, Jackson, TN, Feb. 7

Gin Show, Memphis, TN, Mar. 1-2

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

We had a dry fall this year which was great for harvest but served to slow down wheat planting.  However, we did manage to get the wheat in ahead of a good rain shower and it appears to be off to a reasonable start.  We have our wheat maintenance (fertilizer, oversprays) completed and only a few more pieces of data to collect before we put them to bed till spring.

Fall burndown trials were also delayed by the dry weather, but recent rains have given us enough weeds to make the postemergence applications.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

Greenhouse season is off to a good start with several folks looking to get data by the end of the year.  We already have corn, soybeans, camelina, pigweeds, green foxtail, giant ragweed, and barnyardgrass planted in the greenhouse for various trials with more projects in the works.

Now is a great time to let us know how we can help you generate data during the cold part of the year.

 

WEATHER INFO:

The weather was largely warm and dry through harvest this season.  As always, we had a few stray showers and equipment issues to deal with, but we are grateful that things went well for the most part.

We are looking forward to a little break as we put the finishing touches on 2023 and begin to plan for 2024.

 

We are very blessed to have so many wonderful friends in the industry that make our work so enjoyable.  We thank you for your business this past year and look forward to working with you for many more years to come.

Tim, John Louis, Jake, Will, & Jim

 

Proverbs 22:29

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

 

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Research Update (November 6, 2023)


 

Research Update (November 6, 2023)

 

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

Harvest continues at its normal (meaning slow) pace.  All the yielded corn trials are out and final reports are being issued.  Soybean and cotton harvest continues as we near the end of trials conducted this summer.

Wheat planting was slowed by lack of moisture, but we finally did manage to get it in the ground ahead of one of the few rains we have had this fall.  Fall burndown trials are also running late as we waited for moisture to get some of the winter annuals out of the ground.

All in all, it has not been a bad fall and we look forward to moving out of the field and transitioning to our winter greenhouse projects.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

As we near the end of the year, we are making plans for winter meetings.  Right now we plan to attend the following:

NCWSS, Minneapolis, MN, Dec. 11-14

NAICC, San Antonio, TX, Jan. 15-19

SWSS/WSSA, San Antonio, TX, Jan. 22-24

West TN Grain Conf., Dyersburg, TN, Feb. 1

Cotton Focus, Jackson, TN, Feb. 7

Gin Show, Memphis, TN, Mar. 1-2

 

We may add a few more to the list as time allows.

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

Wheat is planted and just beginning to emerge.  We have a bit more spraying to do on fall burndown trials.  And of course, we need to finish up harvest on soybean and cotton trials.

We will have some extra wheat available if you decide to run postemergence trials this fall or next spring.  Just let us know.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

The greenhouse is open and initial trials are underway with more to start in the coming week.  Now is a great time to let us know if you have any greenhouse projects in mind for this winter.

 

WEATHER INFO:

In a nice change from last year, we had pretty good moisture all through the spring and summer.  September and October were very dry which is great for harvest but made wheat planting difficult.  With wheat in the ground and enough moisture to get it going, we hope for a bit more dry weather to finish off the harvest season.

 

Thanks to all that have helped keep us busy over the past summer and we look forward to working with you on greenhouse projects this winter.  Please call if we can be of service.

Tim, John Louis, Jake, Will, & Jim

 

Proverbs 21:5

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.

 

Monday, April 3, 2023

Research Update (April 3, 2023)

Research Update (April 3, 2023)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

Spring must be here for real.  Meeting season is past, wheat is growing, and burndown trials are being sprayed.  We even managed to plant the first soybeans of the year last week.  As we get deeper into the month of April, we hope to plant our yielded corn trials and get the year going in earnest.  Mostly, it just feels good to be back in the field.

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

If the weather allows, we hope to start marking out yielded corn trials this week and beginning the majority of our corn planting the second week of April.  From there we will roll into cotton planting as the weather warms up.

We are currently spraying burndown trials as weeds (largely ryegrass and horseweed) reach the desired growth stages.  We still have a few burndown sites available if you need to slide something in at the last minute.

Wheat growth is accelerating as we have more warm days and it will not be long before we will be preparing for flag leaf and heading fungicide applications.  We did have some freezing weather within the last few weeks, but our wheat was small enough that it appears to have escaped any damage.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

Greenhouse activity is beginning to slow as we finish off trials started over the winter.  We still have a few more sprays to make and ratings to take, but we should have most things wrapped up by the end of the month.  Many thanks to all those that sent greenhouse trials our way to help keep us going through the cold months.

 

WEATHER INFO:

The rain has been fairly consistent, and the temperatures have been quite variable.  For several weeks now we have been getting a day or two of rain each week.  While we will be begging for that in July, it has made it difficult to conduct pre-season spraying and tillage operations.  As usual, it will be a bit of a scramble to get all the fields in shape prior to planting.  We have had several warm and sunny days along with several others where we needed to dig out the coats.  If history is a good teacher, April will be just as variable on the temperature side.

 

PEST INFO:

The usual suspects are in the field for burndown trials (horseweed, ryegrass, chickweed, poa, etc.) right now.  Horseweed emergence appeared to be on the late side this spring but the populations were strong when they showed up.  Aphids have been light in our wheat plots so far.  Most other things will not get fired up until we get a little deeper into the season.

 

We want to welcome William McGuire to the family.  Will is a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin and joined us earlier in the month.  Please make sure to meet him on your visits to the farm this season.

Many thanks to those who have sent us protocols for the upcoming season.  If you still have trials to place or have something pop up at the last minute, please let us know.  We will be glad to help.

Tim, John Louis, Jake, Will, & Jim

 

Proverbs 12:27

… the substance of the diligent man is precious.