Research Update (July 6, 2026)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH:

Once again Larry Steckle and crew put on an excellent weed tour at the experiment station in Jackson.  His is one of a few tours that continues to have good attendance in an era where tour attendance is declining overall.  As such, it is a great opportunity for us to catch up with old friends and learn what is on the horizon in the world of weed control.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Milan No-till Field Day (July 23, 2026)

Agricenter Feast on the Farm, Memphis, TN (August 1, 2026)

SWSS Weed Contest, Knoxville, TN (August 5-6, 2026) 

UT Cotton Tour, Jackson, TN (September, TBD)

 

CROPPING SEASONS:

Except for possibly a few late soybean trials, all our yielded trials are finally in the ground.  Both May and June were filled with scattered and frequent rain showers that made planting progress sporadic.  We have managed to start a few weed control and insect trials along the way, but there are still several that remain to be established.  We even have a few cucumbers to plant for some late-season fungicide work.

 

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

Most of our greenhouse work is wrapping up now and barring some unexpected requests, we may be largely out of the greenhouse until this fall.  We appreciate all the greenhouse trial work this past season, but the logistics of conducting greenhouse trials in the heat of field season are quite challenging.  Maybe we can slow down in the greenhouse for a while and pick things back up in the fall.

  

UPCOMING TRIAL REMINDERS:

COTTON DEFOLIATION

Depending on the speed of cotton maturation and our original planting dates, we generally spray defoliation trials in late September and early October.  Therefore, if you are looking to get in a cotton defoliation trial this season, please let us know as soon as possible.

Also, do not hesitate to contact us even if you were not aware of the trial when we were planting cotton.  We have access to some large blocks of cotton that can be cut into research trials.  Just let us know before defoliation season so we can save you a spot.

 

WEATHER INFO:

As mentioned earlier, frequent showers have been a major challenge this spring.  While it certainly beats the alternative, it has also made us later getting some of our trials established.  Many thanks to those who have waited patiently for their trials to get established.

 

PEST INFO:

Weeds have been a challenge this season.  Many of the sites that were tilled early in the season require additional burndown and tillage to get new trials established.  This just makes everything go that much slower.

Insect populations seem to be building in cotton much better than last season.  Last year we had difficulty finding research grade populations of plant bugs.  At least for now, things are looking much better on the insect front for this season.

 

Let us know if you have any late trials that we help with.  It seems there is always room for one more.

Tim, Jackson, Jake, Will, Jim, & JT

 

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.

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 Season

Research season is officially underway with the establishment of the first new research trial of 2013. We sprayed a wheat herbicide trial in Jackson today. Expect things to heat up pretty quickly with burndown trials and wheat fungicide and insecticide trials set to begin soon. And of course, Tennessee corn planting should be underway in late March and early April.