Research Update (March 7, 2017)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

 TURF:

We are pleased to announce that we now have an expanded variety of turf research offerings.  Through agreements with local sod farms and golf courses, we can now provide testing on more turf varieties and a greater number of turf pests.

We will begin work at our new sites this season, so please let us know if we can help with you turf testing needs.  

 

MEETINGS:

Meeting season is nearing the end for this winter.  Over the past month, we were happy to catch up with some of our old friends at the Tennessee Ag Production Association, Cotton Focus, and Midsouth Farm and Gin Show meetings in the area.

The last meeting on the calendar for a while will be the Southeastern Branch ESA meeting in Memphis on March 12-15.  Let us know if you plan to be around.

CROPPING SEASONS:

Wheat continues to progress with the continued mild winter not slowing things down as much as normal.  Wheat stages vary greatly with early planted wheat already showing erect growth (up to first node) while late planted wheat is green but substantially smaller.  Many have taken advantage of the nice weather to spray and fertilize some of the smaller wheat.  The remaining late-winter applications will be made shortly if the weather holds.

We are currently cutting out trial areas for wheat fungicide and weed control trials this spring.  We still have wheat available if you need a spot.

As you might expect with the mild winter, we have a good collection of healthy burndown weeds (henbit, chickweed, Carolina geranium, cutleaf eveningprimrose, horseweed).  Let us know if you have additional burndown trials for this season.

Corn planting season is still a few weeks away for Diligence Technologies.  However, the warm weather has tempted at least a few of the more adventurous corn growers in west Tennessee to start early.  While February corn may be the norm for our neighbors to south, this is the first time I can recall seeing it in Tennessee.  The calendar says there may be some cold weather left this season, so we’ll see how it works out.

GREENHOUSE ACTIVITIES:

Greenhouse trials are in full swing with a wide variety of crops and pests currently being tested.  Thanks to all those who helped keep us busy through the winter.  We have about two more months of testing left before we shut things down for the summer and concentrate on field trials.

TOURS FROM PAST MONTH:

We were glad to welcome Jo Gillilan (Winfield United) and Cletus Youmans (BASF) to the warm confines of the greenhouse this month.  Visitors are always welcome to step out of cold and join us (although this winter it has felt pretty good outside on many occasions).

PEST INFO:

This might be the biggest winter for henbit that I can recall.  While henbit is always a common winter annual in this area, it seems to have been particularly prolific this season.  It might be difficult to run a burndown or wheat weed control trial that does not include the weed.  However, our other winter annuals seem to have done just fine also.  We may just have to look a little harder to find them under the mat of henbit.

Proverbs 10:4

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Research Update (February 2, 2017)

Diligence Technologies Inc., West Tennessee

NEW OFFICE

Diligence Technologies now has office space at the Agricenter International in Memphis.  We have been working over the winter to turn it into a functional space for meetings (Jesse and Kevin built the conference table) as well as getting the computer system ready for data processing.  If you would like the 30 second tour, we are located in C wing on the second floor (office C-31).

MEETINGS

The past month has been busy with the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, NAICC, and Southern Weed Science Society.  Toss in the Dyersburg Grain Conference (earlier today), and you can tell that meeting season is in full swing.  Several of the upcoming meetings are a little closer to home:

Tennessee Ag Production Association (Feb. 8, Jackson, TN)
Cotton Focus (Feb. 9, Jackson, TN)
Mid-south Farm & Gin Show (Mar. 3-4, Memphis, TN)
Southeastern Branch ESA (Mar. 12-15, Memphis, TN)

We look forward to seeing you at one of the remaining events on the calendar.

CROPPING SEASONS

Wheat continues to look unusually good for early February.  A long, warm fall combined with a mild winter (so far) have allowed wheat to grow without much of a break.  In fact, we are holding off on fertilization for a while as we do not want to generate too much growth while we still have the potential of a hard freeze.

As is our tradition, we have quite a bit of extra wheat planted for use in foliar trials.  Let us know if your plans call for wheat trials this spring.

One side "benefit" of the mild winter is that it has given the winter weeds a good start which should make for excellent burndown trial opportunities.  With burndown trial season approaching soon, let us know your needs in this area.

GREENHOUSE TESTING

Greenhouse testing for the season is in full swing and the greenhouse continues to be the best place to work on a cold winter day.  We currently have a wide variety of insecticide, herbicide, and fertility trials underway.

With 1,650 square feet of heated greenhouse space, we still have room for additional trials if you have the need.  However, don't wait too long.  Our window for starting greenhouse trials and being able to finish them off prior to closing down for the summer will begin to close in a month or so.

Hope to see you all around the farm this season and let us know what we can do to be of service.

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 (January 8, 2017)

Diligence Technologies, Inc., West Tennessee

Upcoming Events:

Meeting season is well underway and we have enjoyed seeing many of our old friends at the North Central Weed Science Society meeting in Des Moines and the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Dallas.  We have several additional meetings on the calendar so please let us know if you plan to attend.  As always, we look forward to the opportunity to catch up on what is new with you.

NAICC (Jan. 18-21, St. Louis)
SWSS (Jan. 23-25, Birmingham)
Dyersburg Grain Conference (Feb. 2, Dyersburg Fairgrounds)
TAPA (Feb. 8, Jackson)
Cotton Focus (Feb. 9, Jackson)
Gin Show (Mar. 3-4, Memphis)
Southeastern Branch ESA (Mar. 13-15, Memphis)

Cropping Information:

Field work is fairly slow at present with the exception of wheat trials started in the fall.  Wheat was unusually large heading into the winter due to the extended warm weather we experienced this fall.  In addition to the trials we have already established, we have some extra blocks of wheat that can be used for wheat trials initiated in the spring.  We still have wheat available if you need a spot for testing this spring.

Greenhouse testing is in full swing.  We have several trials ongoing with others scheduled to begin in the near future.  Greenhouse testing is always interesting due to the wide variety of crops and pests that we get to deal with (everything from weeds to aphids and from cotton to citrus trees).  Now is a great time to get a trial started if you have something that needs to be evaluated over the winter.

It may interest some of you to know that we have a good aphid population that can be used for greenhouse testing this winter.  Let us know if you need any testing done on aphid control materials.

Also, it is not too early to begin thinking about burndown trials.  As usual, we should have a fine collection of winter weeds available for testing in late winter and early spring.

We hope you all had a great holiday season and we are looking forward to seeing and working with you in coming year.

Proverbs 22:29

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

Research Update (January 18, 2016)

Diligence Technologies, Inc., West Tennessee

Upcoming Events:

As always, it was good to catch up with old friends at the Beltwide in New Orleans and the Cotton & Rice Conference in Memphis.  With meeting season in full swing, we plan to be at several events over the next couple of months.  Please let us know if you plan to be at any of the following meetings and we will make it a point to get together.

NAICC (Jan. 27-30, Orlando)
Dyersburg Grain Conference (Feb. 4, Dyersburg Fairgrounds)
SWSS (Feb. 8-11, Puerto Rico)
TAPA (Feb. 17, Jackson)
Cotton Focus (Feb. 18, Jackson)
Gin Show (Feb. 26-27, Memphis)

Cropping Information:

Things are pretty much in mid-winter form right now.  That basically means that there is a lull in the field work, but it is always warm and sunny in the greenhouse.

We continue to initiate new greenhouse trials and hope to start a few more in the coming weeks.  We still have space available if your plans call for some greenhouse work during the winter months.

Wheat continues to look good due to the generally mild winter we have experienced so far.  In fact, it has not seemed much like winter at all except for the past week.  We are probably about 6 to 8 weeks out from our next round of fertilizer on the wheat and things should begin to jump after that.  We still have plenty of extra wheat available for your spring trials, so let us know when you get the protocols worked out.

Our crop of winter annual weeds continues to flourish, so we should be in good shape for burndown trials this spring.  We are already starting discussions on burndown trials which tells me that spring is closer than we think.

Hope your meeting and planning season is going well.  We are looking forward to another blessed year at Diligence Technologies in 2016 and look forward to seeing back out in the field this summer.

Proverbs 21:5

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.

Research Update (December 16, 2015)

Diligence Technologies, Inc., West Tennessee

Since this will be our final update of 2015, we would like to offer a sincere thanks to all those we worked with in past season.  We are truly blessed to have you as customers and friends.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas and much success in the coming year.

Upcoming Events:

Meeting season is underway and here are some of the events we will be attending over the next couple of months.  Please let us know if you will be in attendance.  It would be a great opportunity to catch up with old (and new) friends.

Beltwide Cotton Conferences (Jan. 5-7, New Orleans)
Conservation Systems Cotton & Rice Conference (Jan. 12-14, Memphis)
NAICC (Jan. 27-30, Orlando)
Dyersburg Grain Conference (Feb. 4, Dyersburg Fair Grounds)
SWSS (Feb. 8-11, Puerto Rico)
TAPA (Feb. 17, Jackson)
Cotton Focus (Feb. 18, Jackson)
Mid-South Farm & Gin Show (Feb. 26-27, Memphis)

Also, it was good to visit with many of you at the Mississippi State Row Crop Short Course and the North Central Weed Science Society meetings in early December.  These signal the unofficial start to meeting season.

Cropping Seasons & Weather Conditions:

Winter wheat and fall burndown trials are pretty much taken care of until ratings resume in the spring.  An unusually long and warm fall has left the wheat crop in good shape heading into colder weather.  We are already anticipating late February and early March when we typically get a few days warm and dry enough to allow us back in the field.

Also note that we have planted quite a bit of extra wheat for use in postemergence trials next spring.  We should have plenty of good locations if you have wheat trials coming up.

The greenhouse is open and operational.  While the heating system is up and running, we have had little need for it yet.  I expect that will change soon as we get into the heart of winter.  Greenhouse projects are currently in progress, but we still have additional space available if you need a little testing done in the colder months.

Pest Information:

The long, warm fall has provided us with an exceptional crop of winter annual weeds with which to work.  These should make for good spring burndown trails as well as excellent sites for postemergence weed control trials in wheat.  Keep us in mind if you have any of these on the horizon.

Once again, thanks for another great year and we look forward to having you out in the field in 2016.

Proverbs 12:27
… the substance of the diligent man is precious.

Research Update (November 17, 2015)

Diligence Technologies, Inc., West Tennessee

Upcoming Events:

Congratulations to Rebecca Wehrmann and Zac Carpenter on their upcoming wedding.  Zac worked for Diligence Technologies for three summers while attending Mississippi State University (where he is now working on his Master's degree in Weed Science).  We wish all the best to Rebecca and Zac.

Also, we plan to be at a couple meetings in December (see below).  If you will be attending, let me know.  I would love the chance to catch up.

Mississippi State Row Crop Short Course (Starkville, November 30-December 2)
North Central Weed Science Society (Indianapolis, December 7-10)

Cropping Seasons:

The greenhouse is now operational and open for business this winter.  Work is already underway, but we still have space available.  Give me a call if you have projects you need a hand with this winter.

We just completed harvest for the season and all the yielded cotton, soybean, and corn trials are safely out of the field.  All final reports should be completed soon as we put last summer to bed.

Fall wheat trials are underway and we are currently finishing up fall ratings and trial maintenance in preparation for the winter.  We also planted quite a bit of "extra" wheat for use in trials next spring.  Let me know if your plans include spring applications in winter wheat.  We should be able to handle it.

Fall burndown trials are also in progress.  We have a few more ratings this fall before we let the trials "rest" over the winter.

Weather Conditions:

Harvest season went generally well.  We had a lot of warm, dry weather that allowed us to get the majority of our plots harvested in a timely manner.  A few rainy periods later in the fall did delay harvest on some of our later-planted soybean trials.  Still, overall we made pretty good time with harvest and finished ahead of last season.

We have yet to have a killing frost, so our fall weed crop is still in good shape.  We might still be able to work in a good fall burndown trial if the need arises.

Pest Information:

Wheat aphid populations have increased over the past couple of weeks.  We are beginning to get some good numbers from some of our fall aphid trials.

We have seen strong emergence from some of winter annuals.  The most striking weed populations have been of cutleaf eveningprimrose and henbit.  With the addition of some horseweed, we should have some excellent burndown sites for next spring.

As always, thank you for letting Diligence Technologies be part of your research program.  Please let us know if you need anything.

Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be put to forced labor.

 

Research Update (October 28, 2015)

Diligence Technologies, Inc., West Tennessee

Greenhouse

As we bring much of the field work for the year to a close, we are again setting up to do greenhouse research trials this winter.  Please let us know if we can help you keep your research program going through the colder months.

Crop Reports

Harvest season is bring much of our field work to an end at this time.  We still have a few scattered late trials to harvest and several of the post-harvest jobs to complete (cotton ginning, grain moistures and test weights, etc.).  That said, those still looking for yield data should be seeing it soon.  A very dry October (until the past weekend) has harvest progressing well and we hope to finish on the early side this year (closer to Halloween than Thanksgiving).

The rain this past weekend did have the benefit of helping get our wheat trials out of the ground.  However, we still have some time left in our wheat planting window if there are any trials that still do not have a home.  We have also planted some wheat designated for fungicide trials next spring.  Keep us in mind as you plan for those over the winter.

We are also working on fall burndown trials.  The recent rain should help promote the emergence of henbit and other winter annuals.  We have at least another month to establish fall burndown trials if you have the need.

Pest Information

In our soybean fungicide trials this year, we noted a substantial increase in frogeye leaf spot infestations resistant to the strobilurin fungicides.  Partial resistance was confirmed last season, however, the strobilurin fungicides were still providing a significant level of disease control.  This season appears to be the first year where the resistant strain of frogeye leaf spot was our primary foliar disease.  Resistance has been confirmed in Tennessee for quite a while, but it is just now becoming dominant in our part of the state.

In our insecticide trials this season, we noted a marked increase in the kudzu bug populations.  Kudzu bugs were first seen in our plots about two years ago, but this is the first season where we have observed them at significantly damaging population levels.

As always, thanks to those who have dropped by to visit over the past summer.  We look forward to having you back next season.

Proverbs 10:4
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.