Cotton Week: Scouting for Stinkbugs

We have a really good cotton crop on our hands in this area, primarily a result of  timely planting, good stands, and sufficient rainfall. The challenge with cotton isn’t typically making the squares, and later bolls, but keeping them. Fortunately, we don’t have the pest pressure that I hear about in the Mid-south and the …

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Cotton Week: PGR

I don’t think there is anyone in this industry that would disagree the use of Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) in cotton is more of an art than a science. Because cotton growth is such a complex interaction of variety, rainfall, temperature, soil fertility, boll load, etc there is no right recommendation for every situation. I’ve seen this …

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Cotton Week: Rainfall Leaching Plant Nutrients

We have been blessed with rainfall this spring throughout North Florida, and it has ensured excellent stands in our planted crops and kept our crops free from moisture stress. In most cases the amount of rainfall hasn’t overwhelmed our sandy soils, but has certainly created some inconveniences. It has also created a few challenges in …

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Peanut Disease Update (Kemerait)

Dr. Bob Kemerait issued the following disease update. I just went through the weather station data and we are recording from 10.3″ to 14.1″ of rain in the last 30 days here in the Suwannee Valley. Some farmers have reported higher amounts at their farms. Monsoons in June bring High Risk in July Dr. Bob …

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Soybean Planting (Video)

Full season soybean planting is wrapping up in this area. All that I am aware of left to be planted is those which some call “ultra-late” which will be planted behind corn for grain or silage. Although it is not too late to plant soybeans, research has shown yields decline with later than optimum plantings. …

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Tobacco Tour Winds Through North Florida

Participants from throughout the Southeast were recently welcomed to the Roosevelt and Travis Dicks Farm in Lake City. The tour was led by Dr. Jay Michael Moore, Extension Agronomist from University of Georgia. After stops in Georgia, the group looked at crops and research plots in Hamilton, Suwannee, and Columbia counties. UF/IFAS Columbia County Agronomy …

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Southern Rust in Corn

We have all been hearing reports of Southern Rust on corn from SW Georgia to North Florida. Area farmers are making some difficult decisions as they strive to produce the best crop they can with maximum economic returns. I heard reports through the farmer grapevine of Southern rust on one farm field in the county and …

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Gypsum on Peanuts (Video)

It’s the time of year that peanut farmers love to hate. Area farmers are spreading gypsum on their fields to meet the large Calcium requirements of the peanut crop. For many years we have had the standard recommendation of  500 pound-per-acre soil test calcium level in the pegging zone as sufficient for maximum peanut yields. However, the new …

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