Alabama Crops Report
June 8, 2021
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Watch for Stink Bugs Moving into Corn
Wheat is drying down in much of the state and harvest has begun. This is the time that stink bugs will be moving from wheat into corn. While stink bugs are rarely a pest in wheat, corn fields adjacent to mature and harvested wheat are at risk. Immediately prior to tassle, corn is extremely susceptible to damage from stink bug feeding.
We should think about scouting our corn fields, especially fields that are adjacent to wheat or other weeds. Some of our corn, primarily in the southern part of the state, is already at tassle. In some instances, a spray application at tassle may be too late to prevent damage from stink bugs. This means that pairing an insecticide application with a fungicide application at tassle might be too late to avoid yield loss from stink bugs.
The two most important factors for stink bug control are timing and coverage. It is less important what you spray, but rather getting the timing right before damage is done. Coverage is also crucial, as we are using contact insecticides that need to get where the bugs are. Stink bugs can be found hiding near the stalk at the base of the leaves, so we need to penetrate the canopy with the correct volume and pressure for maximum effectiveness.
Pyrethroids should control stink bugs when coverage is adequate. See the ACES Corn IPM Guide for specific recommendations.
Contact Katelyn Kesheimer for more information.
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Regional Roundup with the REAs
Here at the Alabama Crops Report, we know how growing conditions and pest populations can vary across our diverse state. Therefore, our Regional Extension Agents (REA’s) will be providing updates during the growing season so we can stay informed no matter what county we’re in.
Southeast Alabama
In the past 2 weeks, we received rainfall up to half an inch. Growers were thankful for every inch received. Corn looks good and there are a lot of fields tassling. While traveling through the southeast region, I have seen cotton with 5 true leaves. Farmers are working hard.
Contact Sedrick Mack for more information.
East Central Alabama
We have gotten some needed rain in East Central Alabama over the last several days. This was a relief from a stretch of dry weather in the last part of May. There is a lot of corn starting to tassel in the region and will continue over the next couple of weeks, so this rain comes at a great time.
The cotton crop is looking good so far with thrips pressure relatively low. Early soybeans also look good, with late beans being planted as wheat harvest starts. This rain will put a halt on harvest efforts before they even get started. Overall, it seems to be a good start to the growing season and we will see what the middle of June will bring.
Contact Andrew Sparks for more information.
West Central Alabama
Scattered showers brought some welcome rain to many areas in West Central Alabama, although not everyone saw measurable rainfall last week. The wheat in the region is beginning to dry down. I know harvest is underway in various areas with many producers planting soybeans behind the wheat.
Last week some producers sprayed for weeds in corn and others were fertilizing, trying to catch some rain. Some areas received little to no rain and plant burn was observed. Overall, the corn crop looks good, even with some fields behind due to delayed planting or cool weather.
Cotton and peanuts look good in the region with many fields benefitting from the rains last week. We have few issues with seedling thrips, and not many producers need to spray for thrips. Some cotton in the region is nearing 35 days from planting with the 1st square, so we are beginning to scout for plant bugs. More rain is in the forecast for the region this week. Hopefully areas that received little or no rain the past several weeks with get some needed rain this week.
Contact John Vanderford for more information.
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Thoughts on Weedy Grasses
In 2020 we began seeing several cases where summer grass weeds like goosegrass and junglerice were poorly controlled by postemergence treatments in many Xtend crops. This led to a regional project partially funded by the Alabama Soybean Producers to determine factors affecting reduced grass control. Preliminary findings determined that tank mixes of dicamba and glyphosate resulted in antagonism and reduced grass control by up to 29%. Our studies found that grass control was improved by applying glyphosate alone and spraying grass weeds when they’re less than 4” tall.
We realize that convenience, timeliness, and weather patterns often dictate what gets put in the tank especially regarding weed control. But if you find that the majority of the weed species in your fields consists of summer annual grasses, it is best to make a separate dicamba application for broadleaves apart from glyphosate or clethodim applications for grass control.
On a separate but similar note, wheat harvest has increased the last two weeks across much of the state. I have seen fields and heard from many growers that cool season annual grasses like Italian ryegrass, brome, and fescue species have infested many acres this year. Although I can’t predict the future, these mature weedy grass seed will inevitably be spread across fields during harvest, setting us up for another challenge when they germinate this fall. Please make a note of these locations now so you can be proactive in weed control for your next crop. If you suspect any herbicide resistant cases on your farms please let us know as we are attempting to monitor these populations statewide.
Contact David Russell for more information.
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Cotton Insect Report
As planting is finally (hopefully) finishing up, we are hearing reports of several “stand robbers” in fields across the state.
We have had some fields with heavy thrips damage in some areas across the state (see picture above). Our threshold for supplemental applications is when thrips injury is apparent, and thrips are present. The presence of immature thrips (small, yellow) is important, because that means thrips are surviving at-plant treatments and not that we are only seeing reinfestations of adults that haven’t died yet. We have several options for control (listed here). Remember when evaluating control from sprays that you will sometimes have to wait up to 7 days to know if the treatment worked. This is because the emerging leaf at the time of application is likely already damaged.
Grasshoppers continue to be a problem in many areas across Alabama. At this point in the year, we have a mixture of nymphs (immatures) and adults in fields. This complicates things as adults are MUCH more difficult to control than nymphs. Our general recommendation to control adult grasshoppers is 0.6-0.75 lb. active ingredient of acephate. Keep in mind that we are not as concerned about defoliation of seedling plants as we are about grasshoppers chewing on stems and causing stand loss. Grasshoppers may completely sever stems or partially chew through them enough to weakening it and cause the plant to fall over. Either way the result is the same.
We are also hearing about snails, particularly in the Wiregrass. Unlike with grasshoppers, snails aren’t actually feeding on plants. Snails do their damage by the sheer number of them that climb on the plants and break them over. Unfortunately, insecticides do not affect snails. The only option we have is light tillage (if possible) in fields that have yet to be planted.
We have seen some threecornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) damage in cotton (see picture below). This tends to be more common in dry spells when fewer weedy hosts are in the area and TCAH move into cotton fields. TCAHs tend to be worse on borders and rarely do enough damage to justify a spray. Plants that are damaged will be stunted, show reddening of leaves and a knot around the main stem where feeding occurred. Typically, the damaged plant will die off. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because that means it won’t compete with neighboring plants for nutrients throughout the year.
Contact Scott Graham for more information.
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Cotton Update
Last week we walked cotton trials near Brewton, Belle Mina, Shorter, Headland, Auburn and Centre and wind-shielded a lot of fields in the miles in between. It’s June 8. Much of our crop is LATE.
Planting was hindered by persisting wet conditions, cold weather, high winds and most recently, bone dry seedbeds. Cotton is still coming up, and maybe a little is yet to be planted or replanted.
As a farmer commented Friday, “Every year is different. You gotta deal with what you’ve got.”
Managing a late crop requires adjustments in thought and approach. Lateness compresses the weeks we have to make cotton. Ideally, we’d want a crop that is not set back by drought/heat, pest injury or other stresses.
Be conservative with N. With less time, we can’t afford rank growth or a canopy that stays dark green into late October. We want a plant that has adequate size and affords at least 4 weeks of bloom. With hotter days, the crop can progress rapidly. We don’t need as much plant as we normally produce; or stated differently, we don’t need to sustain a plant as long as normal – we may need it to finish 20 to 30 days quicker than usual (by total number of days). Consider reducing the total N application 20 to 25 percent of your standard rate.
If adequate moisture is available, be more aggressive with PGRs. The “adequate moisture” part has seemed in doubt until this week. If we linger on the edge of drought or face serious, prolonged drought, PGR use should obviously be curtailed if not abandoned altogether. Even with irrigation – most of our systems are supplemental at best -- we should use PGRs somewhat conservatively with persisting high temperatures and sparse rainfall. But, if it does rain and the crop has good water, let’s be aggressive with PGRs (mepiquat, etc.). We want to limit the overall crop canopy and encourage early fruit retention and rapid boll maturity. Being aggressive could mean making the initial application earlier than normal, a week or so after pinhead square, rather than at first bloom. It could mean using higher rates with followup applications. These comments include “could,” which reflects that PGR programs require a lot of tweaking according to crop stage, conditions and calendar. General guidance is: hotter, drier – use a conservative approach; excellent growth environment and/or late crop – be more aggressive.
Be vigilant with insect management. We can produce normal yields with a bloom period as short as 4 weeks. With a shortened fruiting cycle and limited time for recovery and compensation for lost positions, setting, keeping and maturing fruit is at a premium. Scouting and timely intervention with insecticides -- if needed, as needed -- will maximize crop potential. There’s less margin for error in management decisions, but we should avoid treating unnecessarily so as not flare spider mites. With cotton prices near 85 cents, we can more readily afford inputs IF we achieve good yields.
Proper management keeps you in the game even if cotton is behind. What happens late season weather-wise will have a significant impact on final results.
Contact Steve Brown for more information.
Picture below: Cherokee County cotton on Friday, June 3. Thrips injury and maybe grasshopper feeding evident on 2-leaf plant.
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Peanut Insect Report
We haven’t heard a lot out of peanuts yet, but some thrips injury is being observed (see picture below). So far in trials at the Wiregrass research station, at-plant insecticides seem to be holding on pretty good. Making the decision to supplement at-plant insecticides to manage thrips is a difficult one. If thrips injury is obvious and thrips are present, a spray may be justified. This is particularly true if the crop is already stunted by other factors such as herbicide injury, seed quality, nematodes, etc. Be sure to consider weather conditions when making supplemental sprays. Spraying broad-spectrum insecticides may flare spider mites, which are a problem we’d rather not create.
As always, if we can ever be of any help please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.
Contact Scott Graham for more information.
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Cover Crop Assistance Available - Deadline June 15
The USDA recently announced a new Pandemic Cover Crop Program that provides up to a $5/acre insurance premium benefit. To be eligible, producers must have purchased a qualifying crop insurance product for a spring crop and planted a qualifying cover crop during the 2021 crop year. This program was designed to assist agricultural producers with the long-term investment necessary to sustain cover crops.
There is a very short deadline for producers to file for benefits under this program. Eligible farmers must file a Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) with their local FSA office by June 15, 2021. While normal acreage reporting dates still exist, only those that report cover crop acres by June 15th will receive the benefit. It is also important to make sure the reported cover crop acres match the acreage reported to insurance companies for crop insurance policies. Visit farmers.gov/pandemic-assistance/cover-crops for more information.
Contact Dr. Adam Rabinowitz at adam.rabinowitz@auburn.edu for more information about crop-related policy issues and USDA news.
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Fungicide Efficacy Chart for Corn Diseases
When making decisions regarding the need and use of foliar fungicides for corn, it is important to review the publication 2021 Fungicide Efficacy for Control of Corn Diseases. This document is updated annually by members of the Corn Disease Working Group and ratings are based on results from trials conducted across the United States.
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The 62nd annual Cotton Insect Scouting Schools will be back in person for 2021. The scout schools will include insect scouting and thresholds for cotton and soybean as well as various updates from Alabama Extension specialists, agronomists and regional agents. There will be 3 opportunities to attend across the state. Registrations will begin at 8am with the program starting at 8:30. Lunch will be provided, and an in-field training opportunity will be provided after lunch. CEUs will be available for Certified Crop Advisors and Pesticide Applicators. Read More.
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Commodity prices will be updated each week. You can read more at Profit Profiles, a weekly market report for common Alabama agricultural commodities.
Contact Max Runge for more information.
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