PEANUT/COTTON RESEARCH TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

(Courtesy of Tyron Spearman, Peanut Farm Market News – Sept 10)

Over 200 attended the Georgia Cotton/Peanut Research Tour in Tifton today as researchers informed the farmers about peanut trends, new products and free advice. The peanut researchers showed research plots and explained to the farmers and researchers the research goals:

Dr. Tim Brenneman, "Seed treatments are a good thing.  Worth about 1,000 pounds per acre increase."  Big problem is root knot nematodes. Even the top variety GA06G is susceptible.  A new variety TIFNV is resistant to nematodes and viruses  plus High Oleic (gives longer shelf life).  A new smaller seeded variety GA14N is resistant to nematodes and white mold. Tim said the industry is seeing resistance to chemicals.

Dr. Mark Abney: warned growers to watch for infestations of spidermites, often showing up with brown spots in the fields. He said they increase quickly and cause major damage.  Abney said problems this season have been caterpillars, alfalfa hoppers and soybeans loopers. Where rains occurred, not much lesser corn stalk borer. Burrow Bug research is scattered across Georgia with County Agents helping in the research project, including tillage practices.

Dr. Scott Monfort:  Harvest is pretty much running wide open in April peanuts.  What I've seen looks good. Plenty of the late-April plantings are quickly getting ready. They'll be coming out in a week or so (from 9/4) and the early-May peanuts won't be far behind.  "This doesn't look like a bumper crop or as good as the 2012 crop by any means but dryland peanuts range from fair to good and irrigated fields look good, too.  I haven't seen any horrible situations yet. Some areas didn't get as much rain as others, of course. We're hoping enough falls to help us get some dryland fields up." Disease is running rampant in spots and we still have some worm situations. Overall, though, it's nothing terrible or widespread, and we can't complain too much.

For more information from the National Peanut Buying Points Association, click HERE.