Charlie Craig, Friars Point
7/8/2024 – Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4 th of July long weekend. I would miss my guess if I
didn’t bet that most consultants were working at least part of that time.
Things have been reasonably quiet insect wise so far. At this point I have recommended treatment for
plant bugs on all the acres I look at once and some twice. All these treatments seemed to work well
7-10 days after treatment. I am beginning to see spider mites in scattered areas and have
recommended Zeal on one block. Overall, the crop still looks pretty good but needs rain.
Tim Sanders, Sarah
7/10/2024 – We just received a nice general rain of 0.5 – 2" across a large acreage. What a blessing!
Cotton is from 9th node to mid bloom. Plantbugs have been light in most areas. We have treated 1-3
times so far. We have gotten Diamond on most acres. Spider mites are beginning to show up in a
few spots, some where we have treated the least. We are using Zeal SC where they are needing
treatment. Most of the older cotton looks good right now.
Rice is from midseason to milk stage. We have sprayed a few fields for stinkbugs but most heading
is just getting started. Corn is dough to dent stage. Pretty quiet this year. Aphids coming in late on
some. Soybeans range from emerging to late R5. Most of the year has been quiet but we have
treated a few old fields recently for stinkbugs.
Greg Williams, Eads, Tennessee
7/10/2024 – Cotton ranges from 10 nodes to 18 nodes. Many fields in the area have replanted spots
where the older cotton is 15 nodes and replanted cotton is 9-10 nodes. Defoliation should be a lot of
fun this year! The early cotton looks really good. Insect pressure overall has been light. Plant bugs
picked up in the last 2 weeks. Aphids are light in spots. Just started finding a few worm eggs in the
last week or so; no sign of spider mites yet. Pix going out everywhere.
Soybeans ranges from R2-R4.5; wheat beans are R1-R2. Beans overall look good. Insect pressure
has been very light this year; a few brown/green stink bugs showing up in older beans. Hoppers are
also light. Some fungicides are going out although disease pressure has been light so far.
Corn looks good north of Memphis and south areas are a little dryer and showing more drought
damage. Disease pressure is light and growth stage is white/brown silk. Corn acres are down this
year
Ed Whatley, Clarksdale
6/20/2024 – Cotton – Plants bugs have gone from 0-60 in 10 seconds in some areas. The season started off slow for plant bugs. Plant bugs have drastically changed in the areas with no rain and have cotton mixed with grain crops. We just have to keep something on the cotton until the insect pressure slows down. Aphids are building in some fields. The theory about flaring certain insects with certain insecticides is kinda hard to understand sometimes. I’m sure y’all know what I mean. I started picking up mites today, I’m sure they will increase with this weather. Need a cotton shower!
Soybeans – Insect pressure is light in soybeans at this time, but I did sweep up 2 red banded stink bugs the other day. I’m sure the guys down south will keep me informed on the progression of the RBS. Approximately 75% of my soybeans were planted by the 20th of April. Growers are making fungicide applications on April planted soybeans as they reach R3/R4 growth stage. I feel and hope these soybeans will outrun any insect problems.
Corn- My corn is brown silk, milk stage. Disease pressure light at this time.
Overall, the crops look good. Half of my acres got 2 inches of rain Monday. The other half is irrigating to full capacity.
Jim Arrington, Senatobia
6/21/2024 – I have Cotton that ranges from 3rd true leaf to first bloom. I think the last time I sent a report I was complaining about being too wet. Things can change fast! After being so wet and crops having shallow roots a dry spell with hot temps sure shows up quickly. Luckily on 6/17 we got a good rain in Tunica and Desoto counties.
Plant bugs have been light to normal. We have seen good control with all insecticides. With older cotton we’ve put out Diamond @6oz with acephate or imidacloprid. We haven’t had aphids or spider mites yet. I found blooms on 3 different farms in 2 different counties this week so we will definitely see some early picking this year.
Soybeans range from being planted to R4. All the older beans really needed a rain to keep them growing. The ones that missed out are going to go backwards soon. We have had little to no insect pressure at all in beans. Just an occasional green stinkbug.
Haley Easley, Greenwood
7/9/2024 – Cotton is in week 2 of bloom. It’s been very dry and trying to get water around has been
difficult. I’m sure layby will be compromised by activating with flood irrigation. Insect pressure has
been below normal but seeing some aphids and mites showing up this week. Plant growth apps have
been less than normal this year but will increase as irrigation gets around.
Corn is from blister to two weeks into dent. Places that don’t water are too late now for any help.
Overall, I think corn crop is good. Very low disease pressure now. Seeing the normal disease that
can’t do anything about and has little effect on yield.
Beans early R5 to some late plantings at R2. Not much happening in beans either. Seems awfully
quiet in all crops for now.
Crops look good overall, but I don’t think we can out yield the costs of producing these crops with
current price forecasts. It’s a tough time to be a producer.
Luke Richards, Yazoo City
7/11/2024 – Cotton: Most all of our cotton is blooming by now with some getting very close to
blooming out the top. We have some cotton that’s around 8 nodes tall that’s already been row
watered. Definitely the youngest cotton I’ve ever seen row watered. Most of the cotton is around 15-
18 nodes with several weeks of blooming left. Plant bugs have picked up a lot especially near the
older soybeans that are filling out pods and the usual suspects, aka corn and pig weeds. We’ve gone
with Transform in places where the pressure wasn’t overwhelming, thinking we could get longer out of
the spray, and it’s worked well in most cases. Acephate and a high rate of imidacloprid has also been
working well so far but that’s a recent development. Going with a pyrethroid and acephate in some
places where the pressure is very high. Starting to see some spider mites in those fields.
Soybeans: A little under half of our beans are mid-fill or very close to starting to fill out. Seeing very
little in them still. The majority of our beans are from Full Bloom to smaller. Long way to go. Starting to
see bollworms in some of them but nothing to worry about yet. Seen a good many moths here
recently.
Dee Boykin, Yazoo City
6/19/2024 – Corn is in the home stretch now. It’s from milk to dough stage and moisture has been plentiful until now. The water had started flowing last week but was halted by the rains earlier this week. The wells will be cranking again by the week’s end. We’ve been watching the various disease symptoms for a few weeks now but there’s been very little progress. We treated one field of a “new” variety with fungicide for NCLB. We experienced the worst green snap I’ve ever seen around May 21st on about 300 acres of corn that was V11-12. Probably 50% of the plants were snapped. The wind was strong enough to destroy a metal building next to the field.
Our soybeans are from V3 to R5. Thankfully about 85% are R3 or farther along in maturity. The majority of them are “layed by” as far as weeds are concerned. It’s been a challenge as always, but we really have a clean soybean crop so far. Insect pressure has been nonexistent to this point. Irrigation is kicking in now.
Our cotton crop is from pinhead square to about a week from first bloom. Fruit retention has been really good compared to the last few seasons. We’ve made up to three PGR applications on some fields but are still wrestling with some of my generation to make them understand the importance of early applications. We’ve noticed that the cotton plants have tremendous tap roots in virtually every field especially considering the wet conditions earlier. Hopefully this will pay off later. Plant bug pressure has been very light so far, but we have some very densely populated cotton that we’re already finding nymphs in. Unfortunately, we have too much help setting planters, if you know what I mean.
In summary, the corn crop has great potential; soybeans and cotton have a long way to go but a good start.
Virgil King, III, Lexington
6/20/2024 – Our cotton ranges from 8 to 15 nodes. We are getting out some plant bug treatments and adding some pix where needed. Cotton looks good at this time with a good square set and we are seeing some blooms this week in our oldest. We have started to see some aphid populations building up but nothing that needs any treatment yet. Growers have been on a mission to get weeds cleaned up. Overall, we have been able to keep weeds cleaned up but pigweeds have given up problems in areas of fields where they got too big during all the rain.
Our soybeans are from 5 nodes to 18 at this time. We are starting some water this week. Sweep net mostly still empty but we do sweep a few green clover worms, stink bugs, loopers and some salt marsh caterpillars. We have just had our first fungicide application go out this week.
Most all our corn is at R3. Keeping the water going on it. We have not found any significant disease in the corn this week. Pollination looks good on it also.
Lauren Green, Greenwood
6/20/2024 – Cotton is from 8th node to 14th node. Plant big pressure has been overall light up to date. Starting to pick up a few more up around edges and corn fields that border. Began watering this week as well.
Corn has pollinated and looks good. Trying to keep fields with plenty of moisture where we can.
Soybeans range from R2 to R5. Insect pressure has also been light in beans. Fungicides have started going out and most will get one next week. Some fields we are adding an insecticide while most have not. Watering all we can as well.
Wheat harvest has finished and ended up with an average crop. Soybeans will not be planted behind it.
Trent LaMastus, Cleveland
6/21/2024 – Corn ranges from early R1 to early R3. Disease pressure has been light with the exception of Curvularia, that is just about everywhere. I have a number of non-Bt corn acres and there have been a modest number of fall armyworms in it. It’s all later planted so I’m concerned about the next armyworm moth flight. My SW corn borer traps have been out for three weeks and remain empty as of 6-21-24.
I’m seeing more aphids in corn every year and this year they aren’t hard to find. The corn crop looks really good right now in large part to begin one of the most uniform stands I’ve ever seen.
Irrigation is wide open!
Soybeans: as uniform as the corn crop is, the soybeans are just the opposite. I checked some beans today that had emerged earlier this week. The rest are anywhere from V3-V18/R5. Insects have been very light to this point and disease likewise. Weeds and grass are being cleaned up on the middle-aged beans and irrigation started last week on the older ones.
Cotton: like soybeans, cotton is in a wide range of growth stages as well. I have cotton less than a week old to V14 about to bloom. Insect pressure has been steady, but light compared to previous years with the exception of aphids. I haven’t seen them this bad this early in a long time. Aphids aren’t everywhere, but where they are they are a problem. Interestingly, they are the worst where we applied Intrepid Edge for thrips.
Plant bugs are light and spotty but are starting to migrate out of other crops and native host plants.
Some lay-by is going out now and the poly pipe will follow close behind.
Billy Bryant, Greenwood
6/17/2024 – Cotton: Plant bug round 1 has gone out where needed. Pressure has been very light and
not all acreage has required treatment, but several farms received either Imidacloprid or Transform
where Plant Bug populations justified doing so. The oldest cotton at node 12 and I expect to see
irrigation pipe rolling out on it early next week. Square retention is very high in the absence of Plant
bugs. I began seeing a slight increase in Plant bug numbers next to my older corn late last week so
will begin trimming corn fields adjacent to cotton where necessary. The majority of the acreage is 8-
12 nodes. Dicamba is not as effective as it has been against pigweeds and teaweeds and have come
behind some with Liberty to get some burn on them. Laying by some fields now. Some to get Zidua
and some may get some Valor underneath depending on the situation and what they have to apply it
with.
Corn: Most acreage is tasseling and silking now. Fungicide has been applied to all 2 yr. corn.
Applications went out at V15. I’ve been seeing some Curvalaria Leaf Spot starting up in several fields
of 2 yr. corn along with a trace of Physoderma Brown Spot. I have some 2-gene sweet corn that is
highly infected with Curvalaria.
Soybeans: Fungicide has begun to go out on oldest fields. Adding some foliar K on some and will add
insecticide to most, I expect. Everyone is hustling to get water on our soybean crop. Many acres in
the R3 stage need a few more nodes and we don't need them to quit. Not much disease activity. Just
the usual Septoria on the bottom nodes.
Clay Horton, Leland
6/17/2024 – Soybeans range from emergence to R5. In the Lake Washington to Delta City area, we
have some low lying, heavy ground that has not been dry enough to plant until this past week; finally
finished the last block last Friday. Soybeans have been pretty quiet for the most part. We got the first
round of fungicides out last week and we will have lots of acres lined up this week and next. Insect
pressure has been low in most areas.
Corn ranges from VT to milk stage. Pollination looks good in all the older corn and disease pressure
is light for the most part, other than a few corn-behind-corn acres.
Jeff North, Madison
These photos were submitted by Jeff North for the June 7 th posting but were omitted. Each photo is
identified and titled with symptoms Jeff is seeing in the field.
Larry Walton, Tupelo
7/6/2024 – Corn – corn crop in NE Mississippi still looking very good and ranges from R3 to R5
(Dent). We had spotty rain showers last week and it really will help to finish corn crop out. I have not
observed any disease issues at this time, however, can easily find corn earworm in many ears I have
checked but that has been typical the past couple of years. Also, It is easy to spot where residual
herbicides are now playing out but will not create any major issues.
Soybeans – For now the soybean crop looks really good and ranges from vegetative stage to R3. I
have observed some frogeye leaf spot on sensitive varieties. Many growers now are applying the last
POST application for mid-season weed control. A general rain shower across the area would be
really nice early part of next week because as with corn, rainfall has been none to over 2.0 inches last
week. I have not observed any major issues with insects at this time.
Cotton – Cotton crop continues to look good although we do have some mid to late June planted
cotton due to extended wet May in some areas of NE MS. I was in Delta early part of last week and
crop looks outstanding with numerous blooms up and down the plants. With the hot weather, cotton
will really mature out quickly over the month of July. Insect pressure has been extremely light with no
outbreaks that I am aware of. "
Trey Bullock, Seminary
7/6/2024 – Much needed rains fell yesterday (4th) in most fields around counties surrounding
Hattiesburg. Still needing rains badly in counties on the west side of area. Good chances over the
next several days so maybe everyone will get rains. Lots of older cotton fields need to get wet right
now to help overcome the deficit.
Cotton is from 6th node to 19. Plant bugs were extremely light this week with the exception of one
county. Aphids have gotten awful in areas. Some treatments have gone out, but I did find a little
fungus in one county so hopefully this will spread quickly. Rains have helped overcome some of the
stress, but they need to go soon if fungus doesn’t show up. Flushing bollworm moths while sweeping.
Peanuts are from 45 to 75 dap and are looking really good. Had a few older fields that were really
beginning to stress, but rains have changed this. Insects are extremely light.
Soybeans are from pre bloom to R5.5. Older beans look really good for South Miss. dry-land beans.
Later beans were stressing pretty bad 1st of this week but most got a little rain yesterday. Insects are
light. Picked up a few green stink bugs in Copiah Co. in some R3 beans. Hope everyone has a great
weekend.
