James Bowen, Boyle
5/16/2024 – Rice-all the rice that I check has been planted. It ranges from 3-leaf to flooded. The crop
looks really good at this time. A lot of herbicides went out right ahead of the flood to clean up grasses
and broadleaves.
Soybeans-most of the beans that I check have been planted. Still have a little to be planted in the
south delta, due to too much rain. Crop ranges from still in the bag to R1. A lot of farmers are
plowing, spraying, and laying polypipe. Most of the crop looks really good at this time.
Andy Graves, Clarksdale
5/17/2024 – Cotton is at emergence up to 4-leaf growth stage with a lot of breakout – some looks
good, some does not. Thrips are starting to show up and we’re beginning to treat in places. Cutworms
were noticed in a few fields, but none were treated.
Corn is V6-V8, and all is layed-by. Stink bugs were in every acre and every acre treated!
Soybeans are from V2 up to R1. No insect issues now but doing a lot of weed control work in beans
as well as with cotton.
This has been a challenging year so far!
Joseph Dean, Cleveland
5/17/2024 – Cotton is off to a good start ranging from just planted to 2nd node. Stands are very good.
Thrips pressure has been light so far. Herbicides went out at planting and weeds are under control
right now.
Corn varies from V2 to V9. Most has received the bulk of Nitrogen and been layed by. We’ve had to
spray stinkbugs in places over the last couple weeks.
98% of the soybean crop has been planted now. We have replanted a few acres where the rains hit
wrong, or deer thinned the stand. They vary from recently planted to 6 nodes R1. We have started
laying by the older beans and have been cleaning up fields that were not sprayed at planting.
Rice ranges from spiking to tillering. Older rice has been sprayed, fertilized, and is going to flood now.
John Bixler, Matthews, Missouri
5/17/2024 – A dry, early spring in the Bootheel of Missouri has been replaced with an extended period
of wet weather. Subsequently, our cotton crop ranges from 3-true leaves to unplanted. Thrips
pressure has been lite thus far with our greatest concern revolving around much needed weed control
being delayed by continuous rain events. This far north, we are quickly running out of time to get the
final aces planted. I am finding seedling disease in some soil types due to the wet, cool weather.
And so, it begins!
Billy Bryant, Greenwood
5/16/2024 – Corn: Brown stinkbugs flared up in parts of Leflore County over the last two weeks.
Treatments with Bifenthrin were made to fields around the Itta Bena area mainly near Roebuck Lake
and north of Itta Bena around Lake Henry. These were some of the highest stinkbug numbers I've
witnessed in corn in my career.
Soybeans: Majority of acreage received a residual behind the planter. All of those treatments have
held well. Those that did not got Glyphosate + Engenia + either Dual or Zidua over the top as
needed.
Cotton: Thrips have been very light so far. No special treatments have been needed. The largest
cotton is two true leaf and still have 3500 acres still to plant as of May 16.
Larry Adams, Madison
5/16/2024 – Not much to report at this point of the season.
Soybean crop is being planted between rainstorms to good stands of V2 plants and cotton crop is
being planted now and up to 3-4th leaf stands.
A few acres of cotton that were planted very early, just before our last cold snap in April, had to be
replanted.
Dee Boykin, Yazoo City
5-16-2024 – Our corn crop was planted in the last ten days of February or the last ten days of March.
In that time, we enjoyed about four, two-to-three-day windows, to get the job done. The first planted is
just beginning to tassel and the last is around V9. Weeds are under control and seeing very little
disease to date. We’ve had a very good growing season so far. We’ll probably begin our tassel shots
of nitrogen next week.
We got about 25% of our soybeans planted between March 20 th and April 7 th , 25% between April 15 th
and 30 th , 25% so far in May and 25% more to be planted. Our earliest soybeans are approaching R3.
Weeds have been relatively easy to control so far and no insect problems. Our worst issue so far has
been a lack of nodulation on some ground that has been in a corn-cotton rotation for as long as I can
remember. We seem to have a problem with this somewhere every year with seed that has been
inoculated and can’t figure out why. No disease issues yet.
We’ve gotten a little over half of our cotton crop planted. The earliest has the first leaf unfolding this
week. No thrips problems so far. We have some small weeds in most fields but nothing to be overly
concerned about yet. Hopefully, this weather will move through this week, and we’ll have a little more
sunshine next week to allow us to clean up the weeds and get the rest planted.
In closing, I’d like to remind everyone of the threat of EPA taking acephate from us. This would
make insect control of pests in several crops almost impossible. Please participate in the
comment period.
Larry Walton, Tupelo
05-17-2024 – Sprayers and planters have been in full swing this week in NE MS; however, May
rainfall has been both good and bad during the first 2.5 weeks of May. Corn ranges from V2 stage to
some being layed-by this week. I was able to no-till some corn on the 20 th of May and for non-irrigated
it is the best ever! Soybean planting has been in full swing the past couple of weeks where mother
nature has cooperated, and soybeans are really looking good. I saw several fields being planted
yesterday during my travels. I have not observed any cotton up to a stand here in NE, MS. However,
it’s a different story in the Delta with many fields ranging from cotyledon to 1-2 nodes. The weather
forecast for next week looks very promising so many acres will go into the ground if mother nature
cooperates.
To date weed control in both corn and soybeans has been outstanding with excellent herbicide
activation with the rainfalls. For corn, I always recommend at least 4-5 MOAs and weed control both
PRE and POST has been excellent. We are very fortunate to have some excellent herbicides to work
with in corn, soybean and cotton and I’m very thankful for this."
Bert Falkner, West Point
5/17/2024 – Getting this crop planted and started this year has been extremely trying with rain every
few days – about the time it gets dry, here comes another one! Fortunately, we have not had flooding
rains. Then you take into consideration commodity prices will make you really scratch your head.
Overall, crops look okay – coming up growing. It showered around last night with up to .4” in areas.
Cotton – 70% planted and in areas up to 100% planted. Some have a long way to go. The north-end
of my area hasn’t missed a rain yet. The varieties we have today are not really concerned about the
calendar, but they will be soon. Cotton mostly just up to 1 st -2 nd true leaf. Thryv-On cotton looks good
and treating non-Thryv-On cotton for thrips in 1 st planted. These cover crops are a thrips & slug
“Paradise”. Cover crops are a necessary evil in my eyes. Seeing scattered seedling disease. Pre-
emergence herbicides have worked so far; have also seen some herbicide burn scattered around.
Corn is from V4 up to V9; getting all corn layed-by now and nitrated between rains, which has been
challenging. Where nitrogen has had time, the corn is taking-off; moisture we have will get nitrogen
moving, Herbicides are working okay; few missed pigweeds around.
Soybeans are 70% planted, emerging, and growing. Where we don’t have pre-herbicides out, we’re
coming back over-the-top as soon as possible. We have and will replant areas in mostly low, wet
areas. Insects have not been a problem.
Peanuts are 60-70% planted; stands coming up uniformly. Did run into some Valor burn from
splashing effect which dinged them up pretty good; new growth coming back. Seeing a few more
thrips signs than I like to see in a few fields. We just need sun and dry weather.
