Peanut harvest season in Sylvester, Georgia, is more than just farmers digging up the fruits of their labor. It’s a time of celebration for agriculture, the sector that drives the economic footprint in this rural community. Sylvester is just one Georgian town that exudes peanut pride. Plains and Brooklet also host peanut festivals in the fall, and Blakely hosts the ... Read More »

Widespread drought continues in Alabama, as nearly 84% of the state is in severe drought. In fact, 55% of the state’s soil and subsoil moisture is reported to be “very short.” Even with these conditions, producers are still hard at work bringing in this year’s crop. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 96% of the corn planted in Alabama ... Read More »

A successful Arkansas economy relies on two essential elements: agriculture and farmers. Unfortunately, fewer young people are choosing to farm, leaving a widening knowledge disparity for those watching over crops. The Cooperative Extension Service has turned that conundrum into an opportunity, tapping Andy Vangilder as an instructor to help growers in the state’s burgeoning peanut fields and serving as a ... Read More »

• By Alan Henn • Early leaf spot (https://www.mississippi-crops.com/2013/08/12/early-leaf-spot-of-peanut/) can seriously defoliate peanuts, leading to yield losses and perhaps inversion problems that inhibit pod drying. Leaf spots generally require some hours of free water (dew, guttation, irrigation) on the leaf for the fungal spores to germinate and infect. Thus leaf spots are generally more aggressive in rainy times or during extended ... Read More »

Georgia’s recent hot, dry weather has dryland peanut farmers making tough decisions about when to dig their crops, according to Scott Monfort, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist. Since much of south Georgia has experienced little to no rainfall in the past month and even less is expected over the next few weeks, Monfort is encouraging farmers to move ... Read More »

Peanut growers attending Oklahoma State University’s Caddo Research Station Peanut and Cotton Field Tour on Sept. 19 will get a firsthand look at the new peanut variety Contender, the first high-oleic Virginia-type peanut adapted to the southwestern United States. The Caddo Research Station is located just east of Highway 9 in Fort Cobb. The tour will take place from 5:15 ... Read More »

• By David Jordan • From leaf spot advisory: Make sure peanuts are protected with a leaf spot fungicide as Dorian approaches. Shorten spray intervals to 10 days to optimize protection. Any fungicide applied during this period should be tank mixed with 16 to 24 oz chlorothalonil (Bravo). From Sclerotinia advisory: Risk of Sclerotinia blight may increase rapidly with rain ... Read More »

Georgia farmers need to be wary of peanut rust disease after it was discovered in a field in Tift County last week, according to University of Georgia plant pathologist Albert Culbreath. He said that rust doesn’t occur in Georgia every year and information about which chemical options are best for controlling this disease is limited. Several fungicides that are already ... Read More »

• By Barry Tillman • Ten years ago, I stood in a peanut field planted in late April surveying significant damage from spotted wilt. One year later in 2010 and for the next eight years, spotted wilt would not make a significant presence across the Southeastern Peanut Belt. In fact, some claimed that it had “disappeared.” What a difference a ... Read More »

Cotton and peanut farmers and industry personnel are invited to the University of Georgia Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day, Sept. 4, on the UGA Tifton campus. Members of the UGA cotton and peanut teams will talk about ongoing research at two UGA research farms, providing insight for growers on what they can expect for the next growing season. The ... Read More »