Good harvest weather contributed to the Virginia-Carolina’s above-average yielding crop.
A wide range of environmental conditions faced farmers in the Virginia-Carolina region in 2024.
Rainfall and temperatures in May were adequate for good stand establishment and early season growth says David Jordan, North Carolina State University Extension peanut specialist. Even with the wide extreme in weather, farmers were able to overcome it, in part, because of excellent digging and threshing conditions in October and November.
“Germination and seedling vigor were good,” Jordan says. “Growers were able to control weeds in a timely manner in June and complete thrips suppression programs.”
Good Stand Establishment
With the majority of peanuts in the region being grown without irrigation, timely rains are critical for producing good yields. Jordan says after good planting weather, June turned off dry, impacting some growth and development. However, in July, rainfall increased with some areas receiving frequent rains and other areas dealing with excessive moisture levels.
“In contrast to June, field operations slowed because of wet soils,” Jordan says. “In some instances, farmers were unable to start and maintain fungicide sprays in a timely manner to protect peanuts from leaf spot and stem rot disease.
“Most farmers were able to evenetually catch up and establish adequate spray programs,” he says.
Pests And Disease
Early season weed control held out well and along with the suppression of thrips, both were adequate to protect yield in most fields across the region, Jordan says.
“Few foliar-feeding insects were found, especially in the northern and central areas of the region, or Virginia and North Carolina. Insect pressure was higher in the southern area of the region, or South Carolina,” he says.
Jordan says expression of tomato spotted wilt began to show up in fields in August in some areas, especially in the southern portion of the region.
“Generally, tomato spotted wilt is more yield limiting in production areas further south,” he says.
“Some growers experienced issues with Sclerotinia blight in September and October. However, incidence of this disease was lower across the central and northern areas of the region in 2024 compared with 2023.”
For foliar disease, Jordan says canopy defoliation caused by leaf spot was modest compared with some years and may have been associated with dry conditions at the time. Otherwise, the crop was mostly protected by timely fungicide applications.
Tropical Rains Interrupt Field Work
In September, tropical weather became an issue for field work.
“Rainfall became widespread in September in the northern and central areas of the region, although some pockets of dry weather remained. Rainfall decreased in South Carolina and in some areas of North Carolina in September after Tropical Storm Debby.
“Hurricane Helene resulted in significant rainfall in the region in late September but with minor damage from wind. After Helene, rainfall was almost non-existent across the region through early November,” Jordan says.
“Rainfall increased in mid-to-late November, although the vast majority of peanuts were dug and vines inverted by the first of November. Threshing tracked behind digging and vine inversion, but weather conditions remained good for threshing and other field operations.”
Nearly Perfect Harvest Weather
Overall, Jordan says peanut yields were above average at 4,250 pounds per acre and quality was good. Total sound mature kernels and extra-large kernels were adequate to fulfill industry needs.
“Generally, weather conditions were near perfect for digging and threshing. While Hurricane Helene was catastrophic in some areas of North Carolina and other states, rain from this event, combined with perfect conditions in October for field operations, allowed the peanut crop to increase in maturity prior to digging,” he says. “These conditions prevented losses both during and after digging and vine inversion.”
Starting Feb. 3, 2025, production meetings will be held throughout the North Carolina peanut belt. All meetings will begin at 1 p.m. until around 3 p.m. Meetings are open to everyone. For additional information and a full list of counties and dates, go to the North Carolina State Extension peanut website at peanut.ces.ncsu.edu/. PG
