Richard L. Petcher
Regional Extension Agronimist
302A Byrne Street
Bay Minette, AL  36507
Telephone (251) 937-7176 or
928-0860/943-5611 ext. 2222
FAX (251) 937-7285
E-Mail: petchrl@auburn.edu.

News Letter November 2006 To Row Crop Producers in South West Alabama.

This news letter is concerning upcoming meetings, some of the new Florida release peanut varieties, the burrower bugs in peanuts, wheat diseases and a soybean Asian rust update. Some of this is new information and some of this will serve as a reminder of production practices that you already know, but may serve as a simple check list for your management practices.UPCOMING MEETINGS

2007 Beltwide Cotton Conference, Equipping for Excellence, January 9-12, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

For information go to www.cotton.org

This is probably the best cotton conference held during the year, and this year it is close by to us. If you are in the cotton industry or a producer this would be a good investment for you. 2007 Gulf Coast Cotton Expo

Date and Place: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at the Lions Community Center in Atmore.

Time: Registration 8:00 a.m., Program 8:30 until 2:30

This will be a multi-state meeting with growers and speakers from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Topics: Cotton Varieties, Weed Resistance Management, Cotton Nematode Control, Cover Crops and Tillage to Supply Nitrogen, Up Yields and Cut Costs, Top Producer Tell Us What Works For Them, Cotton Insect Control, Precision Agriculture, Harvest Timing: A Hidden Issue, Marketing Cotton and Cotton Economics. This should be an excellent meeting.

New Peanut Varieties (2006) – Release of McCloud, Florida-07 and YorkDr. Dan Gorbet and Dr. Barry Tillman, with the University of Florida in Marianna, this past summer announced the release of these three new peanut varieties. Dr. Dan Gorbet will soon be retiring, while Dr. Barry Tillman from Fruitdale, Al has been working along with him and will soon be taking Dr. Gorbet’s place to lead the peanut breeding program. Peanut growers are looking forward to trying these new varieties, however, in 2007 all of the seed will go into the seed industry. In 2008 there will be a limited amount of seed for growers to try.

Three peanut breeding lines from the University of Florida program were approved for commercial release in 2006. These lines are all runner market-types with good to excellent yield potential, good to excellent resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and they have high oleic oil chemistry. They are as follows:

McCloud (UF03326) is a medium maturity (135±d) runner market-type with runner growth habit. It has shown good to excellent pod yields in Florida and other state tests with good grades and larger seed size than Georgia Green or ANorden. Its main disease resistance is to TSWV. This peanut has high oleic (80±%) oil chemistry. Flavor, blanching and processing traits are good to excellent.

Florida-07 (UF04327) is a medium-late (140±d) runner market-type peanut with runner growth habit. It has shown excellent yield potential (7000+ lbs/A) with good grades. This peanut has seed size similar to C-99R. It has good to excellent resistance to TSWV with some white mold resistance, and tolerance to leafspot. Florida-07 has high oleic (80±%) oil chemistry with good to excellent roasting, blanching and processing characteristics.

York (UF04321) is a late maturity (150 d) runner type peanut with excellent yield potential and good grades. Seed size is similar to Georgia Green. It has excellent disease resistance to TSWV, white mold, and leafspot. York has high oleic (80±%) oil chemistry with excellent flavor and processing traits.

All of these lines have consistently shown better pod yields than Georgia Green, in the southeast production area. They all have significantly better resistance to TSWV, which should help growers and the southeast industry. TSWV is still a major threat to peanut production in the southeast, and the entire USA. These varieties have high oleic chemistry with excellent flavor potential and greatly enhanced shelf-life and enhanced human health characteristics.BURROWER BUG ON PEANUTS

The information for this article was given to me by Ed Kane, Consultant in Baldwin County, Ron Weeks, Auburn University Peanut Entomologist and Roger Baine with Anderson’s Peanuts.

This insect was the cause of over a half a million dollars of damage to peanuts in Southwest Alabama in 2006. Burrower bugs have been a problem in the Wiregrass on several occasions during the last 10 years, but on a much more sporadic nature than in SW Alabama. It has been an almost unknown and easily forgotten pest of peanuts. However, it did not go away this year. Growers should learn this year and make plans for defense for next year. The burrower bug can be found in small numbers in every peanut field in Southwest Al. They over winter as adults in residue and debris in and around fields. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts and feed on the seed seeking a protein source for food. Rainfall and moist conditions during Mid-July through August will usually keep them from causing significant damage. In years of hot dry weather in July and August the burrower bug is attracted to peanut fields of high organic matter and litter and shows up in higher numbers in those fields. The insect then sucks on the peanuts in search of food and moisture. The damage can not be seen on the outside of the peanut. In fact you must look under the skin of the peanut t o see the damage. The burrower bug damage looks similar to stinkbug damage on soybeans. The kernel will first turn a cream color and then a yellow. Several months after the damage, the kernels turn black. If 2.6 % of your kernels or 3 out of 100 kernels are affected the peanuts go Seg II. Seg II peanuts sell for only 35% of the loan value of peanuts. That brings their value down to $125 per ton. That is a tremendous loss to a peanut grower.

What can a grower do next year to protect his peanuts from the burrower bug? Burying the litter is the safest method. Burrower bugs typically do not affect fields with no litter. However, litter on the top is beneficial in reducing TSWV on peanuts. High organic matter is also a real plus in upping field productivity. Anther options is to scout your suspect fields (fields with high organic matter, litter, or close by a field that had burrower bugs last year) for the burrowing bug starting in July or whenever the peanuts are pegging and the drought has started. Scout for the insect under the peanut plant and in the first two inches of the soil. The burrower bug is about a quarter of an inch long, is black and has hair on its back legs. When pinched this insect puts out a smell, much like a stink bug. It almost looks like a black beetle. However, the burrower bug is the only insect that fits this description and puts off the stinking odor. The threshold number is when more than two bugs per row foott are found on or in the soil during pod fill. The labeled insecticides are used as a preventative treatment and are Lorsban15 G, Clorpyrifos 15G and Nufos 15G applied over the row. These insecticides require a significant rain to activate them and spread them in the soil in order for the chemical to take full effect. Waiting on a good rain can often be chancy. These are the only controls that I know of at this time.Resistance of Wheat Varieties to Common Diseases

An Update for the 2006-2007 Production Season A. K. Hagan, Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist

Alabama’s wheat is the target for a variety of potentially yield robbing diseases. Planting a wheat variety with a broad disease resistance package is critical to minimizing the impact of diseases, particularly rust diseases and powdery mildew, on the quality and yield of wheat, as well as holding down the cost of production inputs. A listing of selected wheat varieties and their reaction to common diseases can be found in Table 1. While fungicides will give good protection from many of the diseases listed below, the cost-effectiveness of such treatments is questionable in most areas of Alabama except for the Gulf Coast region and for wheat grown for the commercial seed market.Common Diseases of Wheat

Leaf Rust – Is the most common and destructive disease found on wheat in Alabama. Planting a resistant variety is the best control measure. RTU-Baytan-Thiram seed dressing will give some early season control of leaf rust. Fungicides will give good control but cost-effectiveness is questionable.

Stripe Rust – Occurs sporadically in the Tennessee Valley and less frequently in other areas of Alabama but can cause a severe decline in crop quality and yield. Planting a resistant variety is the best defense. Fungicides will give good control but cost-effectiveness is questionable across much of Alabama.

Powdery Mildew – Commonly found on wheat in late winter but usually fades out as crop matures. Powdery mildew has less impact on yield than rust or blotch diseases. Yield gains from fungicide treatment usually will not cover cost of fungicide inputs and application. RTU-Baytan-Thiram seed dressing will give some early-season control of powdery mildew.

Leaf and Glume Blotch – Serious yield loss will occur, particularly when the flag leaf and glumes are blighted. In Alabama trials, most wheat varieties are susceptible to this disease but some differences in their sensitivity have been seen. Fungicides will protect flag leaf and seed head, as well as enhance seed test weights. Cost effectiveness of fungicide inputs is questionable except the Gulf Coast region and on wheat grown for seed.

Soilborne Wheat Mosaic and Wheat Spindle Streak Mosaic Virus – Occur sporadically in Alabama during unusually wet winters and usually causes little loss. Diseases are most noticeable where wheat is cropped for several consecutive years. Planting a resistant cultivar is the only defense against either of these virus diseases.

Black Chaff/Bacterial Streak – Heavy rainfall during heading favors disease development but the occurrence of this disease is very sporadic. Frequent cropping of wheat may increase risk of disease outbreak. Disease resistant varieties are the only defense.

Fusarium Head Blight or Scab– Risk of disease outbreak may be increased in wheat grown behind corn, probably grain sorghum, or several successive wheat crops. Severe outbreaks are rare. Scabby wheat often is contaminated with one or more toxins that are produced by the causal fungus and are highly toxic to livestock. Wet weather during flowering favors disease development. Under the right conditions, all wheat cultivars are susceptible to this disease. Foliar fungicide applications provide no control. Fungicide seed dressings will reduce the risk of seed transmission.

Barley Yellow Dwarf – This aphid-transmitted virus disease is endemic in Alabama wheat. While wheat varieties differ in symptom expression, yield response is not closely tied to the severity of BYD symptom severity. The insecticide seed dressing Gaucho TX may slow early season disease spread by controlling the aphids that transmit BYD.

Take-All Root Rot – Disease severity is directly linked to wheat cropping frequency. Rotation with other winter grasses and balanced soil fertility will minimize the impact of this disease on wheat yields. Frequent heavy rains appear to favor disease development. All wheat cultivars are susceptible to take-all. Dividend Apron XL LS and Dividend XL RTA seed dressings will help suppress take-all.

Loose Smut – A common and often over-looked disease that can cause sizable yield losses, particularly on farm-sourced wheat seed. This disease is easily controlled with the use of a machine-applied or hopper box fungicide seed dressing.

A complete listing of recommended fungicide seed dressings and foliar fungicides can be found in the Small Grain IPM Circular 2006IPM-458

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0500-A/VOL1-2006/smallgrains.pdf

The revised Small Grain IPM Circular will be posted to the web and from local county extension offices in December. Descriptions of the above diseases of wheat can be found in ANR-543 "Wheat Diseases and Their Control’ http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0543/

Table 1. Reaction of Selected Wheat Varieties to Common Diseases.

zPlanting zones: S = South, C= Central, N = north, All = all of Alabama.

ySBWM = soilborne wheat mosaic and the similar virus-incited disease wheat spindle streak mosaic.

xBYD = barley yellow dwarf.

w-- = information not available.

Source: Characteristics of Recommended Wheat Varieties for Georgia http://commodities.caes.uga.edu/fieldcrops/Grain/wheatprod05/chaarofrecvaro5.htm

2004-2005 Georgia Small Grain Variety Tests

http://www.griffin.uga.edu/swvt/2005/sm05/RR699-contents.pdf

2005-2006 Georgia Small Grain Variety Tests http://www.griffin.uga.edu/swvt/2006/sm06/RR705-contents.pdf

SOYBEAN UPDATE

Asian Rust has now been found on Soybeans or Kudzu in 21 counties in Alabama and as far North as Ft. Wayne, Indiana. For the most part the rust came in late and caused little significant yield loss in Alabama except for a few fields in Baldwin County. Asian rust is expected to be a major concern for soybean production in 2007.

Again, I wish you well with harvest and hope this information has been of help to you.