Baldwin County Extension Office
302A Byrne Street
Bay Minette, AL  36507
(251) 937-7176
Richard L. Petcher       
Regional Extension Agronomist for SWAL
(251) 847-2295, cell (251) 202-1009, SL 7*145

News Letter September 2006

This has been a very long, hot, dry and very trying crop year.  Some growers have suffered more than others.  At this point the drought has apparently sped up cotton harvest and delayed peanut harvest.  There is much to be gained by harvesting on time. 

            ROW CROP ACRES FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA 2006

                    2006 Planted Peanut Acreage in Southwest Alabama

Peanut acres dropped 23,743 acres, a 35 % decrease in this region from 2005 to 2006.  

Washington Co. increased by 112 acres while Baldwin dropped 4,052, Butler 325, Clark 264, Conecuh 267, Mobile 842, Monroe 6,486 and Escambia 11,748 acres.  Baldwin is still the second largest peanut growing county in AL second to Houston with 29,952 acres.  Total row crop acres in Southwest Al. are 147,606 acres.

               U.S. Peanut Acres Planted in 2006 and Per Cent Down From 2005

                                           COTTON DEFOLIATION DECISIONS IN 2006

Mike Patterson, Extension Weed Scientist

           Cotton harvest will most likely be quite variable this year.   At least two different situations are possible.  One involves short, low yield cotton that has been drought stressed for most of the season.  The other involves cotton that has been irrigated or has received enough rainfall to make a fair crop.

            Not many folks want to spend much money on short, low yield cotton at harvest time.  Often, the only thing you want to do is knock the leaves off and pick one time.  Some fast acting, inexpensive harvest aides are available to help do this.  These products include Resource, ET, and Aim.  These products generally should be applied with a crop oil concentrate and will provide 80 to 90 percent defoliation within 10 days of application.  By themselves they will not open bolls or suppress regrowth, so the cotton should be mature and most of the bolls open when they are applied.  Other treatments that should be economical include Sodium Chlorate at 4-5 pints/acre, Def at 1 pint/acre, Ginstar at 6 oz/acre, and Dropp SC at 2 oz/acre.  The fields should be picked within 10 to 14 days after application.

            Cotton that has a fair yield potential (750-800 lbs) might be treated with harvest aid combinations to obtain the most cotton in a once over harvest.  Adding a boll opener to defoliants can help you pick up to 95 percent of the cotton that’s in the field in a single harvest.  Boll openers include ethephon (Prep, etc.), Finish (activated ethephon), and CottonQuik (activated ethephon).  Straight ethephon products at rates of 1.0 pound active and higher generally require about 10 to 12 days to open a harvestable unopened boll.  Activated ethephon products will often open a boll in 7 to 9 days.  Keep these numbers in mind when you are scheduling harvest.  The standard rule of thumb for cotton harvest aid application is “don’t treat any more cotton at one time than you can pick in a three day period”.  This schedule will hopefully keep you from having open and defoliated cotton being exposed to the weather for a long time.

            One last situation that may factor into cotton harvest is the new growth that many growers will have to deal with in late summer and early fall as a result of late season rainfall.  Taking these light green leaves off can be hard.  One of the better treatments I have seen for this is Ginstar + Def (rates are 4-6 oz of Ginstar and 8-10 oz of Def).

            Remember that all harvest aides must cover the target in order to obtain optimum activity.  This means uniform spray application and good water volumes (10 gallon per acre minimum) will provide the most for your money.  Also, harvest aides work best in warmer temperatures (night temps in the 60’s, day temps in the 80’s), while activity is significantly decreased when night temperatures dip into the low 50’s and days are in the 70’s.

RESOURCE a Valent Product is a new cotton defoliant.  The rate is 4-6 fluid ounces per acre. 4 oz will cost about $5.00. It can be tank mixed with boll openers, such as ethephon (Prep, Finish, etc).  The good thing about Resource is that if cotton is 85 % open, you might not need a boll opener, just Resource.  If cotton is 60 % open, use Resource plus a boll opener and surfactant.  If conditions favor regrowth, one can add Dropp to the mixture.  COC or 80-20 surfactant should be mixed with Resource.  It would be a good idea to spray some on your earliest fields to see if you like it. 

FirstPick: A new cotton defoliant from DuPont.  This is a new boll opener/defoliant.  It is very fast working taking leaves off in 5-10 days and opening bolls in 7-10 days.  Its use rate is 1.75 to 2 quarts per acre.  It works well in most weather conditions.  It may be tank mixed with other products.  Do not use oil in any FirstPick tank mixes.  Use surfactants at only the lowest rates.  FirstPick is 100 % water-soluble, so it mixes, sprays and washes off equipment easily.  For more information via Web: firstpick.dupont.com  

THE HULL SCRAPE  METHOD OF DETERMINING WHEN TO DIG PEANUTS

     Alabama peanut growers first began using the hull-scrape method in 1988 to determine when to dig.  Now, nearly 70 percent of Alabama growers use the method.  Hull-scrape use has been even greater in counties where wet pod blasters were available.  Instead of the wet pod blaster, most people are now using a pressure sprayer to scrape their peanuts.  This works great.

     Correct use of the method can provide an accurate, reliable picture or profile of how the crop is set.  From this profile we can project the best harvest date, schedule which fields to harvest first, and determine how production practices such as irrigation have affected the crop.

     Digging at the best time is extremely important for achieving maximum yield, grade, dollar return, and consumer quality.  It is not unusual for peanuts to gain from 300-500 lbs. and 1-2 percent in grade in the 1 ½ week period before the best harvest date.  Research over a four year time period showed that:  Peanuts dug 2 weeks too early caused a 744 lb yield loss.  At 17 cents a pound that would be a $126 loss.  Peanuts dug 1 week early would loose 253 pounds.  That would be a $43 loss.  Peanuts dug 1 week late would be a 500 pound loss. That would be a $ 85 loss.  Much later than two weeks late you risk losing all of your peanuts.  It is safer and better to dig your peanuts a few days too early than to dig too late.

     Remember that dollars lost represent the loss of clear profit as no other input is required other than digging at the right time.

     Keep in mind that the hull scrape method only represents pod maturity – an important factor, but not the only factor to consider for projecting when to dig.  Other factors which may influence the harvest date are:

1. Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), White mold and other diseases.  Generally we disregard the effect of these diseases as it is the sound mature peanut on healthy plants that you are harvesting.
2. Conditions of the vines.  Severe leafspot, leaf defoliation or drought may require digging earlier than projected.
3. Weather outlook.  If the forecast is for an extended period of bad weather covering the projected harvest dates, it may be best to dig slightly early, as rapid peg deterioration can occur after extended rainfall.
4. Length of harvest.  If it will take 3 weeks to dig the crop, you obviously will have to start early and go late.  Ranking the fields will help determine the best order of digging.

                                                     Soybean Update

     On June 27, 2006 soybean rust was found on soybeans in Alabama.  The disease was found on the sentinel plot in Fairhope.  Only 5 soybean rust pustules were found on three leaves.  As of today September 1, Asian Rust has not been detected in any commercial field in Alabama. However, soybean rust is on the move, at least in other SE states. It appears to be moving north through Louisiana and has also recently been reported in Texas and South Carolina.  In Alabama, the only current hot spot appears to be Baldwin County.  There are four soybean sentinel plots in Southwest Al and twenty across the state.  They are being monitored once a week.  Dr. Ed Sikora updates the Soybean Rust Hotline (1-800-446-0388) for any new information. This is very helpful to growers.  Florida recently set up their own toll-free rust hotline (866-361-9942).  This would be a good source of information especially for Alabama growers located near the panhandle of Florida.  

     Soybean growers in Baldwin and Escambia County should consider an application of a triazole or triazole/strobilurin tank mix if their crop is between the bloom and pod fill stage of growth and if they estimate their crop has the potential to make high yields this year.  The risk of rust in all other parts of the state appears to be low at this time.

     Soybean rust can be controlled with fungicides.  Strobilurin fungicides include Headline and Quadris and are most effective when applied before rust invades a field.  Triazole fungicides include Domark, Folicur and Laredo and can be used in a curative program after the disease has been detected in a field.  Pre-packaged tank mixes of a strobilurin and a triazole such as Headline SBR, Quilt and Stratego are also available.

     It is not economical to apply a fungicide before bloom for soybean rust.  Applications between bloom and pod fill are most critical when the disease is expected in your area. 

Boiling Peanuts:  This recipe was given to me by Glen Forrester with Forrester Farms near Columbia, Alabama.  First of all the best peanuts to boil are the peanuts that are two to three weeks prior to being mature for harvest.  When boiled these immature peanuts are the sweetest.  It is very important to thoroughly rinse your peanuts before boiling.  Rinse them until the water is clean, almost clean enough to drink.  For every five gallons of peanuts use one box of salt.  For every one gallon of peanuts use ½ cup of salt. Bring the peanuts to a boil and let them boil for one hour.  Then turn off the heat and let them set with the lid on until the peanuts have settled to the bottom.  Allow plenty of time for them to cool down.  During this cooling process the salt actually is absorbed from the water to the peanuts. 

Georgia 03L Peanuts: Forrester Farms is one of the few certified and registered seed producer and distributor of the Georgia 03L peanut in Alabama.  Georgia 03L is a 135 day peanut recently released by Dr. Bill Branch with the University of Georgia.  It is one of the best peanut varieties that will be available for the 2007 season in limited supply.  For more information contact Forrester Farms at (334) 696-3363.   

Again, I hope this information will be helpful to you.  

Peanut Planting Record-Harvest Guide

Date planted                                                       Days of age                                                   

                                         120 Days                    130 Days                    135 Days

April     7                     August              5         August              15        August              20

April     10                    August              8         August              18        August              23

April     13                    August              11        August              21        August              26       

April     16                    August              14        August              24        August              29

April     19                    August              17        August              27        September          2

April     22                    August              20        August              30        September          5

April     25                    August              23        September          2        September          7

April     28                    August              26        September          5        September        10

May       1                    August              29        September          8        September        13

May       4                    September          1        September        11        September        16

May       7                    September          4        September        14        September        19

May     10                    September          7        September        17        September        22

May     13                    September        10        September        20        September        25

May     16                    September        13        September        23        September        28

May     19                    September        16        September        26        October             1

May     22                    September        19        September        29        October             4

May     25                    September        22        October             2        October             6

May     28                    September        25        October             5        October           10

May     31                    September        28        October             8        October           13

June       3                    October             1        October           11        October           17

June       6                    October             4        October           14        October           19

June       9                    October             7        October           17        October           22       

June     12                    October           10        October           20        October           25

June     15                    October           13        October           23        October           28

June     18                    October           16        October           26        October           31

June     21                    October           19        October           29        November          4       

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