Mid-Atlantic Gin

Soil temperatures were nearly perfect for the first few days of planting and very good after that. Soil moisture is certainly sufficient and the soil is certainly not crusted! Stands look very good . We are off to an excellent start.

There are a few problems already. The most obvious one to me is glyphosate resistant marestail. It is widespread and heavy in parts of Southampton County. While not as competitive as some weeds we fight , in significant numbers it will decrease yeilds and it cannot be ignored. If you have cotton varieties that are tolerant to Ignite you are in luck. Varieties containing the Widestrike gene have been tested with Ignite without reduction in yield. There will be some injury but yield losses from are far more likely from weed competition . Ignite is very different from glyphosate. It is not sytemic so coverage is critical. Bayer rep Franklin Dowles suggests a minimum of 15 gallons spray volume and AMS adjuvant . Results are best in hot weather with lots of sunshine. No additional surfactant is required.

If you had a hopper stop up , even just one row out of eight, plan on spraying thrips twice. Don't wait for the first true leaf if you had Temik problems. Treat as soon as emergence is complete, and treat again with your first glyphosate application.

Orthene at 8 ounces is your most effective choice in most cases. I do recommend Dimethoate for any second applications and in cetain situations where flaring spider mites is a concern.

There are a few growers who have planted with insufficient upfront nitrogen. If you planted with just starter and no broadcast nitrogen these heavy rains should be making you very uncomfortable. As soon as fields will allow you back in add nitrogen to any fields planted with less than 30 pounds N per acre upfront(starter plus broadcast). This is critical , especially on sandy fields with nematode problems. Here in Virginia vigorous early season growth correlates well with high yields.