Georgia Peanut Achievement Club Results - 2018 (Prostko/Monfort)

One of the most beneficial slides that I present at my county meetings is the data collected from the Georgia Peanut Achievement Club (GPAC) growers in regards to the various practices that they use to help manage weeds (Figure 1).  At the last few peanut meetings I have attended, I have been asked for similar information regarding other production practices for other pests.  To that end, I have also attached some data (compiled by Team Monfort) which lists all production inputs for the 2018 GPAC growers (Figures 2 + 3). (Click on pictures for higher resolution)

Dual Magnum vs. Outlook for Tropical Spiderwort Control (Prostko)

At the recent Decatur County Weed Meeting (January 7), I was asked by an attendee about the differences in the control of tropical spiderwort between Dual Magnum (S-metolachlor) and Outlook (dimethenamid-P).  Outlook is the activated isomer of the herbicide formerly sold as Frontier (dimethenamid).  If you are not very familiar with Outlook, it is in the same herbicide family as Dual Magnum (chloroacetamide), has the same mode of action (very long chain fatty acid synthesis inhibitor - WSSA#15), and this active ingredient has been around since the 1990's.  For whatever reason, Outlook never really received much attention during my career but recently BASF has dusted it off. 

My first response to the question was that I did not think that I had any data.  In my defense, you must remember that I have been in Georgia now for more than 20+ years and have conducted 50-70 field trials every year since then.  So the immediate recall of historical data can be challenging, especially for a 56 year old guy who played 12 years of Pop Warner, high school, and D-3 college football long before concussion protocols were common.  However, after reviewing my old files, I discovered some data from 2002 that compared the performance of Outlook to Dual Magnum in a peanut trial conducted in Grady Co.  The results of this trial are presented below (click on graph to download or view a higher quality graph):

It is obvious from this data that Outlook is not quite as effective for the control of tropical spiderwort as Dual Magnum.  However, it is only 1 year's worth of data.  In 2020, I will be looking for a peanut field to conduct some additional spiderwort control research so please keep your eyes open.

2019 Extension Drift Survey Summary (Culpepper).

 Agents, many of you participated in our drift survey during our weed science training back in December 2019. The figure below shares the results from 2014 through 2019. Your impact through our Using Pesticides Wisely (UPW) program and your county programs have been monumental with the overall goal of protecting pesticide users, by-standers, consumers, and our environment. Obviously, these results would not have been possible without a strong supportive and cooperative commitment among all of our Georgia agricultural family including growers, consultants, retailers/dealers, industry, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

In 2019, cotton, pecan, and fruits and vegetables (mostly gardens) received the most drift complaints at 38, 15, and 14%, respectively. Pesticides which led to the most extension drift visits included dicamba, 2,4-D, paraquat, 2,4-DB and cotton defoliation mixtures. For both dicamba and 2,4-D, complaints were significantly less in 2019 when compared to 2018.

No final decisions have been made on UPW 2020 as of Jan 7 but hopefully our plan will be in-place by mid-January with meetings planned for March 2020.