Peanut planting conditions shift from too dry to too wet

Peanut planting doesn’t kick off in the Southeast to any real extent until May 15, which is the start of the prime planting period in the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) index system. Planting much before May 15 or much after June 15 exposed stands to higher levels of possible TSWV infection due to thrips.

We typically don’t crank up our peanut newsletter, PeanutFax, until after May 15 and expect to begin publishing it next Friday, May 19.

Last week we did make spot calls to several of our peanut contacts to find out how much acreage had been planted ahead of the May 15 period. John Beasley, Georgia Extension Peanut Specialist, said that planting progress had been running somewhat ahead of ’05 because dry spring conditions promoted growers to start planting at least some acreage if they caught showers. “We were in a very dry situation, and the feeling was that it might be better to go ahead and take advantage of any available moisture in case we remained in a dry pattern,” Beasley said late last week.

Georgia, like much of the rest of the region, did start receiving rain in the last two weeks, and some areas picked up excessive amounts.

Howard Small Jr., a crop consultant in Colquitt, Ga., said his area was actually running behind on peanut planting because it started receiving rains earlier than the rest of the state, and amounts have excessive in some locations. Small said that one of his farmers measured 10 inches in five days. Small poured seven inches out of his own gauge during that same period.

“All the bottoms are full of water, and all the fields already planted has suffered a good deal of washing,” Small said. “Four of my farmers haven’t planted any peanuts yet, and my three biggest growers are only about half through. At this point, very few farmers will think about planting before next Tuesday or Wednesday, provided we have ample sunshine and wind.”

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