Posted on Thursday September 21

Heat unit accumulation at Rocky Mount for the past 7 days has averaged 12.8 DD(56) per day. The week prior to this past week averaged 20.8 DD(56) per day. The outlook for the next 7 days (September 21-28) will likely be around 10 DD(56) per day. Pod maturity has slowed over the past week and will likely move slowly over the coming week. We certainly need more heat units to mature much of the peanut crop in North Carolina and Virginia.

Depending on tropical weather after this week, even if you already have plans on when to dig, it may pay to pod blast sometime next week to make sure peanuts are progressing as well as you initially thought. Movement from one color category to the next color on the profile board assumes adequate heat unit accumulation. Note that we give ranges of days to move from one color to the next. With cooler temperatures projected, the change will occur at the wider interval listed. Depending on temperatures, those numbers could be even wider than the range we provide on the chart.

Generally, if we get two nights in a row in the upper 40 F range, pod maturity may not progress from that point going forward. This is not always the case but it can be the case.