As we move into the second week of May, growers may have some questions about whether plant stands are adequate from their very early plantings. We planted peanuts in a part of one field at Lewsiton-Woodville on April 16. The posted image is a look at those plants on May 7. So far, the stand is very skippy, but more peanuts are slowly coming up.

We need at least 3 plants per foot of row. When stands are low, missing spots are one of the biggest challenges. We are still early (maybe 20% of acreage has been planted with many fields wet at this point after the Wednesday/Thursday rains.) The week of May 11 will be 3.5 weeks after planting April 16. While this is a planting date trial, if this was a grower field, a decision on replant would need to be made. We have plenty of time in terms of planting in May. Replanting is no fun. I hope the growers who planted early have a better start than the start in our trial.

Generally, we can drop right beside the row and replant. However, we had issues with a disease called Rhizopus a few years ago, and some growers tried multiple times to get stands when they re-panted by dropping in with the planter without tillage. They never made a good stand, even after three tries. We don’t know when that will happen, so my suggestion on the replant is to do some tillage and create a “new” seedbed. I know this is expensive, but the Rhizopus has me worried, especially under cooler temperatures. There are no fungicides that can be added in the seed furrow to lower the risk from this pathogen.

If replanting, inoculant and systemic insecticide need to be applied during the replant. Generic imidacloprid followed by Hemi plus surfactant (if needed after emergence) is a relatively inexpensive approach for thrips. The replant needs inoculant and insecticide in the furrow just like the first planting.

If the replant is in June, you may not need the in-furrow insecticide (but you need inoculant) if you can be timely with a foliar application of insecticide (or vice-versa, the in-furrow may not need a follow up of a foliar spray.) In June, thrips populations have generally decreased substantially.

Let us know if you have questions.