It won't be long before peanut planting rolls out across the state. As we can glean from other situations during these interesting times, not all things in this world are always under our control. All the more reason to cross the T's and dot the I's for the things we can control. Of the usual suspects, "T" is thrips control and "I" is using inoculant. In our experiments, different inoculants have generally performed similar, though liquid inoculants tend to be a little more consistent. Friendly reminder, inoculant use is a must on new land, still an overall benefit on land with peanut history.
Several different options are available for thrips control. We previously shared results comparing different thrips control products. If imidacloprid products (Admire Pro/Velum Total) are used, their negative effect on tomato spotted wilt can be reduced by integrating additional tactics (strip tillage, planting in mid-May, resistant varieties, twin row planting...). Thimet reduces tomato spotted wilt and also provides significant and cost-effective early protection against leaf spot. We have a paper in review now I'll share as soon as that's available.
Seed cost is also here each year, though it is sometimes in the background. Attached is a spreadsheet with some rough calculations that can be used to compare the cost of different varieties based on their seed size. Some examples are given, and users can change numbers to examine different scenarios. As an example, if we compare TUFRunner 297 (600 seed/lb) to FloRun 331 (675 seed/lb) at 6 seed/row ft, FloRun 331 comes to about $15/acre cheaper than 297.
Other reminders this time of year include storing seed in cool locations out of the heat and sun when possible to protect quality, calibrating equipment, taking our time when we do start planting, and starting our crop in a weed free field with plenty of overlapping residual herbicides. It is a lot easier to start clean than to try to clean up after weeds get started. As far as seed treatments are concerned, Dynasty PD has been the standard and has worked well. Rancona V PD has recently been increasingly available, and we have been happy with its results, definitely a good option, particularly if Aspergillus crown rot has been bad in the field.