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By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s dryland peanut growers need to delay any plantings they might be planning, at least until much-needed rainfall is felt across the Southeast region.
That’s the message that the Georgia Peanut Commission and Scott Monfort, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension peanut agronomist, are stressing to growers amid the current drought, which shows exceptional conditions spreading across South Georgia.
Growers do not need to be in a hurry to plant with little to no moisture available.
“Dryland is more of a potential problem right now than anything, everybody knows that. I probably would leave the seed in the bag. I probably would not plant right this minute on dryland. I would probably try to wait,” Monfort said. “In all reality, I don’t think it would put you that far behind. We’re still way early. I know it’s warm and everybody is ready to go, but if it’s questionable, why do we need to try to do that?”
Dryland peanuts comprise half of the industry’s acres in Georgia. That means half of Georgia’s acreage has zero access to irrigation and depend solely on rainfall.
Simply No Rush
“There’s no rush to get it planted right this second. I would rather put it in cooler conditions or rainier conditions when we’ve got plenty of moisture,” Monfort said. “I think you’ve got to watch this thing and play it by ear, because we could get in trouble in a hurry.”
Those with irrigation access need to be diligent with their water applications before and after planting.
“We’ve said several times that if you’ve got the water to irrigate it, you can keep moving forward. The temperatures are good enough to where you can plant and get them up. You’re going to have to stay after it to keep the moisture to them,” Monfort said.
“Right now, if you water to prepare it, that moisture is probably depleted a little bit so you’re going to have to water again right before you plant. You’re going to plant and probably have to come right back and water again to get your herbicides working.
“You’ve got to keep watch over it over the next five days so you don’t run out of moisture.”