This week I have noticed a significant uptick in the amount of peanut leaf spot. It’s mainly in peanuts that have been sprayed once or twice with fungicides and the spray interval is longer than the recommendation on the label. I recommend using Microthiol Disperss (sulfur) tank-mixed with Headline, Lucento, or Provost Silver. I do not recommend stand-alone group 7 fungicides like Miravis and Fontelis. Normally I’d want to repeat the sulfur/fungicide mix in 10 days but this close to digging we may just go with a chorothalonil spray before harvest for leaf spot.

It seems the heat wave we’ve had has arrested Sclerotinia blight to some degree. I just finished rating my plots this morning and the Sclerotinia in the untreated checks hasn’t advanced in about 2 weeks. That’s a good thing. According to the weather forecast this heat will continue until the end of August until it drops significantly to highs in the lower 80’s on September 1. This temperature drop will likely be accompanied with rain. At this point for Sclerotinia blight I’d go with labeled rates of Omega 500 if you spray soon due to the 30 day PHI. Once again, I really want to see a chlorothalonil application as the last fungicide spray of the season for resistance management for leaf spot.

David Langston, VT Tidewater AREC, e-mail: dblangston@vt.edu office phone (757)807-6536; cell (757)870-8498