The system that brought rain on August 10th seems to have broken our streak of hot weather for Virginia’s peanut growing region. Dailey high’s in the 80s with lows in the 60s will continue until August 23rd according to my weather app. The temperature Saturday the 13th may not get above 80^o F and the low may be in the upper 50s, which is very favorable for the development of Sclerotinia blight. I anticipate the risk of Sclerotinia blight to be high the next 2 weeks, so fungicide sprays may be warranted in fields with a history of that disease. If growers have sprayed the second spray of Miravis + Elatus fungicides within the past 2 weeks they should be covered. I do not recommend spraying the Miravis + Elatus fungicide tank-mix now if you haven’t sprayed it already due to fungicide resistance concerns with late leaf spot and the lack of curative or “kick back” activity if leaf spot already exists. If the Miravis + Elatus tank-mix has not been sprayed twice already I recommend using Omega 500 at the labeled rates for Sclerotinia blight sooner than later. Typically we recommend growers scout for Sclerotinia blight when the risk of that disease is high according to the Virginia Sclerotinia Blight Advisory. Omega 500 will have greater efficacy if applied prior to or at the initial onset of disease. Follow-up sprays may be made using Omega 500 21 days after the first application if favorable disease weather persists.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about diseases of agronomic crops please feel free to call or text me at (757) 870-8498 or e-mail me at dblangston@vt.edu.