Due to suitability to the environmental conditions and existence of a strong peanut industry tailored to process primarily the large-seeded Virginia-type peanut, growers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina generally grow Virginia-type cultivars. In the view of a common interest in the Virginia-type peanut, the three states are working together through a multi-state project, the Peanut Variety Quality Evaluation (PVQE), to evaluate advanced breeding lines and commercial cultivars throughout their production regions. The objectives of this project are: 1) to determine yield, grade, quality, and disease response of commercial cultivars and advanced breeding lines at various locations in Virginia and the Carolinas, 2) develop a database for Virginia-type peanut to allow research-based selection of the best genotypes by growers, industry, and the breeding programs, and 3) to identify the most suited peanut genotypes for various regions that can be developed into varieties. This report (http://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/AREC/AREC-164/AREC-164.html ) contains agronomic and grade data of the PVQE tests in 2015.
Stakeholder input on Virginia’s State Pollinator Protection Plan
The following advisory is posted on behalf of Dr. Hunter Frame:
I want everyone to check out this letter for stakeholder input on the pollinator protection plan that is being developed by VDACS. So for the cotton producers the nearest meeting will be on February 22 from 6-8 pm at the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Suffolk, VA. This is an important issue that needs to be discussed and solutions need to be developed so no tools for producers are lost and bees/beekeepers are able to thrive next to cotton and other crops! Look forward to seeing everyone there!
http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/pollinatorprotectionplanletter.pdf
26th Annual Eastern Shore of Virginia Ag Conference & Trade Show
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Ag Conference & Trade Show is on! We are snow free, and looking forward to a great event on January 26 and 27, 2016. The event will take place at the Eastern Shore Community College Workforce Development Center in Melfa, VA. The full program can be found at: http://issuu.com/esarec/docs/flipbookfinal/1. We have been approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) CEU credits (details at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f34f3spg4quni7a/CCA_Credits_Handout_2016.pdf?dl=0), Virginia Nutrient Management Credit (1 credit), and Virginia Pesticide Recertification credits (information in the program). See you there! Directions can be found at: http://es.vccs.edu/about/mapdirections/.
Eastern Shore Ag Conference & Trade Show
Join Virginia Tech, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Association of Potato and Vegetable Growers, and Industry to hear updates, research information, and innovative products for grain, oilseed, and vegetable crops important to Virginia’s Eastern Shore on January 26 and 27, 2016. This event is free and open to the public. Announcements concerning conference updates, weather delays and/or closings, etc. will be made at: https://www.facebook.com/EasternShore.Soils. Highlights of the program can be found in the attached flyer.
U.S. Peanut End of Year Summary from JLA
A nice summary of the 2015 nationwide peanut crop is attached here from the JLA’s editor Foy Mills. Information on Argentine and Brazilian peanut crops is included. I hope you will enjoy the reading. Merry Christmas and a successful 2016 New Peanut Year! End of year 2015 JLA US Peanut Summary
Grain Sorghum 2015 OVT Results in Virginia
2015 Sorghum OVT Yield in Virginia
I hear that several seed companies offer a 9% discount for pre-ordered seed, so I though this information may help.
The link above takes you to the grain sorghum variety trials results in 2015 including yield, seed moisture, and test weight. 22 hybrids were tested this year in full season and double cropping production systems at several locations in Virginia: Suffolk, Warsaw, Windsor, and Locust Grove. In order to effectively desiccate before harvest, the full season hybrid trial was grouped in two desiccation groups based on hybrid maturity. The first table in the attachment combines locations and desiccation groups; the others show data for each location, cropping system and desiccation with mean separation by the Least Significant Difference test.
In general, 2015 was a good year for grain sorghum in Virginia. In spite of seed sprouting in the head due to storm Joaquin and the short “visit” of the sugarcane aphid towards the end of summer at some southeastern locations, yields were good. Only at Windsor yields were near to but not quite 100 bu/acre. For all other locations, yields at and in access of 100 bu/acres were obtained for many hybrids. DEKALB’s DKS53-53, DKS51-01, DKS54-00; Sorghum Partners’ NK6638, Pioneer’s 83P17; Sorghum Harvest’s SH59G4; and Alta’s AG3101 and AG1203 were top yielding hybrids in both cropping systems.
Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge the collaborators for help with the OVT trials this year, Dr. Wade Thomason with the Crop and Soil Environmental Science Department and Bob Pitman with the Eastern Virginia AREC.
Virginia Soybean Variety Test Results Now Available
Virginia Soybean Variety Test yield data are now available and can be found at my website – Virginia Soybean Extension & Research.
If you have comments or questions, please contact me.
Peanut acreage in Virginia by county
I thought you might be interested to see peanut acreage distribution by county in Virginia from 2011 through 2015. Dell Cotton, Executive Secretary of the Virginia Peanut Board, graciously helped me to compile it. It is attached here. Peanut Acreage
Peanut state meeting
Eastern Shore AREC Specialist Day
Join us next week, November 17th, at the Eastern Shore AREC (33446 Research Drive, Painter, VA, 23420) for Weed Science Specialist Day. Topics will include new herbicide technology and control of herbicide-resistant Italian ryegrass in wheat. The event will begin at 10:00am and conclude at 12:00pm. Lunch will be served promptly following the meeting. Please RSVP to Ursula Deitch (ursula@vt.edu) or Theresa Long (tmjlong@vt.edu) by Friday if you are interested. See the below flyer for more details.
Specialist Day will be held at the Eastern Shore AREC on Tuesday Nov. 17th.