July 6, 2004
South Georgia- The driest March on record in Georgia meant a slow start to the crop, says John Baldwin, University of Georgia Extension agronomist. The dry weather continued through May and resulted in a lot of late-planted peanuts during the month.
“A lot of thrips injury early on,” Baldwin says, “and reduced stands.” Rain in June had the crop “looking good for the most part,” Baldwin says.
Georgia planted an estimated 565,000 acres of peanuts this season. That would reflect an increase from last year’s 535,000 acres. “It could be up slightly from that number,” Baldwin says.
“Most people increased their seeding rate, that would account for the increased seed sales.” The increase is coming from the southeast, southwest and eastern counties in Georgia.
North-central and northwest counties in Georgia’s peanut belt have seen declines in acreage.
posted at 2:40PM by dave.miller@walb.com
